Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased this juv. today what sub sp. do you think it is? Sorry for the poor photo quality. I took it with my iPhone on the way home in a moving car.

Thanks
G

Albino Nelson's Milk Snake.
-----
Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com

Nelsoni..

~ Mike Russo

Albino nelsoni,...... and a nice example at that.

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

What did the seller say it was?,....they must have told you something during the course of the sales, and/or hopefully you asked them about what it was?,....just curious. Because if the seller said it was an albino Sinaloan, he/she was very wrong and misinformed.

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

Yes I did ask and yes the dealer stated sinaloan. After looking at a few photos I thought is must be a nelsons based on the ratio of red to black (in this case white).

I purchased it at what is supposed to be a very reputable dealer. I went there looking for a tri-color King of some type for my son's first snake. A father son project as I have kept may snakes in the past including GTPs.

Because the dealer was out of the kings and it was a 2.5 hour trip one way, we looked at what they had and he liked this just as well. So I guess no big deal if it is a nelsons or sinaloan except if the prices would have been different. Even at that we got a large discount related to the fact I call that morning about the kings and some guy said they had plenty. We got a 30 day guarantee and a bunch of frozen fuzzys.

So far the consensus view is nelsoni.

Would there be a price difference between the nelson and sinaloan? They had several and this was the best looking one for sure.

Well, to be quite honest, there is no such thing as an albino Sinaloan as of yet in the hobby. Any that are marketed as such have gotten their amelanistic trait(gene) from the closely related nelsoni in the hobby, and therefore are not Sinaloan's, but rather an intergrade. In your case, as I mentioned before in the earlier post, that is a good example of nelsoni, meaning regardless of all the pretty colors, it "keys out" scientifically perfectly to the meristics of nelsoni, and not sinaloae in the least, although it could easily have some influence from sinaloae in it's genetic lineage to a much lesser degree.

To most people, they are fairly close, and most have no idea what the real differences are between the two, but simply put, without boring you with a whole lot of technical jargon, that is certainly a "text-book" example of nelsoni all day long.

I would be very happy with that one, as I have seen MANY others that are very obviously mediocre intergrades of the two. The count and spacing of the RBR(red body rings), and the wide, abrupt arching of the outer triad ring(rings of three)dorsally all are key traits of nelsoni, not sinaloae. Those white rings are FAR wider than sinaloae have, which in turn make the red rings much narrower as well.

The "so-called" albino Sinaloan's would basically be comparable in price, so I don't think that would be an issue in your case either, so the fact that you got a bunch of extra feeders is okay too.

Hope this helps explain things a little, and good luck with your nice new Nelson's!

best regards, ~Doug

In any case

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

Thanks for the info. My son and I got this snake as a learning experience. As for boring me, not a chance. I have a BS in biology a minor in chemistry.

This snake is about 21". the dealer had trouble sexing it so we are not yet sure of the sex. I just called the dealer back and they stated "well it was labeled as a sinaloan, but we do have some nelsons of the same size also".

What should I expect to have paid for an animal such as this free from parasites, feeding on frozen thawed with no problems a 30 guarantee?

Thanks again.

That snake is worth exactly what you paid for it as long as you are happy with it.. But, it would usually sell for about $100 Give or take.. and maybe a few bux more (to a breeder anyway) if it is a female.

Nice looking snake, good luck with it!

~ Mike Russo

Yes we are pleased, and for $80 I do not feel we were taken advantage of. They were asking $125 but marked it down do to the confusion.

Thanks again everyone for the replies.

For $80.00 bucks you did real well, especially with the guarantee and all the extra feeder mice. As already mentioned, they typically go for close to that at a reptile show, so from a pet store, you have to expect a substancial mark-up of around what they originally wanted to charge you.

In any case, all things considered, the snake eats, so it's happy, you didn't get over-charged, and you have a nice example of albino nelsoni, so I think you are happy as well,....that makes for a great happy ending..LOL!

BTW,..I love the guy at the store's response when you called him on it..."well, it was marked Sinaloan"..hahaha!,...I'm very glad you did that too!

best regards, ~Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Albino Sinaloan... What's that?

~ Mike Russo