Reptile & Amphibian Forums

#1. Did the leusistic Morph get crossed into black rat snakes bt making hybreds with texas rats?

#2. Is bug eyes only cosmetic or are there other illness that come with it, and is it simply bug eyed or not, or is there moderetly bug eyed snakes also.

#1. Did the leusistic Morph get crossed into black rat snakes bt making hybreds with texas rats?

Answer: There are reports that a leucistic Black Rat was found in the Mid West (Ohio?) a few years back, but this was also after the Texas line was out there being breed by hobbiests. I think that the person who reported finding the snake was being honest, but you just never can be perfectly sure of the animal's orgins. Since they both look and act the same, who cares?

#2. Is bug eyes only cosmetic or are there other illness that come with it, and is it simply bug eyed or not, or is there moderetly bug eyed snakes also.

Answer: As far as my reading on the subject goes, the only thing wrong with "bug eyed" snakes is that they are "bug eyed." They seem to live just as long in captivity.

The story goes that leucistic Texas Ratsnakes have been crossed with albino Black Ratsnakes, so at least some, if not many, if not most, of the leucistic 'Black Ratsnakes' out there must be of mixed origin. But then again, if this is true, then the purity of leucistic 'Texas Ratsnakes' is just as questionable. And then off course there's the story about the leucistic Black Ratsnake that was caught somewhere in Ohio, I believe. Even if this actually did happen, it still doesn't prove anything. It could very well have been an escaped or released pet. And even if it really was a true Black Ratsnake, it still doesn't prove that the leucistic 'Black Ratsnakes' out there on the market are the real thing. In the end, it all comes down on taking some guys word for it.

It is my opinion that the bug eyed trait is symptomatic for a high degree of inbreeding depression. In blood lines which have been consistently outcrossed, you will only rarely, if ever, see bug eyed specimens. However, the bug eyed trait itself is not the problem. The accumulation of recessive alleles, the bug eyed trait being merely one of them, caused by many generations of repeated inbreeding, THAT is the real problem.

And to answer the other question the poster had,.....yes there are some moderately "bug-eyed" leucistics, as well as VERY "bug-eyed" ones as well. I saw many of both at the Daytona show.

~Doug

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"