Lately I have been getting a lot of calls and emails about my Sterling Pastel which I produced last summer. Since Ian G and even more recently, Greg Graziani hatched out Pewter X Pastel clutches and produced what looks like to be Super Pastel Cinnamons aka Sterling Pastel, there have been many questions.
Last year Ian called me when his almost patternless beauty (Silver Streak) came out and thought that mine was not a cross but just a very nice Super Pastel. The difference being that he was working with Pewters from Black Pastels and I was working with a Pewter from Graziani Cinnamons. To me comparing a Graziani Cinnamon and a Black Pastel is like comparing a Lesser Platty with a Mojave. They are very similar but also very different in charcteristics and in what they produce.
Greg and I have been talking and I sent him many photos today for comparison. I will try to tell the story and in it you will find many twists and turns that might shed some light on as to why all three versions look different.
Let's start from the beginning and I appologize in advance if this story is long, but I will try to keep it brief.
Back in 2000 I purchased a group of adult females from Pete Kahl. One was very different. She was chocolate in color and had some unique markings. Today you would look at her and swear she was a Mojave as many people have when they see her. I bred her to my Pastel and she produced 5 good eggs, 4 of which were Pastels. 2 of the pastels were very different, They not only had the typical blushing on top but also from the bottom as well. The picture below is of her and the 2 hatchlings.
Note the middle pic of the mom of the sterling (picture taken today). She is very patternless, clean and dark. Beside her is her brother. He was pretty extreme and still is. I sold him to Bryan Kolwitz and to this day he produces very different high yellow pastels that he sells for a premium because they are different.
What I am eluding to here is that mabe there is something else going on here genetically that contributed to why my Sterling looks so different from the rest. Also you should know that the original female has slugged out on me every year since, so I cannot conclude whether or not she produces anything else.
If you look closely in the picture of her, which I took today, she was in the middle of laying and she had two slugs out. In the end I did get 7 good eggs today and 3 slugs. She was bred to my Mojave.
The clutch that produced the Sterling was to the best of my knowledge the first ever Pewter X Pastel cross to hatch. I have hatched out 4 Super Pastels and what stuck it's head out did not look like a Super Pastel. It was grayer than SP's. Below is a picture of 2 supers and the Sterling in the egg.
When the Sterling came out I was convinced it was a Super Pastel Cinnamon or Pewter. It shared color blushing and most importantly Cinnamon pattern as pointed out by Keven McCurley. Look back at her mother and you will see no such pattern. She is very clean. I also sent pictures to other breeders like Greg and Brian at BHB who agreed that this was a mix.
Here are some pics of the Sterling as she aged.
Below is a comparison picture of one of my Super Pastels and the Sterling. The picture was taken today.
So the first twist to this story is the original mother and whether or not something genetic was contributed. Here comes the second twist.
In the fall I hatched out another Pewter X Pastel clutch. The clutch consisted of 2 eggs. Pictured below is what hatched. Look familiar? The one on the left looks like what Greg hatched ot this past weekend from the same cross.
And this is her today.
To continue I just hatched out this years clutch from the same mother that produced the Sterling last year. I did not get a Sterling but I did get a Super Pastel (bottom center). Note how dark he is. Also the pastel siblings are very unique with funky striping on some.
Now here is the 3rd and final twist to this story. Last year when I hatched out my second Pewter X Pastel clutch which produced the light girl above I sent pictures to Ian and Greg. Greg emailed me back and said the he thought the lighter one was still a regular Pewter because he hatched one out just like it a year earlier from a Cinnamon X Pastel cross. He sent me pictures and she was identical in lightness to my new hatchling. Here is the kicker. Who do you think is the mother of his most recent clutch that was just posted this past weekend. Yep...the same light female he sent me pics of!
So to sum this all up, I still believe that my Sterling pastel is indeed a cross. A cross of what remains to be seen. She will be bred this fall to my Pied. The resulting babies should shed some further light on this mystery.
I hope this helps make some sense of all of this.
Thanks for reading!
Mark
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www.ballpython.ca
