All Hypomelanistic by definition genetically signifies a lighter color or reduced Melanin. People do look at the tail for evidence of reduced black, but this is ultimately NOT the make or brake clue that signifies a hypo in my opinion, and is more of a "brand" trait. Matt's snake has dramatically reduced Melanin compared to a "wild type" Bci (assuming its a bci, like the salmon brand/flavor of hypo) and by definition is defiantly considered a hypo. In other words I think hypo refers to a comparison between a wild-type and another specimen from the same SPECIFIC locale as the "wild type". So goes my point, A nic hypo (bci) may have more Melanin/dark pigmentation than a clean bcc or bci for that matter, but is still considerd a hypo within the nic locale. Hoggs are a natural dom./homozygous hypo compared to other species of bci's ,but might not considered hypo when compared to other hoggs assuming its not a "pale" hogg like the ones that have been selectively bred. When it comes to appearance as a factor for owning/breeding a snake , I personally go for a certain look.. Call em' what ya want boas. Yes some are hypos and some are not... but if you don't find the snake attractive or what it can potentially produce as attractive, then why buy the snake. Also Try to determine if your dealing with hypos, doms, or co-doms from blood line and apperence info. I know if I got some co-doms of a certain genetic trait then I got a good shot of producing the all coveted super or Homozygous condition of a specific morph. Which can be exaggerated form of the co-dom morph. If I have a dominant morph then I assume all the offspring will show the color/pattern trait of that morph. I'm thinking(correct me if I'm wrong) that normal "wild types" are a dominant color/pattern trait. So breeding a homozygous or super hypo w/ a "wild type" should theoretically produce all offspring being a mix of the two.. assuming they are not both het for another specific trait. My point is... it should be about what YOU like. don't just focus on the current snake market, the market will change and so will the prices, by the time most of us produce "the popular" morph through breeding. I do pay attention to pricing of morphs, because I like to compare supply or rarity of , and the demand for a named or unnamed trait when choosing a snake. As you do it may become clear that some morphs are undervalued and some may be over priced. Just depends on how bad you want them or when your house payment is due. Then comes the fun part SELECTIVE breeding..

Sorry for the rambling.. hope it helps.
chris

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