Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Maybe I'm forgetting or confusing something, but I've seen a lot of pastels lately that don't conform to the definition of "pastel". I know I'm leaving something out, but I think I remember very vividly that the definition of a pastel includes the trait of reduced black in the lateral badges. I also remember that the definition did NOT make reference to increased pinks and color in general as part of the definition. I even remember that the person who coined the "pastel" term said that increased color in SOME is just a bonus.
Many "pastel" animals I have seen lately have very dark and even black lateral badges, like an animal I just saw on the classifieds of another site claiming to be a "pastel". Let's not do to these beautiful animals what the marketing of ball pythons did to those.
As a side note, I'm MUCH more in favor of giving new, reproducible "looks" a unique name (like harlequin) than a descriptive name (like pastel). And anyone who says that something is _____-ish or ______-like (ex. pastelish or junglish) should be shot repeatedly in the tongue with a bb gun until they learn their lesson.
Also am I the only one who ever gets the urge to email a one word message to some people who advertise animals? Something along the lines of... REALLY? or.... riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight or.... hahahahahahahaha!!! or... LIAR! or.... SCAMMER! I can't be the only one...
jb
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Jonathan Brady
*You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.*

Thank you for speaking up!
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Gilbert Boas
The Boa List!

I know what you mean, people think pink on the sides means pastel. Lol. Or they breed a pastel to a salmon and the normal looking ones they call pastels because they have a little pink in them. Oh well, anyways the experienced people in the hobby know how to distinguish a pastel from a non pastel. Right?
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Richard Ceniceros
Tap or take a nap

Right!

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McCarthyBoas.com

It seems to me that Pastels have "evolved".

The original Pastels did have reduced black. They had "washed out" sided medallions. Most of these "original" Pastels did darken some or considerably with age. The washed out side medallions seemed to gain more black as the animals matured. Vivid colors were seen in "many" of these originals. When the description of the Original Pastels was made..... It fit the animals it was describing. Color was always a bonus, but not required to be called Pastel.

Now, you need to "fast forward" 10 years or more. Not really sure how long it's been since the "first" Pastels.

Pastels have become so much better than they "originally" were. The side medallions remain soft in color. The black is non-existant. The Pastels of today are nothing like the "originals". This "new look" has come to be "expected" of Pastels. For many, if they don't have this "look".... Then they're just not a Pastel. Even color, for some, has come to be "expected" for an animal to be Pastel. Pastels have become as close to Hypo/Salmon as possible, but don't quite make it. So, they're called Pastel.

Now, you have to add in all those that never "read" the description. The ones that don't know what's required of a boa to truely be a Pastel. When most people hear the word, "Pastel"..... The first thing that comes to mind is "COLOR!!" They don't know it's not a requirement to be a Pastel. They see "pink" and they think PASTEL. They label their animals accordingly.

Then you have the "Pastel Confusion". People see Albinos and Hypos/Salmons. These are labeled Pastels as well. Well...... The black is non-exsistant in Albinos. The "only" thing that would allow a label of Pastel Albino is the "color". Obviously color is required for an Albino to be Pastel. Without it..... It's just a nice normal Albino. The same with the Hypo/Salmon. Sure they can be really clean, but without color... Not what most would consider Pastel. A nice clean Hypo/Salmon without color... It's just a nice clean Hypo/Salmon.

Now, you've got a set of "double standards". Sometimes color is required and sometimes it's not, in order to be considered Pastel.

So...... What can you do? I guess you can look at an animal. If it's "called" a Pastel, but doesn't fit your "idea" of one..... Then move on.

Since different people have different "ideas" of what a Pastel is the label doesn't really matter. A name is just a name or I guess it would be "label" in this instance. Just because an animal doesn't fit your or my idea of a Pastel, doesn't mean it's not. It just means that there are "many" ideas of what a Pastel is. You just have to pick the one that's right for you.

On a side note, you wrote..."As a side note, I'm MUCH more in favor of giving new, reproducible "looks" a unique name (like harlequin) than a descriptive name (like pastel). And anyone who says that something is _____-ish or ______-like (ex. pastelish or junglish) should be shot repeatedly in the tongue with a bb gun until they learn their lesson.
Also am I the only one who ever gets the urge to email a one word message to some people who advertise animals? Something along the lines of... REALLY? or.... riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight or.... hahahahahahahaha!!! or... LIAR! or.... SCAMMER! I can't be the only one..."

I firmly believe that "voilence or rudeness" is NOT the answer.

we didn't label Boas anthing but what they were. In fact on my price list I called Colombians "Common Boas" not Colombian Redtails because I didn't consider them to be Redtails. It is only in the last decade that we put "tradenames" or colloqualisms on various marked snakes. Boas have now been so mixed up that their real lineage is impossible to determine. I just took in trade from a well know "poster" on this site a "Peruvian Redtail" that in reality is an intergrade of some type. It was sold to him by another "well known person" as a pure Peruvian. At this point the entire market is rife with misidentifications, intergrades, and made up trade names to facilitate marketing stratagies. The point of this post is at this point I don't think it really matters as things are so screwed up. Even locale boas such as Surinames or Guyanas should be labled Guyana Shield Bcc. I've done that a few time on boas and other herps and I get dozens of e-mails asking me what "Guyana Shield" means. Folks the herp hobbiest have/are becoming like tropical fish hobbiest. "Everyone knows what a NEON TETRA IS BUT NO ONE KNOWS OR CARES WHERE IT CAME FROM." In some ways its a dissapointment to me but this fact has greatly expanded the market. I apologize for the long post.....TC

Ive seen BCC x BCI and labeled as pastel. hypo sibs labeled as pastel. Hell I can sell my dbl het snow as pastel but she really isnt.

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My Photobucket
My Myspace

"And anyone who says that something is _____-ish or ______-like (ex. pastelish or junglish) should be shot repeatedly in the tongue with a bb gun until they learn their lesson."

ROFL thanks for the laugh this morning.

Pastel seems to be the most abused term and it can be confusing. It's also confusing to some when people advertise "littermates to X". Most nubies don't know what and what is not genetic in siblings and it's very misleading.

pics of the advertised pastels, stating the pics they posted are obviously not... no worries, 'we all make mistakes'... lol

Usually, they reply saying they weren't sure, or the person who sold it to them told them it was one...

I kindly educate and direct them to the proper definition/descriptions.
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Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin