Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm not sure what to call this one... aberrant... patternless... red-backed... Imperial... "Spot"?

Nate

Wow!!,..that's awesome!

I would NOT under any circumstances call it an "Imperial", this could get easily confused with a turd hybrid, which this is not I'm assuming, right?. It looks all genuine Black milk to me.

I'd go with aberrant red-back, or aberrant striper, or something like that.

very cool!

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

Keep in mind though, that it will turn solid black as it matures though, and it really won't matter what you called it previously..LOL!,...know what I mean?

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

Yeah, I know... but in the meantime, it's kinda neat to have something a little different. Of course the real big news in the gaigeae world this year is those fresh imports that Jeff Hardwick got from Costa Rica... I'm looking forward to some of their offspring becoming available in the next few years!

Nate

Yeah, I totally agree with you that it is still VERY COOL to see that crazy aberrancy in a Black Milk.

Yeah, those Hardwick Blacks are a refreshing bit of new blood for sure!

It would be neat to see if yours is genetic too, that is an extremely cool individual,......congrats on that one!

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

Thanks, and yes, it's a pure black milk... those names were listed in descending order of seriousness. Most importantly, I'm calling it a "keeper"... it will be interesting to see if this trait is genetic.

Nate

Hi Nate,

Insane Gaigeae you hatched there mate. I have no idea what you'd class it as, It's just a shame it won't stay that way forever. I really hope it has some genetic traits behind it. Even if it's just 12 months of that, I would want one.

Great job.

Scott

Thanks

Wow Nate!. That's really different. Any of the rest of the clutch hatch out with some odd patterns? Good size on that one too.

Too bad you'll lose all that pattern in a year or two.

Rob

It's like that famous Robert Frost poem... nature's first black is red... nothing red can stay... awww, but that messes up the whole rhyme scheme. Anyway, this is by far the most unusual hatchling this year; a few others have one or two aberrant triads or crossovers, but nothing like this. My female breeder had a partial "Inca" pattern as a hatchling, and there are usually a few aberrant hatchlings in each of her clutches. Here's a shot of her from '02 as well as a few of her more unusual offspring from years past...

Cher in 2002

The 2005 clutch, aberrant female in the foreground. I gave her to my Dad, so if "Spot" is a male, he may be playing "sister twister" with her in the near future.

A 2007 hatchling

2008 yearlings, unsexed, may keep the aberrant one if it's a male and "Spot" is a female. I'm hoping that's not the case, though, since it would delay the breeding project a year or two.

Even though it won't be for sale, I'll still bring it down to Manchester to show off... NEXT Saturday! See ya!

Nate

Nate,

That's a fantastic looking animal! Nice work hatching such a beauty. Be sure to keep us posted with photos as the critter grows.

Any shots of its clutchmates?

-Cole

Thanks for your kind words, and for NOT pointing out it's going to turn black. (as if I didn't know! sheesh!) Other than this one, the hatchlings looked pretty normal this year, but there are usually a few aberrants in each clutch... see my response to Rob for pictures.

Nate

I received a pair from a friend of mine who posted his clutch on the forum a month ago. Funny that his adults came from me (as hatchlings) and I never had these guys pop up. His husbandry and incubating methods were the same as mine (standard colubrid inc temps) but time will tell whether this aberrancy is passed down.

Although they do turn black I also find this aberrancy interesting and when a hypo gaigeae turns up I will having something fun to plug it into!

I will posts mine (as well as the slightly less aberrant stuarti I got this year) when I get off my duff and take some pictures. I would do it now but I have to clean instead (boo).

Do you mean ddombrowski? I sent him an e-mail earlier this week to see if the one he posted a picture of was available... guess you beat me to it. Is the other one you got from him more or less aberrant than the one he posted?

Nate

Hey,
That's the guy. The animal he had pictures of was the most abberant (and was a keeper) but my female is far from normal. My sibling male isn't very abberant but hopefully should produce some nice animals. Heck plain Jane gaigeae rock!

>>Although they do turn black I also find this aberrancy interesting and when a hypo gaigeae turns up I will having something fun to plug it into!
>>

I hope the AMEL gene pops up someday. I am very interested what the outcome of that would be. But, as was stated, plain old gaigeae ROCK!

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Joe