Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know I am way behind in the king world, since I am just thinking of starting, but I have some questions about the genetic traits of the cal. king.
1.) Are stripes dom/co-dom/rec.?
2.) How about high whites?
3.) Spotted?
4.) Banana?
5.) Does anyone have a link that would answer most of my questions?
I HAVE tried googling and searching yahoo but I can't find any good information and would like to hear from some first hand experience. -Joe D

1.) Are stripes dom/co-dom/rec.?
In cal kings they are not recessive.

2.) How about high whites?
It is just an aberrancy, not recessive.

3.) Spotted?
It is just an aberrancy, not recessive.

4.) Banana?
It is just an aberrancy, not recessive.

Recessive genes in cal kings are:
Albino
Lavender
Lavender (JR strain)
Hypermelanistic (Davis, Mendota, Baja, Chocolate Bananas, etc..)
Ghost
Blue-eyed Blonde
*Hypomelanistic-definitely out there and some have been defined.

There are more genetics (as in recessive genes) to be defined.

Most cal king "morphs" are simply aberrancies with names attached and ARE NOT recessive.

Kerby...
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Lonesome Valley Reptiles
www.lonesomevalleyreptiles.com
Specializing In California Kingsnakes

>1.) Are stripes dom/co-dom/rec.?

Dominant. Snakes with one striped gene paired with a normal gene (heterozygous striped) are pretty variable. They could be spotted, have a mixture of a stripe and bands, or have a good stripe. Many of them are simply termed "aberrant". As far as I know, there is no good way to distinguish striped Cal kings with a pair of striped mutant genes from a Cal king that is heterozygous striped. So in my opinion, "dominant" is the term to use.

>2.) How about high whites?

Sorry, no information.

>3.) Spotted?

Probably heterozygous striped. On the other hand, it may be another pattern mutation.

>4.) Banana?

Sorry, no information. My guess is that it is a combination of several mutants. And maybe some selective breeding, too.

>5.) Does anyone have a link that would answer most of my questions?

Richard Zweifel had a paper about striped Cal kings in one of the 1982 issues of the Journal of Heredity. It has the best information that I know of.

If you find a web site with genetics information, please let me know.

Paul Hollander