Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. Just thought I might bring this up and see if I can learn some things and hopefully start an interesting thread.
Does anyone know anything about copperhead genetics and morphs?
I have an amazing female that I consider to be "pastel". Not hypo because she does have a considerable amount of dark colors (brown and black) around her bands and on her belly. By the way, her checkerboard pattern on her belly is reduced, abberant. And she's chestnut/cinammon colored on top and has a bubble gum pink belly.
I've been looking for a suitable male for her for over a year and a half and it's very obvious that there aren't alot like her. I found a male that I'm hoping to get that exhibits a "ghost" coloration. Very very light banding and almost white background color. I'm just wondering what is known about the possible mutations of copperheads. I've seen hypos and there's and albino on the classifieds. And as far as Agkistrodons go, the albino cottonmouths seem to be getting fairly established. And with what I've seen, the mutations seem to go along the same lines as boas. With albinos, hypos, ghosts. I guess corn snakes too. If you can see how I'm relating that. Those are just what I compare them too. Or is there very minimal mutations in the species and just here and there you get a really odd looking specimen that really has no genetic uniqueness?
I love copperheads. I think they're one of the most interesting species, period. I've had numerous ones from all different subspecies and they always fascinate me. It just seems like it's hard to find anything more than your average northern/southern intergrade from Alabama most of the time. I wish this species would be worked with more and some really nice CB bloodlines be established. But I know since they are hots and there's not alot of available information about them, they seem to be overlooked by many people. Maybe I'll just start the revolution, anyone with me? Haha. I'm not a geek. Just trying to see if anyone out there has the same kind of passion for this species as I do. And I figured this is a good place to do that. Any comments, relative stories, photos or anything at all is appreciated. Please feel free to email me too. (truthseeking911@yahoo.com) You can also email me to see pics of that female southern I have if you're interested in seeing her because I don't know how to post pics here. Thanks alot.

I really like copperheads. I think they are a great hot snake to keep. I just can't keep them because it is illegal here to keep hot snakes. =(

No species has known mutations until people breed to try and figure out which abberant appearing animals have a genetic basis. Copperheads aren't widely bred compared to corns and boas so I'm sure that even if there aren't many established mutations, there are probably many waiting to be discovered. If you really want to know if your hypo is a hypo, though, you need to breed it to a normal looking animal and wait for the trait to appear in the F2 generation so it's easier to sort out the influence of the gene you're trying to prove... good luck!

I emailed you...I'd love to see a pic.
What subspecies is your copperhead (sorry if I missed it in your post).
There have been melanistic, striped and patternless copperheads found. The only abino I've seen is the one in Bechtel's book and it's kind of hard to tell from that pic. The one that's in the classifieds does not appear to be an albino....just an exceptional colored pink contortrix (maybe hypo). I emailed him about it and he said it had black eyes. It's pictured next to a very dark specimen to make it look even more different.
Chris

A guy named John, goes by the name Viperman on this forum, showed me a picture not too long ago of, if I remember correctly, a completely dorsally-striped copperhead. It was an amazing snake (even though John hasn't quite mastered the technique of picture RESIZING, lol). See if you can locate a post by him and mail him, or he may reply to this since I titled it with his name. So far, that one, and the patternless Osage subspecies pictured in the Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians (what a name) are the only true "morphs" I've seen of copperheads. I agree with a previous poster, I don't think the "albino" in the classifieds is albino at all. He might, just might, be able to get away with calling it a T albino (or lavendar albino), since those crazy blood python people can seem to get away with it, but I myself would just call it an exceptionally red snake. It doesn't really help that it's pictured with the darkest copperhead I've personally ever seen, maybe to try to set off its "albinism" better? Ah well, it's a cool snake anyway. Good luck in finding the info you seek about these snakes.
-Chance

I have a normal. I like him.

good luck with your breeding projects. Let me know what the F2 generation looks like.

This is kind of cool! It reminds me of the monk Mandel. He did genetics with the punnet squres on Peas.

They call it mandelian genetics, named after him famous experiments!

I hope you have a lot of fun. I am about to go dust off the books off the shelves and re-read the section on Mandelian Genetics. It is both interesting history and fun science.

cheers..

p.s.
Please have a great Mandelian day!
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

I have a normal. I like him.

good luck with your breeding projects. Let me know what the F2 generation looks like.

This is kind of cool! It reminds me of the monk Mandel. He did genetics with the punnet squres on Peas.

They call it mandelian genetics, named after him famous experiments!

I hope you have a lot of fun. I am about to go dust off the books off the shelves and re-read the section on Mandelian Genetics. It is both interesting history and fun science.

cheers..

p.s.
Please have a great Mandelian day!

-----
Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

Feel free to shoot me an email if ya like. I have alot of views on the recent emergence of copperhead "Morphs". As these snakes are HIGHLY variable, from purebloods to the various intergrades, to the locality of the animals themselves. I have seen several animals recently passed off as being something that they are not. Copperheads as I said are EXTREMELY variable animals ranging from orange to almost black or white in there patterns naturally. The only morphs that I personally know of existing, are the true abarrent or "spotted" copperheads in NC, the albino osage at the St louis zoo, completely melanistic (solid black w zero pattern present) animals from eastern NC, and fully striped southerns are pretty common as well as NXS stripers. I personally would love to see true albinos (like the cottons) but I have seen alot of dealers trying to raise market price on animals which do not seen to be true or t /- individuals. Copperheads are the majority of the animals in my collection, all ssp acounted for, various localities and naturally occuring intergrades. Copperheads "in my opinion" are the best hot species, as they are completely variable species to species and even sibling to sibling, they make excellent captives feeding regularly and dont easily stress, and are some of the easiest snakes to captively breed (though babies can be tiny). Personally I have a pecos that is as blood red as a pallida, and southerns as white as cloroxed sheets, and everyone always wants to know why I am suck a stickler on locality LOL. Shoot me an e and let me know what you have going on, I am always interested in swapping cb locality animals for other cb localities that I dont have. Hope I didnt rant to much,

Jared

Feel free to shoot me an email if ya like. I have alot of views on the recent emergence of copperhead "Morphs". As these snakes are HIGHLY variable, from purebloods to the various intergrades, to the locality of the animals themselves. I have seen several animals recently passed off as being something that they are not. Copperheads as I said are EXTREMELY variable animals ranging from orange to almost black or white in there patterns naturally. The only morphs that I personally know of existing, are the true abarrent or "spotted" copperheads in NC, the albino osage at the St louis zoo, completely melanistic (solid black w zero pattern present) animals from eastern NC, and fully striped southerns are pretty common as well as NXS stripers. I personally would love to see true albinos (like the cottons) but I have seen alot of dealers trying to raise market price on animals which do not seen to be true or t /- individuals. Copperheads are the majority of the animals in my collection, all ssp acounted for, various localities and naturally occuring intergrades. Copperheads "in my opinion" are the best hot species, as they are completely variable species to species and even sibling to sibling, they make excellent captives feeding regularly and dont easily stress, and are some of the easiest snakes to captively breed (though babies can be tiny). Personally I have a pecos that is as blood red as a pallida, and southerns as white as cloroxed sheets, and everyone always wants to know why I am suck a stickler on locality LOL. Shoot me an e and let me know what you have going on, I am always interested in swapping cb locality animals for other cb localities that I dont have. Hope I didnt rant to much,

Jared