Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am curious what exactly is a "bubblegum" rat snake? Is it a mutant hybrid of sorts? Or is it a legitament color pattern morph.

Allen Sheehan

There is a reptile store that has some adults I've seen. Very impressive animals for sure.

They are a product of amel black rats bred with other ratsnakes like yellow and Everglades to infuse more color into the albinos. Some come out striped, some blotched. These adults I saw were big, friendly and quite colorful.

I live on the West coast, so ratsnake locality is something I do not know much about anyway. IMO, for a pet ratsnake, bubblegums are awesome if we call them what they are.
-----
Mark

Thanks for the feedback. I also think they are good looking animals however I am not a big fan of hybrid stuff. I was just curious what they were

Allen Sheehan

Yes, they originated back around the late 80's early 90's from Bill Love's crossing Amel Black rats into Yellow rat and Everglades rats. They can be extremely variable as well. Some can be a very pale light pink with a barely noticable pattern, some very orange/pink with lots of bold pattern, or anything in between.

Someone else asked here about these not long ago. Anyway, they are three-way crosses, but who really knows what is in some of the so-called "bubblegums" in the hobby anymore. At the rate people cross things now days, there could also be some other things in some of the more recent lines too, .....who knows.

~Doug

-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

I think I remember someone refering to a bubblegum corn snake also. Any idea whats in those?
-----
Kent

1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) cornsnakes, 2010
1.2 Gray-banded kingsnakes, blairs phase, 2008 (and 14 eggs)

Yes, the so-called "bubblegum" corns are simply snowcorns that are line-bred for more vivid pink coloration. There are so many different types of pink corns in the hobby now, such as coral snows, coral ghosts, specter ghosts, and strawberry's of all these morphs too that it makes your head spin. The precise genetics behind many of these high-pink corns aren't well understood, or even known alot of the time. It takes many years of work to isolate some of these genes, and even THEN, one has to know the origins with certainty along with breeding trials. But those bubblegum corns did not originate from hybridization.

~Doug
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"