Actually, Passport's question may have been a little more complicated than a basic "snake coloring genetics" one.

In all liklihood, he's talking about breeding a Texas with a Black rat, bringing up the question of, "What would these intergrades look like?" Also, while the basics of genetics obviously remain the same no matter WHAT animals you are talking about, a knowledge of the genetic peculiarities of a given species are often helpful. For example, there are two kinds of "albino" black rats, and if they are bred together you can wind up with all normal looking babies. Even the experienced breeders can't answer some of the questions which would at first seem to be basic. I asked Brian, of BHB, if the albino "greenish" ratsnake that I got from him would produce albinos if bred to a typical albino black rat. His honest answer was that he was unsure....but if I were to find out, please let him know. The obvious, quick answer would have been, "Sure...You breed an albino with an albino and you get all albinos." But since the gene for albinism is not always carried in the same place when you are talking about different kinds of snakes (or even two different morphs of black rat), the answers can become fairly complex. I took a genetics course in college (and I was a psych major...go figure!), and it seems that the more you know, the less crystal clear some of these things actually are. Fascinating, though. Duffy

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