Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What's the difference between the two morphs: yellow albino and bubblegum?

How do the colors change as they each mature? For example, brooksi babies change dramatically as they turn into adults, so it is pure speculation as to how a baby will look as an adult. It seems like yellow albino rats are more predictable, but I've seen photos that are absolutely gorgeous yellow/pastel pink/white and others that are more orange/brown/white.

Tom

Albino is a poor choice of terms to use here. You might try reading one of the pages on Corn Snake genetics. Reading the material from the link below would be a good place to start. Then you will be able to ask a better question.
Base Genetic Mutations

Tom:
Although bubblegums are different from yellow albinos (I've heard bubblegums originally were defined with everglades and black rat albino mixes) both can be very variable in appearance.

If I were looking to end up with attractive adults, I would ask around and find the breeders with the best reputation for honesty and ask them to show you their breeders and tell you what they think their stock will look like when it matures.

I think that's the best way to go about it.

Good luck
John

This post demonstrates how terms are used so loosely around here, that they become almost meaningless and not very useful. Albino is a very poor choice of terms for describing a snake that is lacking in one or more of its normal colors. Coined terms, such as bubblegum, are even worse, because the color phenomena that they describe can vary from species to species.

Bubblegum is a term used by Corn Snake breeders to describe a snow corn that showed pink and green in its coloring. A Snow Corn is one that is both amelanistic and anerythristic.

Anerythrism is expressed by red pigmentation not being produced by the animal’s xanthophores, yet yellow pigmentation is still present. I point this out because I have seen photos of amelanistic Yellow Rat Snakes, but I have never seen a photo of a anerythristic Yellow Rat Snake, but I would guess that it would look fairly normal with the exception of eye color since Yellow Rats don’t show much if any red in their coloring.

I know that there are many on this forum that like using the coined terms for the color morphs, but could we at least all agree to stop using the term albino when describing snakes? It would also be nice if when using a coined term, such as bubblegum, that we could share on the post what we want this term to mean. I have nothing against slang, but I don’t think that you should have to be “hip” to read and understand what is being said on this forum.

P.S. I don’t want anyone to think this is a personal attack on Tom or John; it is not. This is about keeping the forum clear and understandable by our choice of terms, and their use. Lugwig Wittgenstein’s “Tractatus Logico-Philossphicus” had a point to it that should not be lost on herpers writing on this forum.

Rick

Heres my take
I've owned a "bubblegum" rat for about 10 years now. As a baby it was a pinkish peach color, and has evolved into a faded out looking amel or "albino" rat snake. My understanding is that basically it's an albino ratsnake mutt. Either grey, or yellow, or black or whatever. I have another yearling I got from Greg Connor and it's a screaming Orange Julius background with white saddles, really killer looking.
Albino Yellow rats? Never owned one, I've seen a few pix of them. They look neat.
My suggestion is get a look at the parents of each of the babies. It's not a sure fired way to predict the end result, but it'll give you some idea of what you're working with. You'll be taking a gamble no matter how you look at it, so just go with your gut feeling.
Heres my 10 year old male that started out looking like a stick of bubblegum, original flavor

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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

You might direct this question to Bill and Kathy Love.
I'm about 98% sure they created this ambiguous mix and first coined the marketing term, "Bubble Gum" Rat in the '80s or early '90s.
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Regards, Bill McGighan