Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone know the genetics of this trait? I have a pair of CA boas (Costa Rican x Mexican) that do not show the trait, but came from a litter that had several tigers in it. Also, the parents consistently threw tiger babies every time they were bred. My female is due on July 12th (fingers crossed!) and I was wondering what I might expect from this litter. The dad is pictured.

Thanks!
Billy

It is suppose to be co-dominant. Are the ones you have from Jim Kavney's line? We have a male tiger from that litter that is sweet looking, but haven't been able to get him to breed..

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Ed Lilley, www.constrictorsnw.com

Yup. I bought a pair from Jim 4 years ago and they went at it like gang busters this year. So if it's co-dom and neither of mine are showing the trait, does that mean they are not carrying the gene at all? Either way, I'm hoping for a nice healthy litter. The most appealing thing about Jim's line is the small size they stay. Both my male and female are under 5 ft. at 4 yrs old.

>>It is suppose to be co-dominant. Are the ones you have from Jim Kavney's line? We have a male tiger from that litter that is sweet looking, but haven't been able to get him to breed..
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>>Ed Lilley, www.constrictorsnw.com

>So if it's co-dom and neither of mine are showing the trait, does that mean they are not carrying the gene at all?

You got it. Your snakes would be normals.

Have you seen the parents? If tiger is a codominant mutant gene, one or both of the parents must be a tiger.

Paul Hollander

Thanks Paul. I guess that would make sense that one would have to be a tiger if the trait was dominant or codominant. I have not seen the parents in person, but know the guy who bought them when Jim decided to get out of the hobby. I don't believe either had any tiger pattern, so maybe it is not codominant? I was told that the parents usually produced a few tigers every litter so maybe there's something else going on. Oh well, either way, I hope to be posting lots of pics of little baby CA boas in another 6 wks or so!

Billy

>>Have you seen the parents? If tiger is a codominant mutant gene, one or both of the parents must be a tiger.
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>>Paul Hollander

that there are different strains of the tiger gene, some codominant and some recessive if everything you said is true, that the parents have offspring that show the trait in "every litter", and that they don't show it themselves. All you said means that either you have a tiger het and the gene is recessive in this strain, or you have normals. If this strain was codominant you would see it in at least one parent.

Now, does anyone else have some that are codominant? Be great to see some codominant ones and their offspring photos, and also I would love to see the parents in fact of the first boa posted too, if that were possible.

Caden

Thank Caden. That's my thought, that maybe there are different genetic types of tigers out there. Even reverse stripes have a similar look to tigers. I was also thinking that if the trait is indeed codominant, wouldn't there be a lot more tigers around? There seems to only be a handful of them around and those mostly seem to be the pure Honduran tigers. If anyone out there has tigers, let's see the pics and post the history of the animals if you know it!

Billy

>>that there are different strains of the tiger gene, some codominant and some recessive if everything you said is true, that the parents have offspring that show the trait in "every litter", and that they don't show it themselves. All you said means that either you have a tiger het and the gene is recessive in this strain, or you have normals. If this strain was codominant you would see it in at least one parent.
>>
>>Now, does anyone else have some that are codominant? Be great to see some codominant ones and their offspring photos, and also I would love to see the parents in fact of the first boa posted too, if that were possible.
>>
>>Caden

The numbers of tiger boas aren't necessarily tied to whether the mutant is dominant or recessive. It's more tied to how recently it turned up and how big a push the breeders make to produce more of them.

I did a quickie google search for tiger boas, and the link below was the best I came up with. A more exhaustive look might turn up more, though.

In my opinion, if this is the best information available, then a lot more crosses are needed to really prove out the genetics. Especially if two normals are making tigers.

Paul Hollander
Tiger boa

There'd be more tigers if the folks that have the few of them out there had more luck breeding them.. I believe the parents of this line were pretty normal looking but it wouldn't have to be a fantasticly reverse striped animal to start.. I have heard this line has proven to be co-dominant, but yes it would be nice to see more breeding done. All traits come from somewhere, freak mutations happen.. Even the first motley, hypos, and arabesques were born from normal parents.
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Ed Lilley, www.constrictorsnw.com

So that is what a tiger looks like? Very nice.
I have a Het albino female that has similar stripes, but i don't belive she is a tiger, at least she wasn't sold as such. What do you think?

Christian

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christian@redwoodreptiles.com
www.redwoodreptiles.com