Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm going to be purchasing a pastel pair this year for a future xanthic super bee project. I see lemons, blondes, graziannis, NERDs, jungles, etc etc. Could someone recommend or explain which would be the best choice and why. I'm guessing that the highest yellow parents will yield the highest yellow supers right? I just see some very washed out and plain pastels selling at the same prices as very high yellows but can not understand why. Thanks in advance.

Well its really all what you personally prefer. NERD's line of pastels are the lemons and I prefer those over any other line they have sort of a velvety look to them BUT the Ruppel line pastels create an INSANE super. But then again I have a smoking male Bell line pastel 100% het ghost I bought from Mark and Kim Bell at the Daytona Expo in 07. But all in all I prefer NERD Lemon line they seem to not brown out as bad as other lines.
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Damian Macioce
www.strongholdreptiles.com

I have a NERD line lemon male and he produced some SMOKING babies when paired with average normal females. I can only imagine what he will create when placed with some brighter females, and spiders, and black pastels...etc.

Here's a pic of him, and some of his offspring.

This is at 800 grams. He's a lot bigger now. I need to take an updated shot of him.

First baby out, and the biggest of all of them.

There were 6 pastels total out of 11 eggs (two clutches) and all of them were awesome.
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

would be the Matrix line of blonde pastels. This female is neon yellow, and is one of those that I always have to stop and admire whenever I clean cages.
Maki
www.pacificcoastreptiles.com

Was the matrix line a wild caught line?
It looks like it might be a really bright lemon...

Nice pastel though!
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

It boils down to personal preference. I personally like heavy blushing in pastels and the BEST bloodline for that is the Graziani line. Some of the other bloodlines may keep their color more often but they don`t have the same blushing. I`ve produced average pastels and screamers with the Graziani line. And so far ALL of the supers have been smokers. My .02.

Great question.

I own an adult male Graziani line and an adult female Mark Bell line pastel, both have kept their quality as adults.

Personally I think it's all about selective breeding. I like to breed my pastels to the lightest looking normals I have.

First photo is of an 08 Graziani female pastel that is one of the cleanest pastels I have ever seen. It was produced at my facility from a pastel to spider breeding. I believe this female will not get dirty at all as an adult. This little beauty is already 367 grams at only three months old.

The next photo is of an 07 male super pastel produced from the father of the above female. The mother is a beautiful Mark Bell Pastel.

I hope everyone has a great 09 season.

Brian

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Brian Gundy

www.for-goodness-snakes.com