Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hypo- meaning less or under, and used as a prefix to melanistic together that means less black pigmentation or under the usual amount of black pigment.. And it is obviously true.

But in the culture of Boas and other popular snakes (other reptiles?) Hypomelanistic or even just Hypo has taken on another expanded meaning. It is used to describe an animal that not only has been given less black pigment but can also pass that trait on to it's offspring IN A PREDICTABLE FASHION..

So.. while this nice boa is hypomelanistic and it can pass on the probability of the same trait to its' offspring it is not in the new sense HYPO, meaning that if you find another like it (maybe a grown-up offspring) and breed them together you get super-hypos..

This is something that should be worked out because simply calling this Boa hypomelanistic is correct but it would be wrong for someone to promote it as a HYPO, capable of producing genetic super-hypos if that had not been demonstrated.

Those interested should come up with a system of labels that is not (potentially) ambiguous. Then slam the people who pull the shenanigans (gosh, I love to use the word SHENANIGANS!)
.

-----
Gus
A. Rentfro
RioBravoReptiles.com
www.riobravoreptiles.com

"Quality is not an accident. Perfectly healthy animals are a minimum requirement.. everything else is just salesmanship" gus

np

I agree with you that hogg island boas are a natural occuring form of hypomelanism. But I have a question that I figure you or someoen else that might read this can answer.

Since all hogg island boas have the natural occuring appearance of reduced black pigment (shown as one of the defining characteristics) Can they still be referred to as hypomelanistic in the dictionary definition? The reason I am unsure if this is an accurate term being used is this. If we are too refer to them as a natural occuring "hypo" then shouldn't we stop considering them as a subspecies/locality? If we do consider them a seperate subspecies/locality then wouldn't the normal base hogg island boa be lighter in coloration with reduced black pigment in its normal state rather then a hypomelanistic form of hogg island boa?

If we do still consider them as a natural occuring hypomelanistic animal what base animal are we comparing them to, to reach this decision? are we lumping all bci together to reach this? Or?

Not trying to start an arguement just thought it would be a good base of discussion, and I really do wonder about this off and on at different times. (this scenario can also be used on many other boa species such as Argentine boas which I have heard referred to argentines in general as "hypermelanistic"

I look forward to any and all opinions and thoughts on this.
Later
-----
Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com
.

I see what your saying.ALL hogs are a natural hypo animal. Thats what made me make the decision to breed a Hog to a Hypo to get the Hypo x hogs,which eventually came Sunsets.I think there's more Hypo than meets the eye. Above is a pic of my 6ft 0.1 Sunset.
I do think sometimes people tend to mislable though. I've seen ALOT of people put in their hog ads " hypo Hog" .I think their just making an honest misuse of words sometimes. A Hog is a hog. If it's got alot of orange..........it's a high orange hog .
I wouldn't "lable" a hog in an ad as "hypo" unless it had some hypo parents,even though,hogs are naturally hypomelonistic.
Just rambling I'll post a pic of a hypo x hog in a sec
Dave @ East TN Reptiles
-----
Actions Speak louder than words.
Dave @ East TN Reptiles

Mom was 100% pure Hog (bci) Dad was a hypo boa (bci)
WARNING ! To some people these pics cause extreme pain ! Not to me though Dave @ East TN Reptiles

-----
Actions Speak louder than words.
Dave @ East TN Reptiles

These are very important photos (and pretty boas!).

They show some of the traits and characteristics of Hog Is. intergrades. While I would not create such a product, They are pretty and Dave is doing good when he promotes them as what they are.

Gus

ALOT of people suggested to sell em as killer hypos & make more money. I would never do that. People may dislike me for crossing (which I've only did the one time) BUT I'm honest,not much of a personality,but honest. Thanks for the kind words Gus. I appreciate it.
Dave @ East TN Reptiles
-----
Actions Speak louder than words.
Dave @ East TN Reptiles

no post
-----
Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com
.

Ha, well I sure don't have all the answers on this but here goes:

Many Hog is. boas are very speckled and have muted or darkish areas that can be called melanism. So referring to all Hog is. boas as hypomelanistic would only be true if you were saying it in comparison to a dark mainland boa or an occidentalis.. of course most any boa is hypomelanistic compared to an Argentine boa. And that's the point I was making, hypomelanism is relative. It simply means less melanism.

A lot of people specifically interested in this trait have decided to have it mean something more.. an inheritable genetic trait that reduces and disperses black pigment in certain ways. That's great for them and even a morph-dummy like me can see there are certain characterictic ways in which genetic hypomelanism is expressed... but simply from a standpoint of word usage any boa with obviously less black than is usual for that type or locality of boa is hypomelanistic..

Personally I think that once you breed a boa to the point that it is not recogniseable as being a certain type or locality all labels are off it anyway, except for the one's you put on it... For instance, what would be the obvious or visible differences between a Snow-Suriname and a Snow-Brazilian? That's an extreme example, but some where between that and a super-hypo-hog lies the question.. are extreme inbred morphs, even of a known locality line, still actually locality animals?

How's that for a new subject! And NO. I am not starting a locality vs morph war....

Gus

no post
-----
Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com
.

When using an adjective, such as hypomelanistic, that implies to me, and many other people, that a particular snake that's hypomelanistic has some sort of mutation causing it to have less pigment. This mutation does not normally occur in the general population. However, if the known population of a species is very pale to begin with (such as a Hogg), then you can't refer to it as hypomelanistic, because its NATURALLY like that to begin with, w/out any abnormal genetic mutation. Compared to a redtail boa sure, it's hypomelanistic, but conversely, a redtail boa could be called HYPERmelanistic.

I don't call an animal hypo or hyper anything, unless it's uniquely different from other members of it's OWN species...NOT compared to other species.

I prefer Hoggs...I love the colors...I love the pinks, salmons, and burnt orange saddles..and above all I Love their small size.

I have to admit that cross is pretty damn impressive..seeing the orange coloration from the Hogg in that animal is rather cool. It's a like a glow..whereas the Hogg has distinct orange pigmentation on certain scales.

And the other picture of the those Hoggs..are beautiful..Still my favorite.

Well put Gus. I was actually going to post this same thought.
Lots of hypos (even Ihle and Gee) have some black pigment.
hypo does not mean "no black pigment". "Amelanistic" would be "no black pigment"??

so, the anery thing is different?
the prefix here seems to indicate NO red pigment.

Patrick

Ya like ?
Dave @ East TN Reptiles

-----
Actions Speak louder than words.
Dave @ East TN Reptiles

I thought my new Hog posted below was nice, but you should be proud of that Hog Island! I need to learn to take better photos as I seem to just miss the true colors!

Yeah well, I kind of like her too..

Gus

Hogs are the best.