Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Howdy all (or at least the one person who reads this)
A coupla Q's.
1)When my Olive crestie (both juves) gets darker in colour as i'm sure they all do from time to time depending on temp etc. it looks as though there might be wave like patterns on its back running the length of its spine. Is it possible that these patterns will become permanent and more prominent as the little guy gets older or am i seeing something that isn't there. Usually he is just solid olive colour with a couple of black spots here and there. Maybe that pattern i'm seeing is on all cresties when they're cold or something, i'm not sure but hopefully it might be something that will develope.

2)Both my Cresties are unsexed as yet. One as described above is Olive with some black spots while the other is a lovely rust colour. If it turns out that these are a pair and they breed, based on genetics, which of the colours/patterns is dominant over which.They are from different parents (or so i was told).

Without knowing the parents and history of the animals you have there is no way of even having a clue as to what you get.

Take the mutt topic a few down and think in those lines. In the wild they are all meeting and outcrossing the dominate gene for a morph or color. They keep doing that untill eventually all the cresteds carry all the genes in each animal (realize im talking in huge generalities). Lets say the result is similar to a person who is made up of every nationality on earth and has a kid with another person with same background. The result will be duck, duck, duck, goose, your it! Think of the genetics working like recessive and dominate traits, you need 2 of the same to be dominate, so if you have them all in both parents its a crap shoot to know whats comming out.

As you match up a high red to another high red, the lines then get "cleaner" so now you get a more predictable outcome. Thats why people like Kevin Dunne amoung others get more reliable breedings when they breed 2 high end reds together they are getting more Redas then not. They have done the leg work of taking back a red to more reds then to more reds to get that gene more isolated.

So saying you have an olive and a rust means little and who knows what you are gonna get. The true "box of chocolates".

I tried to keep it as basic and simple as possible
Hope this helps

Eric

Hey Eric
tell me your a teacher because you ar evry good at explaing stuff .I try to explain this stuff to my wife and she acts like I have 2 heads but you do it and I am gonna have to get her to read this because she will get it I am sure.....
Mike

..............

lol nope, not a teacher. Are you kidding... I couldn't wait to get outta school. Me as a teacher is like the Pope being a pimp, wasn't gonna happen no way no how lol

I just try to make it simple, but thanks

Eric

They had to shoot a albino bear here and the story said that it was the third one shot in the area and I thought duhh that would make total sense because the gene for it came from that group of bears.......or was at least in the gene pool of the area ....but maybe thats just me...
Mike