Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone

I went to the Columbia show last weekend and helped David Kornely work his table on Saturday. I didn't really do much, but it has been years since either one of us has done a show and it was nice to socialize and catch up on things. Of course, he had some really nice vipers for sale, including a morph that has rarely been seen. David is not one who is very familiar with the morphs (neither am I), so he relied on a friend's identification when he at first said that he had leucistic eyelash vipers. They are not leucistic. After speaking to some boa and colubrid breeders who work with co-doms, t-pos's, and other alien forms, it was determined that they are probably a type of hypo. Anyhow, David also doesn't post pics, so I am quoting his words and then posting the pics that we took of the one hypo he brought to the show. I'd love to see the rest of them one day. Here's David:

Here's a photo of one of my most unusual schlegelli. I brought it to the show in Columbia, and Derek and I showed it to a bunch of boa morph high science wizard guys. The consensus seems to be that it is a hypo melanistic form with some recessive traits. I do not understand all this high science. I was calling this bloodline a leucistic. I was mistaken, and I apologize. All's I know is she's a beauty and out of the probably 2000 schlegelli I have produced, this is the bloodline I like the most and am most proud of.
This female was born to two regular yellow eyelash. In '04 and '05 this pair dropped 4 of this morph both years, along with 15 or so normal yellows. So last year I bred the male with other females also, and a few females dropped one or two here and there. So I have a good stock of them now, and next year I will start breeding the original babies.
I want to thank Derek for taking these nice photo's, cropping them, and such so that you all can see them.
Let me know what you all think of her. And let me say this, all examples of this morph are a wee bit different, and just as beautiful. What should I call them ?? David Kornely

Gorgeous schleg! On the mutation aspect...I'd say there's just as much possibility of it being T albino as there is it being hypo. Many times, hypos and T albinos are very similar anyways (see the "albino" bloods, "caramel" bps, "caramel" retics, etc). There certainly are subtle differences between the two, but until you have confirmed examples of each of them, it'd be a hard call.

The way in which these animals is produced is a bit telling in itself. Hypomelanism is generally either recessive (as with ball pythons) or dominant (as with boas). Without any more information on how these animals were produced, neither seems to be the case here. The original pair certainly could be het hypo, and that would explain their producing these animals. However, it was also reported that the father was bred with other random females and they, too, produced these "hypo" babies. Without a huge coincidence - that those females also just happened to be het hypo - the products just don't line up with either of the aforementioned possibilities of hypomelanism.

Is it not possible then that these snakes aren't hypo, or T albino, at all, but rather are simply one of a myriad of variations within the schleg species? I've seen some polygenic animals I almost could've swore were albino, axanthic, or something species, but were, in fact, simply another variation. Species like eyelash vipers, bush vipers, Amazons tree boas, and crested geckos seem to have no end to the range of colors they can throw in any given clutch. I don't mean to rain on Mr. Kornely's hopes for these animals, and indeed I hope for him that they are a heritable mutation, but I wanted to throw that last possibility out there.

Beautiful animal, whatever the hell it is!
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

"I've seen some polygenic animals I almost could've swore were albino, axanthic, or something species"

Should read "something special" above. Dang the lack of editing.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com