Sarah,



The hypo/snow line of dragons do not have clear nails but, in my opinion, are definately affected by a form of hypomelanism. It is my opinion that the hypo/snows have a defect in the dermal melanophores and are unable to produce melanin in the dermis ( or outer layer of skin). Melanophores are what makes the animal able to produce black pigment. There are to sets of melanophores in reptiles the dermal and epidermal. Completely seperate from oneanother.



In the hypo-pastels (clear-nailed hypos) the defect is complete and there is little to no black pigment in the animal. That is why the nails are clear, they don't darken at all generally, and if they do it's minimal. In my opinion these are true hypomelanistic animals.



As far as your beardie goes... It could be anything... There is realy no way of telling unlkess you know the background your dragon came from. I beleive it appears to be a sandfire X hypo/snow cross but that is NOT TO SAY IT IS.... Appearances can be decieving and you should never call a dragon something if your not sure where it came from. Especially if you plan on breeding it. Hope this helps you understand the hypomelanistic trait a bit better. If you are intrigued as I was about the genetic traits, check out the book called Reptile and Amphibian Variants by H. Bernard Bechtell... Excellant book! Also if you jump over to the genetics forum there are a couple sites from there you can follow to find out more as well.
-----
Great spirits have always been recieved with violent opposition by mediocre minds. Albert Einstein

[ Show Entire Thread ]