Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently saw a pic of a Hypo Pueblan and noticed it had a split or cleft sheild scale on top of its head. What strikes me as odd is that I know Hypo Hondurans have this particular defect as well. What are the odds of the Hypo Pueblan also having the same odd defect ??? Makes you wonder if the Hypo Pueblans originated with an outcross with Hypo Hondurans. Any thoughts ? Whats the history on the Hypo Pueblans ?

Keith
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Keith,
Maybe i'm remembering incorrectly but i recall you mentioning this before, and I thought i went to my snakeroom and checked half a dozen or a dozen hypo hondos and reported back that some had the split shield and some didn't. I also thought I remembered several other people posting similar observations. Just to keep the discussion grounded (I didn't find anything with a search but it seemed like it was a LONG time ago) do you remember getting feedback that some hypo hondos have the divided shield and some don't? Or maybe i confirmed that all mine matched your observation! Set me straight.
Terry

>>I recently saw a pic of a Hypo Pueblan and noticed it had a split or cleft sheild scale on top of its head. What strikes me as odd is that I know Hypo Hondurans have this particular defect as well. What are the odds of the Hypo Pueblan also having the same odd defect ??? Makes you wonder if the Hypo Pueblans originated with an outcross with Hypo Hondurans. Any thoughts ? Whats the history on the Hypo Pueblans ?
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>>Keith
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Hey Terry

Yeah I have mentioned the cleft scale before but got very little response outside of you. I kinda thought people wanted to ignore the fact that it’s a defect instead making an effort to weed it out. They don’t all have that divided scale but it must go hand in hand with the Hypo and some of the Albino mutations in Hondurans. What you don’t see is that scale divided in the hets at all from what Ive seen. Have you seen it in hets ? Reminds me of some of the early Albino Bullsnakes that had a reduced or missing frontal scale. The hets didn’t have it but the Albinos’s did. I know if I was to buy a Hypo Honduran I would want one without this defect as would others Im sure. That brings me to me post on the Pueblan I know that the Culluta’s had these and they were known for mixing this and that so it makes me leery of the Hypo Pueblans especially that they have that defect that was synonymous with Hypo Hondurans.

Keith
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Hypo Pueblan

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Terry,

I remember this discussion from awhile ago as well. I believe there was some disagreement over a picture that was linked to the original thread and whether or not anyone had asked for permission for the picture to be used. Shortly after that, the thread "disappeared". I thought at the time that the thread shouldn't have met such a fate as it seemed highly informative.

As a data point, I have a hypo Honduran with a whole shield scale that was produced by Robert Applegate. I have two other hypo Hondurans produced by someone else that have the split scale. Both of my tangerine albino Hondurans have the split scale.