Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

Steve's recent posting of an great pic of an older JCP prompted me to post another pic of Tuki, our 2000 female. Just wish I had his patience and gear. Tuki is about 51/2 feet long and a "kitten", except at rat time.

This pic does not do her coloration justice. Her melanation is more golden than brown. I'll chaulk that up to the on camera flash. Getting a good natural light picture is tough in western NY this time of year, .

Enjoy the Day,
George

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This is our Futo female from 2000 and one of our favorites.

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Hi Adam,

She is beautiful.

I do have some questions if you're not giving away "trade secrets":
How many generations have been selectively breed for low/no melanation?
What do the animals from 1-2 generations ago, 6-10 yr olds, look like?
When did you first realize that your animals reached this stage?
What do the clutch "ugly ducklings" look like?
I realize that the parents are an indicator, but what do you look for when selecting your holdbacks?
And finally, how many animals do you select your breeding stock from?

Thank you,
George

George,
I feel that we owe a lot to Casey Lazik and some others for they are responsible for what we have today. There are an unknown amounts of bloodlines today and some just use names of the past to sell there stock. You ask - How many generations have been selectively breed for low/no melanation? I feel that is a desire of some today like Will Leary and others. The german Bloodlines - Schuett may be best known for this and is at the 4 generation if not soon. We have a 11 year old that looks like some peeked 3 year old and he still breeds. We have seen many jungles over the years and they were never at the level they are today. Some exceptions. But with the selective breeding these days it will only get better and that is one of our goals. A clutch "ugly ducklings" yes, we all have them and they find homes as beauty is seen through the eyes of the beholder. They just don't color up as fast or have a less than desirable pattern.
What we look for in selecting holdbacks? - Well, early on Matt would purchase whole clutches and raise them till there were ones that stood out. Now we like to see the parents as some indication but we look for classic bands, that are clean and no casting of smudging. After the 3rd or 4th shed is when we have a better idea if it will look good. Just look closely at the clean area and then the black. There tends to be a 3rd color in the black area that is varied by scale. This color in time tends to turn yellow as well, so look for that as it adds a nice look to the animal as they age.
Our stock is varied with 6 different bloodlines that we know of.
There are others out there with great stock and some we never hear much about.
We love this morelia and working with it is a privilege and hope its growth in popularity continues over the years.
Hope that answered a few of your questions.
Kind Regards,
Selective Origins

Enjoy the Day,
George

Do you still add hatchlings from other breeders into your collection?

Yes, we do add stock if we find what we like. We missed out on any from Will this year and last. I have seen a few of his babies and yearlings and they are quite nice. We will try and get added to his list....
Kevin Hanley has great stock and that was where we picked a nice male. But it is hard to find nice ones when you can make your own, sometimes you get lucky, rite place rite time.
They are fun....