I was photographing my three year-old B&W zonata yesterday and realized that probably very few of you have ever seen, or even know of, the ontogenetic change that occurs in this line. The hatchlings start out tricolor, but over time become bicolor snakes. Females tend to loose all traces of their red coloration, but males seem to hold on to some. Furthermore, after hatching, the red pigment isn't really red, but instead a pinkish-gray or lavender. Well, below is a picture of my male, freshly photographed after his initial post-hatch shed, and a picture of him now. It'll be completely obvious how animals from this line change over time. Enjoy!
Hatchling black-and-white Sierra male
Here's how he looks today!
This is a simple Mendelian-recessive trait that appears in both sexes. This gene has now been found in three different locales in the Sierra Nevada, however, all the B&W animals in the hobby today originate from the same line established some years back. Pretty darn cool.
I'll post hatchling vs. adult female B&W pics as soon as I can photograph my girls (their bellies are full and I didn't want any ralphing!).
Mitch
