Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wanted to share some photos of my new ghost male...
How does he stack up in terms of looks and quality?
Please be honest you won't hurt my !

I don't have the hondo experience others do here, but I can tell you I think that is one pretty snake.

Joe

Looks very nice! Very clean with minimal tipping. IMO Ghost and Anery’s are harder to find clean then some other morphs.
Craig

Yes, that is a nice one. There can be cleaner and there can be far more that are tipped-up a good deal more too. As ghost's mature they will always get tipped-up to various degree, some much more than others. Some ghosts can look basically like anery's as older adults, and this is because the hypomelanism gene in their particular lineage can vary so greatly and be anywhere from a 1 to a 10.

Exceptionally nice clean anery's are often tough to distinguish from certain ghosts in the hobby. Anery's are usually far "dirtier" and tipped in what would normally be their red body rings(RBR), and ghosts are generally much cleaner in them, or not at all. The inner white triad rings are what always get tipped with dark pigment as both types mature.

Here is a great example of a very clean adult anerythristic specimen.....

And here is a ghost that has lots of inner white ring tipping, as well as a substantial amount on what would be the red rings...

A very dark anery that is nearly bi-colored....

A very exceptional looking ghost youngster.....

Another nice adult ghost male.......

nice ghost yearling....

And here is one of the nicest adult breeder ghost's I have ever seen.....

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Looks like an exceptionally nice ghost to me. I would be glad to have him. Did you pick him up at a reptile show?

--Dennis

I actually stumbled upon him at the local pet shop that I go to... S and S Exotics in Houston.
They already sold the female it was a proven pair.

I was in the same shop eyeballing a female ghost last week that has been there a few months. It seemed to grow like a foot since the last time I saw it. While I was holding it, I saw "mega line" on the yearling's tub... It leaves me to believe that perhaps it came from the same breeder but I haven't had a chance to ask her where she got it.

I wish I knew what it was het for as well as the yearling...
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I would bet a dollar to a donut it originated from Don Shores of "Shores-Enuff-Snakes" out of Ft. Worth. There are only a very small handful of milksnake aficionados that are even remotely familiar with the "mega" hypo bloodline anyway, and he is certainly one of these people.

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

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Well I can't say I know him or what that actually means...

I was impressed by the size of the juvenile but not the clarity or the color. It had lots of black tips compared to the one I pictured.

I don't like to assume anything... Perhaps the real magic is hiding inside of it?

Thoughts?
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"Mega Line" is a term that has been used for animals that may...or may not be carriers of the "Mega Hypo" gene.

It would be analogous to saying a Hondo is from the Amel line, when it's parents were a Normal (wild type) in appearance but maybe Het Amel (but were never proven).

I equate "Mega Line" and "Possible Het Mega Hypo".

Now, having stated that...I'm not even sure the Mega gene is different from the other Hypo lines. There are all kinds of possibilities.

It could be allelic to all the other Hypo genes...but still be something different.

Think of it as layers of gray...

Hypo 1 - Normal Looking Clean Pattern (little to no tipping)
Hypo 2 - Lighter Gray (in lieu of black)
Hypo 3 - Reduction in black pattern
Hypo 4 - Lightest Gray
Hypo 5 - Mega Hypo

Combine Hypo 1,2,3,4 = Extreme

Combine Hypo 1,2,5 = Maybe the offspring I've pictured below?

I've done some preliminary test breeding (with the Mega gene) this year and I know a few others that have done it as well.

The only thing I know at this point is my Mega Hypo male has produced some really nice looking Hypos. So, he at least carries a "normal" or common hypo gene...or the Mega gene is allelic.

Like these:

This result...just one is what makes me think that the Mega gene is something different, even if it's allelic.

This is what a pure Mega Hypo looks like:

The Mega Hypo pictured above was produced from line breeding from the original female to one of her male offspring.

Here's the original female (she was supposed to be a normal triple het):

A slightly overexposed picture to show the missing pigment:

You can see she's a chocolate color...obviously not a "normal" Hondo.

Here's her offspring (the male I'm using for all my test breeding):

I am going to do some more test breeding next year...and I still have 7 eggs due to hatch in about 3 weeks...so I'll have even more data soon.

Mega Fun Project!

-Rusty

You will have to forgive my ignorance here... I am just learning the language it is still confusing to me. I understand the basics of what you are saying here. I just can't put it all together in terms of my situation.
If I obtain this female who is allegedly Mega line and breed it with my slight vanishing pattern ghost that is pictured in the original post. What could be the possible outcomes? I have no clue what he is het for....
I do hope to have triple het babys next year ghost x albino Hybino?...
If I breed a triple het to her, any idea of those possibilities?
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This is a GREAT link for determining possible outcomes:

http://www.geneticswizard.com/

Genetics Wizard

Enjoyed your pictures and description of your project, Rusty. Some pretty neat animals.

--Dennis

It's my pleasure sir.

-Rusty

Nice Ghost!

-Rusty

Thank you guys for all your help... He should make my three females very happy
Wild Type
Tangerine
Albino
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