I get a LOT of questions. One of the questions everyone that has kept Boas for any length of time has read on-line is this; “Is this a Jungle?” Well, the FIRST question that person should always be asked is was one of its parents a PROVEN Swedish line Jungle. If not, then so far not a single Jungle-look-alike has ever proven to be a Jungle. Ever. A visual appearance does NOT a mutation make.
This is a Jungle:
This is NOT a Jungle:
A visual appearance does NOT a mutation make.
Ten years ago I proved my original “Pearlescent” male to be carrying a trait or traits that were heritable. He was the first reverse striped animal that ever reproduced babies like himself. This is him moments after being born:
Seemingly, the instant that I proved my line heritable, everybody and their brother was selling their reverse stripe Boas as mutation carrying animals. Many fell for these fraudulent sales pitches. Many reverse stripe animals have been bred before and since without any consistent results. Still many took advantage of unknowing customers to line their pockets. Though I have been working with that bloodline for ten years now, the genetics of this characteristic is not understood. For those familiar with the Ball Python mutation the “Platty Daddy”, you will be aware of the many many years it took to get to the bottom of that one. So I still plod forward trying to figure the Pearlescent thing out. But that is not what this writing is about. A visual appearance does NOT a mutation make.
Now three years ago I speculated upon a strongly connected pattern Boa, hoping that the beautiful pattern on this one particular Colombian male was going to prove to be genetic. This is that animal:
October 9, 2009 I proved this new mutation. This is the Key West Boa mutation. Then and many many times since then, people send me pictures of their Boas with connected patterns asking if they are “Key West Boas”. In every single case they do not look like Key West Boas look. Sure they have some connecting pattern and some have a connecting pattern all the way creating a laddertail appearance like Key West Boas do. But… A visual appearance does NOT a mutation make. Even a visual appearance that is identical to true Key West Boas from the proven bloodline does NOT make it a Key West Boa. A visual appearance does NOT a mutation make. Case in point.
I have this Boa that is completely unrelated to the Key West Boas. Here she is.
She has EVERYTHING that a Key West Boa has. Everything plus crazy eyes that the Key West Boas do NOT have. Look at those eyes. To date nobody has sent me a picture of any Boa with a connected pattern that is even close to this female. Yet. This Boa IS not a Key West Boa and she does NOT carry any proven mutation of any type. The crazy eyes and that unique pattern and her unusual greenish color may very well be indicators that she is holding a hidden genetic treasure that needs to be tapped into. A couple years from now I will set about trying to prove this out. However, she is NOT anything but a cool looking Boa right now.
Boas with connected patterns are VERY common. I would guess in non-Hypos, you could walk around any Reptile swap on any weekend you can walk out with a Boa with a connected pattern that looks very much like the ones I get email from people about all the time. Unfortunately, when I take the time to explain all this in an email, people invariable get mad at me and think I am just being a jerk. So I mostly just don’t answer those emails any more. It’s a sad situation to be in, but wishful thinking and imagination does not a mutation make. Proving it does.
Here is a PERFECT image to illustrate my point about connected patterns NOT being a mutation. These two are littermates.
They both have the exact same mother and father. One is a Key West. The other is not. They BOTH have connected pattern. They both have laddertails. They are both Het for Ivory Anerythristic. One carries the single gene mutation that it inherited from his Key West father. The other does NOT, regardless of the laddertail and connected pattern. The non-gene carrier is typical of the type of look of Boas that people send me all the time asking if their animal is a Key West. Hopefully this image will help show the obvious difference. It is NOT the cleanness of the background that make the Key West a Key West as some have speckling. It is not the lack of pale pattern elements that makes a Key West. Take away the speckling and the pale pattern elements and still is NOT a Key West Boa. The connected pattern on the non-Key just is NOT the kind of connected pattern that Key West Boas have. It is much more than just the tippy tips of the saddles touching each other. It is hard to put it into words, but one look at the Key West in this picture alongside the Non-Key sibling shows the stark difference in the pattern of each.
Plus remember, as in the case of the unproven female I posted above, just because it “looks” like a Key West pattern does not mean that what you are seeing is a single gene mutation carrying animal. Only a breeding trial will show you the truth. 
-----
Jeff Ronne Sr
The Boaphile
Director USARK
Originator of Boaphile Plastics
The Boaphile Boa Site
