Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Thank you both for your input. I bought both dotted females (the mothers to my 2 clutches) as high whites and was told their parents were both high whites. Both females developed into a creamy coloration as they aged, but they are not really "yellow" like banannas. So do I call these two "High Creams"?

I emailed Steve Osborne yesterday with the picture I posted here and asked for his opinion. On his website he has a picture of a very white "high white" and describes it as a "Snow" with the following description, ""SNOW" CALIFORNIA KINGSNAKES - A combination of the best desert and coastal California King gene traits resulting in a spectacular new look with 95% brilliant white in the most extreme versions. The percentage of white and overall pattern (degrees of black striping and side markings) varies considerably in less refined specimens."

Steve's reply to my email was;

"The hatchling does not look Piebald..... it does look
like an extreme version snow cal king.
I have not seen a Calif. King from my 50-50 genetics
or the snow king line with the extreme level of no
black pigment as in your hatchling. The library of
color and pattern genes within Calif. Kingsnakes make
possible the outcome from the parental combination
that produced the hatchling. It looks great,
congradulations."

I will be the first to admit that, although the hatchling may be extreme no pigment, it is not extreme white, as the color of it's neck region is slightly creamy. So, should I call the hatchlings from these clutches "Snows". By the way, the rest of the clutch (8 total) hatched and 3 are banded like the Sire, and the rest have various degrees of "a little pigment". 2 of them just look like someone sprinkled some pepper on them.
-----
Maria

Alaska Reptiles

"Life is like a box of thayeri eggs..."

Sorry, I meant to post this message under my original post. Whoops.
-----
Maria

Alaska Reptiles

"Life is like a box of thayeri eggs..."

...of the clutch

-----
Maria

Alaska Reptiles

"Life is like a box of thayeri eggs..."

Marie,

Post a picture of your snake here after 3 sheds. I am willing to bet the color on it will yellow quite a bit after a few sheds and about 15 pinkies. Its to early to call it anything like a crme or bone. Those names are not even used. Anything less than pure white is not a high white and a bannana. I have had sevral light yellow (bone, offwhite, creme) and they are not conidered high whites. A high white is around $200-$300. and anything less is between $50-$100. snake.

Not trying to down your snake by any means. Just that so many people have jumped to the conlusion it is a high white. Osborne calls High Whites SNOWS but what he means they they are the same thing as a high white.

In actuality a snow is a double het homozygot animal showing two reccessive traits at once (axanthic/anerythristic X amelanistic). Thats the way it is with colubrid gentics and terms get slung around all the time. For instance the "Ghost" Cali king. It is not a double het homozygot (axanthic/anery x hypo) but its own reccessive trait that was not a result of breeders efforts to combine two reccessive traits at once.
-----
"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

>>"Life is like a box of thayeri eggs..."

I like your quote. That's all. No comment on the kingsnake other than it is awesome.

-----
Mark

And contrary to the fact it is what it is.

Nice cal king.

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