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I have had people identify this boa as as a normal, pastel, and hypo. I would like your honest opinion.

very, very good looking normal!
Outstanding in my opinion..
Too much black, especially around the tail blotches, to be a hypo, in my opinion.
Too much black, speckling and side pattern, to be pastel, in my opinion..

But I would jump on this one over a normal hypo or even a nice pastel any darn day!!!

Normal hypos are 'a dime a dozen' these days.. pardon the expression..

and pastels seem to be everywhere, but true pastels are totally different and are washed out of pattern and melanin, which gives most outlining and contrast..

Like I said, I would take this girl over a normal hypo or decent pastel anyday! She looks SWEET!!!

Thanks, Joe Rollo - BciJoe
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Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin

Ok I looked an looked but Boaphile has changed their website so I couldnt find it!But I believe jeff used to have a definition of what he felt a pastel was from his years of breeding!I would like to give an exact quote but couldnt find it,But I believe it read as Any boa that shows signs of reduced black pigment an high pink traits!If I am wrong someone say somthing but I do believe it basically went like that!An that was his own definition!So it looks as if its in between a normal an pastel to me,but not a hypo!But this is just my opinion,not stone!I felt the need to express jeffs definition because of the discussion down below!I have no background info on my male but to me he looks like a pastel,oops I shouldnt have said that!Might upset a boa god!Lol!Heres a pic of him,an I hope I helped with my opinion!Thanks Eric![Hypoboa]

Well i could see why some would call that a pastel even a normal but in my honest opinon from what i can see, she looks like a hypo. what brings me to this conclusion is the buterfly saddels and what color i can see on the sides of the tail. can you post a better tail pic? she does have alot of black around her tail saddels and is not what the industry would call a premium hypo but i personally think she's beutiful
John Peraza

Look's like a Hypo,with nice Bowtie's, and Pink side's,just not a "Clean Hypo" but it's a Beauty for sure ! !
Have A Good One ! !
Kenneth

I believe SDI produced it from a dom hypo x poss dom hypo pairing.

Here is my opinion. I used to work on the understanding that if the animal didnt have any tail saddles without black around them, it wasnt a hypo. However I have had a few other breeders, big ones, lable animals as hypos that look quite similar to that one. In fact I have a possible dh sunglow that looks very similar. I would guess your snake is likely a hypo, just not the type of hypo we are used to seeing. I would say you would have to breed it to prove that, but its worth keeping rather then selling as a common (especially if female).
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Mickey Hinkle
The Lizard King Reptiles
http://thelizardkingreptiles.com
402-614-6641

"I am the Lizard King, I can do anything" - Jim Morrison

If, as you said, the animal came from a Dominant(super)hypo, regardless of the mate, wouldn't this animal be a hypo?

Yes.

But Im not 100% sure that is the lineage on the animal. I know Steve did produce a litter this season from a dominent male to a possible dominent (k animal) female. As the female has not been paired to a common, she is currently un proven as a dominent.

However I dont own, or havent seen the animal in person, so Im just guessing from other post Ive seen.
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Mickey Hinkle
The Lizard King Reptiles
http://thelizardkingreptiles.com
402-614-6641

"I am the Lizard King, I can do anything" - Jim Morrison

That boa could be a sibling to a hypo, it should be considered a pastel, due to the color makeup and the washing patern. I have seen countless normals with bow tie paterns, and would not gauge hypos or pastels from this. A hypo is lacking black pigment. usually the tail saddles have at least one that is clear of black. Most black I have seen in hypos, shows up as speckles...even highlights of black rings is really speckles. Breed it to a normal and prove if it is a Hypo, half the litter should be hypo and half should be normal. Andy

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Taken next to what appears to be a normal looking boa. Or is it? Can anybody tell me about the normal looking boa?

Sorry about the terrible photo but it should serve its purpose.

how about the eyes ?

He is a hypo. How do I know this for sure you may ask? Well I will tell you. I produced this boa by crossing a now proven supersalmon with a very high contrast normal. I had 18 babies in the litter, all hypos to varying degrees. Something that should be noted with hypos is there are numerous looks that occure within the same litter. The photo below is of a male from the same litter. Yes I will say it again the same litter. I would like to thank everybody who replied to this post. There was some very good feedback from people whos opinion I have a great deal of respect for. I apologise if I hung you out to dry, that was not my intention. Finally I lost a sale on this animal because the purchaser was told by numerous people that this boa was not a hypo. I was very surprised when I was told who one of those people were. This may not be the cleanest hypo however it is still a beautiful boa. That is ok though, do you know why? Because for now I am "stuck" with another beautiful boa.

Hypo. Produced by me from a supersalmon X normal pairing. This boa is a sibling to the hypo posted below.

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