Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Recently we had a newly breedable female het albino lay 6 healthy eggs from being bred to our homozygous albino male.

All 6 were hets.

Although I know it is possible (~1.6% chance) what if anything should be done? Contact the breeder we got her from? Let them know? Complain? Just try again next year and then complain if nothing happens then?

Our only saving grace is we have another het albino female we got from the same breeder that also produced but only had 3 viable eggs.

thoughts/opinions?
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John Dague
Midwest Reptiles
www.mwreptiles.com

Odds are just that - odds. Unless you have any other reasons to believe you were duped, I'd just try again. I had a female lay 7 eggs and I got 6 albinos. I'm sure that won't happen again. It happens. However, if you had a het X het, these seem closer to the odds. I would contact the seller though and just confirm you did get a het. Honestly, from an albino X het albino and 6 good eggs, I would expect at least one albino. Next season will tell you for sure.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I had figured it would be a good idea to contact the breeder just as a heads up but not make a stink of any sort.

Definitely if the other 3 eggs from one of the breeder's hets turn up all hets.

Thx!
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John Dague
Midwest Reptiles
www.mwreptiles.com

What are the results of the other clutch or have they not yet hatched? I would contact the breeder and let them know your results, but with 6 eggs you really don't have enough data to complain. It will be better to get a non-combative dialogue going now and agree to breed her again... The breeder may offer terms for in case she doesn't prove out, but I wouldn't push the breeder at this point. If you don't communicate with the breeder until her next clutch and she doesn't prove out you'll likely be pretty upset and the breeder will be defensive making it harder to resolve the issue. It's best to keep open communications going through the process. Good luck!
Paul

What day into incubation is your other clutch at? After about day 35-40 you can tell if they are albino's when candling them.
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John Vandegrift

Really bad odds to get all hets. It is still possible the female is a het albino. Contacting the seller and saying the het ablino female threw out all hets and ask politely was there any doubt the female is a het? If her parents are normal and an albino, she has to be a het, can't be anything else.

But, I would definitely not in anyway say the female is not a het right now. I would wait till next clutch she has, to make sure. It is very possible she can be het and still have all het babies. It wasn't very long ago somebody posted here or on another forum I frequent, who's pastel to normal breeding resulted in all pastel babies. The odds of each egg being a pastel were the same for your albino x het albino to have an albino. The odds can go all in your favor or completely against.

Bad luck definitely, but don't rule it out as the only reason you didn't get a single albino.
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PHLdyPayne

not to doubt you ,the records but being years ago you may have purchased Possible hets thinking hets if thats the case i hope your #2 girl proves out and next year #1 proves out too

Odds work in a extremely random manner, Don't be discouraged if your het doesn't produce for you everytime. Last season breed a het alb to my male alb. six eggs all hets. this year same het female with albino male seven eggs....one albino six hets! I better get all albinos from her next year!
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MikeJ-solar serpents

I had 7 eggs from guaranteed het Caramels this season. Every one of them was normal appearing. Bad odds suck, but I'm trying again 07/08 season. If something doesn't happen in the 07/08 season, then I'll freak out.
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2.1 Albino BP
0.4 100% Het Albino
2.1 100% het Caramel Albino BP
1.0 100% Het Clown
1.0 50% het clown
2.12 Normal BP
0.0.2 Western Hognose
alot of cornsnakes
0.1.0 Dumeril Boa
3.6 Bearded Dragons
1.0.2 Sulcatta tortoise
3.3 Russian Tortoise
1.0 Cockatiel
0.1 Rottweiler
0.2 Boston Terriers
0.1 White Boxer
0.1 Paint Mare
bunch of geckos
0.1 Cat
0.1 Teenage daughter
1.0 Husband who puts up with all my critters.

You've got some very good advice from all the other responders. Good luck next year and let us know about that second clutch.
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Alice Cobb

Thanks for all the feedback.

We did purchase 100% het females and I have yet to candle the eggs to see what we got....I hadn't thought of that...but I also figure I could just wait and see when they hatch...no rush.

Hopefully we will get albinos in the other clutch...then I won't be as concerned. Regardless we'll shoot an email and/or call the breeder to politely give them a heads up and rebreed the pair next year.

SCARY THOUGHT......

Last year I produced an axanthic female from breeding a pastel male to an axanthic female. The pastel was sold to me as just a pastel. I rebred the same pair and didn't get any axanthics this year.

I believe that the axanthic I did get is the result of parthogenisis (carry's all of mom's genes but none of dad's)...this was after calling up the breeders I got the parents from and working with them on what might have happend.

Now apply that "accident" to an albino to normal breeding. You could potentially (really low chances) get a normal parthogenetic baby just like mom and think that the whole clutch is 100% het albino.

.......shudder.....

Anyway on the good side is of the 6 babies I got a 1.5 so atleast they are mostly girls

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John Dague
Midwest Reptiles
www.mwreptiles.com