Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm half looking (checking classifieds every couple of days) for an adult (~ 4') female pink eyed banded albino Cal King.

I'd like to try to breed Harry, my adult WC banded Cal King to produce banded HET for albinism offspring. I honestly don't know if Harry is capable of producing live sperm, he was WC in 2000 as an adult (and big for an adult), so I don't know how old he is - but he's not young. The way he's been eating, he has put on quite a bit of visual weight in tha last month - so I have no worries about trying to brumate him. I've cut him down to two mice per feeding simply because I don't want him to become obese.

The reason I want an albino - I've never kept an albino herptile (I have had a melanistic garter snake), and I've never hatched one. The idea is that if Harry breeds, I can hold back two of the females. Obtain a banded albino female for my juvenile male to breed in 2008 and hold back a HET male.

In theory that should allow me to produce some albinos in 2011 or 2012 from the unrelated HET offspring. Sure, it would be faster if I just bought a pair, but I think this would be more fun and personally rewarding.

I can't remember where I saw it, I think it was an article written by the herper that originally captive bred the albino San Diego gopher snake, but I saw a reference to there being two different known genes that cause albinism in California Kings, and that if you don't have the same gene, what you will get is normal looking young that are HET for both types of albinism.

Do any of the experienced breeders know more about this, and how to tell the difference between the two different albinism genes?

I've heard of albinos that don't have pink eyes, is that the other gene or is it not that easy to tell the difference if you don't know the line?

Thanks,

FunkyRes
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3.0 WC; 0.1 CB L. getula californiae
0.1 CB L. pyromelana pyromelana
0.1 WC; 10 eggs (7/11) Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata

Most snakes are capable of reproducing their entire adult life - no matter how old they are (though there may be a reduction of fertility). The quickest way to make albinos with a normal male and an albino female would be to breed the two, save a male het offspring and breed that het back to it's albino mother - this would produce 50% albinos and 50% hets (statistically speaking).

I've never heard of two seperate albino genes for Cal kings, although there are for boas and black rat snakes. Anyhow, you wouldn't have to be concerned about that if you are interbreeding snakes from the same group.

Tim

Third Eye

Thanks.
I'm personally not fond of inbreeding if it can be avoided, simply because when there are a higher number of genes in common, it increases the remote possibility of a recessive genetic disease expressing itself. I know it really isn't that big of an issue with snakes, but I don't like the idea of it even if it still is rare.

In wild lines, I suspect (I don't know) that genetic issues are less common because of natural selection, but I suspect that in captive lines since pattern/temperment are more likely to be deciding factors in wether or not a snake passes on its genes, that the lines may not be as genetically strong as in the wild, especially for a specific trait such as albinism where the snake is more likely to come from a recently inbred line.

Since I have several unrelated WC males, it would take longer than inbreeding - but I could produce unrelated HETs (if I got unrelated female albinos), and the risk is lower for genetic issues.

-=-

As far as the breeding abilities of snakes - I was under the impression (I think from a milk snake breeding page I read) that kingsnake females tend to have about 10 years of breeding ability, with the males having a few more beyond that.

Of course, not every web page out there is accurate ...
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3.0 WC; 0.1 CB L. getula californiae
0.1 CB L. pyromelana pyromelana
0.1 WC; 10 eggs (7/11) Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata

You can breed cal kings well past 10 years, both male and female. Numerous documentations.

Kerby...

n/p
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3.0 WC; 0.1 CB L. getula californiae
0.1 CB L. pyromelana pyromelana
0.1 WC; 10 eggs (7/11) Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata

The two kinds of albinos are regular or t negative albinos, and lavender or t positive albinos. T negative albinos have the ruby red eyes, produce no melanin, and are white. Lavender albinos dont have the ruby red eyes, produce some melanin, and are light purple (lavender).

I believe you're right in saying that when you breed them together you get normals that are het for both.