Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I've kept snakes of different varieties for several years, but have never tried breeding anything. My pet boa, who I've had for 3-4 years has been the best snake I've ever had, so after consideration, I decided really like the boa color morphs. Especially the sunglow/ghost/moonglow/snow family of morphs.

I was planning on buying a female this year, and a male next year to go with her. I was trying to find a pairing that would produce several interesting morphs out of one paring. My initial thought was crossing a Ghost het albino with an albino het anery (or alternatively Sunglow het anery with anery het albino). I liked these pairings because if my genetics works out, they should create 8 distinct phenotypes. The only problem is the starting snakes are fairly pricey for those parings. I also considered taking an albino het anery and crossing it with a triple het moonglow which would create the same phenotypes in less ideal proportions.

Any thoughts or suggestions about this plan? Any other combo's that would create similar morphs with less initial investment (still living on student's budget)?

Your plan of Ghost het Albino x Albino het Anery (or the alternate) IMO is a very sound one. Like you said, 8 phenotypes and even more than that, 1/8 probability on each one. AND (big plus) each phenotype has defined genetics, no "possible hets" in the group.

Your second lower probability alternative Albino het Anery x TH Moonglow. Can produce the same 8 phenotypes (in lower percentages) but any time Anery is not visible, it's a possible het. You could take that a step further and go DH Snow x TH Moonglow But even more possible hets will come out. Don't get me wrong, I have a TH x DH pairing going on and I do expect the lower odds, just need to know / accept that going in.

Your initial pairing is what I call a prime pairing, multiple visual outcomes with known genetics in each baby by simple visual phenotype. To get there with the most possible phenotypical outcomes you need parents with......

Recessive traits - one parent visual, the other a het

Dominant traits - one parent visual, the other parent normal

1) Codominant traits - three ways to go...
Most possible phenotypes - Both parents visual hets
2) Most possible visual codom morphs - one parent visual het, one parent a super or homozygous morph
3) Least expensive investment - one parent visual het, other parent normal.

In your example there are four ways to get the same prime pairing outcome...

Moonglow x DH Snow
Snow x TH Moonglow
Ghost het Albino x Albino het Anery
Sunglow het Anery x Anery het Albino
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Thanks for the input, I had come to roughly the same conclusions. The other factor that I'm thinking about is getting snakes that I like just for themselves so even if the breeding plan doesn't work out, I've still got two pet snakes that I love.
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Awesomo6000

My way of not studying when I should be...
1.1 Red Bloods (Cartman and Bebe)
0.1 Boa Constrictor (Victoria)
0.1 Albino Burm (Butters)
0.0.1 Desert King (Miles)
1.1 Bearded Dragons (Stan and Wendy)