Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I haven't posted here on this forum before, im a local at the monitor forum. I've had mine for about 4 years now and was really never interested in breeding until now.I hear people talking about hypo, melanistiscs,double het, triple het.....what is all of this? I would like to breed to bring out as many beautiful colors in kingsnakes as possible. That brings me to another question, Bill and Lucy Love have produced some amazing morphs of corn snakes, it that possible to any extent with kings? Thanks ahead of time.
Rayne

>I haven't posted here on this forum before, im a local at the monitor forum. I've had mine for about 4 years now and was really never interested in breeding until now.I hear people talking about hypo, melanistiscs,double het, triple het.....what is all of this?

Genetics jargon and slang. Hypo is short for hypomelanistic, meaning less melanin (black pigment) than normal. Melanistic means solid black, or close to it. Double (triple) het means heterozygous at two (three) loci. And I don't have time to define "heterozygous" or "loci". For that you need a reasonably good genetics text. IMHO, Schaum's Outline of Genetics gives a good bang for the buck. The fourth edition came out a year or so ago, but it's only better than the third edition if you need to get into the biochemical aspects.

IMHO, trying to learn genetics off the web is an exercize in masochism.

>I would like to breed to bring out as many beautiful colors in kingsnakes as possible. That brings me to another question, Bill and Lucy Love have produced some amazing morphs of corn snakes, it that possible to any extent with kings? Thanks ahead of time.

Yes, indeed. The most mutants are in the California king, as far as I know. (I'd estimate that Cal kings are third in number of mutants, behind the ball python and corn snake.) I think a ruby-eyed, high yellow Cal king would be very attractive, for example. YMMV.

Paul Hollander

thank you very much i am grateful for your help

I learned genetics from 'The Cartoon Guide to Genetics'...

>>I learned genetics from 'The Cartoon Guide to Genetics'...

THAT explains the stick-figure morphs i've been seeing at the shows...