Reptile & Amphibian Forums

To be honest I don't like the term at all. I think that snakes that are very high yellow should be called that. High yellow. However if you are going to use the term, to me a banana represents the most extreme versions of this trait. You know where the snake is actually YELLOW LIKE A BANANA.

Recently it has become popular to call anything with a little yellow on it a banana. I think that these snakes should be called high yellow designers, or abberant coastal phase.

What I don't like is that where do you draw the line between a banana and an aberant? Its completely subjective, so anyone who wants you to click their classified add throws in the word banana.

Thoughts / opinions?

Here are some high yellows from Shores, mohr, and EBN. The only one called a banana was the middle one!

* and the top one.

PERSONALLY...

If I was selling the middle one, I would just classify it as Aberrant... Because to me that's all it is. Banana? No.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com
^ Updated 4/17

Recently it has become popular to call anything with a little yellow on it a banana"

Thats right. And we can't change the names of snakes because a few individuals want to use these terms to make a quick buck. If the name "bannana" was not around they would be calling everything "high yellow" to market their animals.
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I still don't need no spell chack.

Ah but don't you have the exact same problem with hi-yellow? When does it go from being a simple abberant to being a hi-yellow?

My first exposure to the term bananna was around 1993 or - a year. It was on Steve Osbourn's list where he had banannas listed as 60 - 95% yellow.

To me since they are both caused by the exact same thing (selective breeding for lots of yellow) and they both throw anything from standard abberrants up to 95% yellow when bred, the terms are synonymous.

There are bananas and albino bananas and yes there will be a wide aray of percentage on the yellow.
Like Aaron and Rainer I have seen all the banana kings from day one.
Sorry if YOU don't think the name fits but if it was high yellow you would want to split hairs as well.
The first "Bananas" I ever saw were like in 92 or 93 and Lloyd Lemke had them and the name made since because it was way more yellow (bananas are yellow?LOL....)than the normal cal king (usually newport phase in this case)and I ask why do you think its a problem to call a high yellow phase cal king a banana phase???????????????????????????????

L8r Shannon
p.s. remember you ask for opinions.

"The first "Bananas" I ever saw were like in 92 or 93 and Lloyd Lemke had them and the name made since because it was way more yellow

I have pics of one of Lloyds bannana Cal kings at the S.D show in '86. He had one that was 90% yellow and priced at like $800.
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I still don't need no spell chack.

sweet, Lets see a pic Rainer.

L8r Shannon

What your showing IS hi-yellows. The original "banana king" was a morph of banded kings, from the Vista drainage. They were what people are now calling hypos. They were wided banded hypos that were bright yellow with darker yellow bands. So you can imagine where first discovered they were coined banana kings. They were in fact, big fat wild caught bananas.

Hi yellows did not occur until until the mid-seventies and had nothing to do with Steve O. I produced them by breeding Newporters(lemon yellow) to desert black and whites(50/50%). Then back breeding. I GAVE this line to a life long friend, John Depratt. He then produced them and sold the entire line to Steve O, he was offered a deal he could not refuse. I set up the deal. When I gave John that line, I used what I had kept(gene carriers) to breed into the albino line and produced Hi-yellow albinos as well as Hi-white albinos and of course hets of both. So both Loyd L and Steve O came about later. Both did good work but did not originate or name these lines.

I seem to remember a pet shop kingsnake book that rightfully attributes this line to me. Not that I care. Its just history. Cheers

Al Gore
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I still don't need no spell chack.

:0)

I was only relating my own experience with them, which is why I said "my first exposure". I also knew that Lloyd must have had some too at the same time as Osbourne because a friend of mine was right behind Osbourne in producing them and my friend had gotten his from Lloyd. My friend also had told me that the ones he got from Lloyd were not produced by Lloyd. Lloyd was only the broker. So I knew there was somebody with them before Lloyd and Steve but I did not know who.

I remember that. Under a pic of a hi-yellow Cal king, it said something like "high yellow Cal king originated by Frank Retes, a pioneer in kingsnake breeding" and I believe mentioned a date in the 70s. Small, inexpensive book on kings.

That was the first time I realized that not only had someone bred snakes repeatedly in the 70s, but someone had done selective breeding.

I visited Osbourne and saw his stock. He told me he acquired the adults from someone who had done all of the selective breeding many years before. It all fits.
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Mark