Reptile & Amphibian Forums

These guys are real beautiful! I've never kept San Luis Potosi's before but all these bragging posts of people having them are getting under my skin lol.

I was curious about what kind of phases are there and how many? I know there is the granite phase and the black phase and the speckled phase, but I remember maybe someone a few months ago posted a picture of a group of stunning Mex Mex and different kinds of phases. Which phase is the one that the Mex Mex has a brownish background color with the red patterns? I think it might have been John that posted the picture I am talking about but I'm not sure. Can the person who posted that picture, possibly post it again? I'm trying to figure out what kind of phase is the one I am trying to acquire for next breeding season.

Also, what is the biggest a Mex Mex can possibly get and is there a sexual difference in size?

Any help appreciated and I know I asked this question similar to Thayeri before but hey, the more you ask the more you learn right?!

Tony
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You can never have only one snake!

Asking questions is the ONLY way to learn......
Tony....I'm glad there are others interested in one of my favorite Kingsnakes of all time....LOL

There is really no dimorphic difference in size with Mex Mex. They usually all reach about 4 foot max....There are some exceptions....... but there are some pigment/pattern dimorphisms I've noticed.
Typically male Mex Mex have a brighter/cleaner pattern than the females.
And every "high saddled" Mex Mex I have seen is a female, but not all females have high saddles.

Currently we have the following morphs/phases/looks with Mex Mex to work with:
Classic - Most of our stock come from Valle de los Fantasmas, Mexico. These have the light gray/silver (almost white sometimes) ground color.

Hypoerythristic (Hypo-E) - Reduced red pigment - Pink/Salmon Saddles. These are ontogenetic. When hatched their saddles are red. As they age they loose their red pigment and become almost anery as old adults. We don't know if all of them do though, yet. The gene is not fully understood yet. These derived from some pure Mex Mex found in Valle de los Fantasmas that Bob Applegate was working with.

Granite/Speckled - Ultra Granite - Various degrees of speckling up to Totally speckled. Not a recessive trait. The gene has not been figured out either. When pairing up an ultra granite to an ultra granite all the offspring are not ultra granite, but have various degrees of speckling. This gene was refined in Germany and the Czech Republic from Mex Mex believed to have come from the Galvans in West Texas.

Dark/Black Phase - This gene acts like a line bred trait. When a Black Mex Mex is bred to one with a light ground color the clutch yeilds dark gray offpspring when they reach adulthood. This gene is also ontogenetic. Black phase mex mex hatch out with gray ground color that darkens to black with age.
Some of these have saddles that turn bright orange while their ground color is turning black with age.

Brown/Burgundy - These mex mex have a dark brown ground color with more burgundy colored saddles. Some of these get darker as they age as well.

Striping - Something that is in the works but will take some time. Some of already produced some very long stripes on Mex Mex and one fully striped Mex Mex was hatched not too long ago (in the 90s). The striping is caused by an open nuchal window on the dorsum. My vision of a fully striped Mex Mex would have an open nuchal stripe all the way to the vent. The one that was hatched did not. It had a an aberrant red stripe and was believe to be an anomaly from incubation temps. It was never proven out.

With all of these it is going to be fun to see some double and triple homozygots in the future. Imagine a Black Mex Mex with Salmon saddles, Salmon speckles or even Salmon Striping.....and everything in between.......

Here are some pics:

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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

Love those nickles and pennies colors! This is the best nickles and pennies yet!
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Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

>>
>>Love those nickles and pennies colors! This is the best nickles and pennies yet!

Copper or Salmon?

That was before he turned pink......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

Notice the female Hypo-E has Lavender-ish colored saddles.
We don't know if this is dimorphic yet either.
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

Oh wow!

Now I'm confused as to which kind I want to get for 2011. Those are the best Mex Mex's I have ever and I mean ever....seen period!

I should come to you for my Mex Mex needs huh? Are you breeding them for 2011? I like more red on them. The more red the better! Brown or whitish gray background preferred honestly over the black phase but just my preference. There is not one in those pictures that I wouldn't kill for.

I really appreciate the thorough and detailed information. I understood it perfectly. I guess it was you that posted the pictures earlier John! Anyway if you are breeding them for '11 then I would love to own some...! I can't help but keep looking at the post repeatedly lol!

Tony
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You can never have only one snake!

Check out my website Tony......
"Plans for 2011"
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

I definitely will! Thanks John!

Tony
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You can never have only one snake!