Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it still (after this years breedings) the general thinking that any baby born to harlequin parents can pass the trait to their own offspring?

In a more specific situation....

I just bought a "fairly normal" looking yearling from a Harlequin X Normal breeding. Will he produce harlequins when bred back to an unrelated normal?

Thanks!

Who did you buy your baby from? A lot of people are sadly marketing regular animals as Harliquins, Pastels, and Jungles when they are not.

Harlequin seems to be a dominant gene. Ask the Magees (sp?)!
If you baby was the result of a TRUE harlequin breeding, yes he/she could pass the trait on. I am not 100% certain about this mutation.

This guy came from Gray at allboas.com. He seems like a great guy so I am confident its legit...

If you bough it from Gray then you do have an offspring from his Harlequin litter in 04. Cool animals to be sure! Good luck with your animal. Maybe Tim will see your post and be able to give you a much more accurate answer than I can! Gray is a great guy , buy with confidence!

I agree, great guy, great snakes!

You have no worry with Gray. He could probably give you some added information. Tim would definately add the best info.

is the boa you got from him a harliquin or one of the normal offspring?
I thought harliquin worked in a standard dominant fashion? (ie, breed harli x normal and you would get half harli and half normal babies)

Its my understanding (and I am probably wrong) that every single boa in a harlequin X normal clutch is a harlequin, no matter what it looks like. Furthermore, it has been said that, even the most normal looking harlequins can still produce the great looking striped/colorful harlequin offspring.

Like I said, I could be wrong (although I hope I am not).

J-

She is not one of the standouts but is a neat looking Boa none the less. There has been some interesting discussions going on about these animals and the Boa that was produced recently is definitely proof that this line has something special going on with them.

My little girl has shed twice since I have owned her and just in those 2 sheds she's looking better. Hopefully she can get with a Hypo Harlequin in the future and we'll see what pops out. Good luck.

He's pretty cool, no abberancies.. Good coloring, and he's definitely gone through different color stages... I'll show you a few..

Here he is when he was just a little guy with my female Davey Pastel...

Here he is a few months ago with my male Davey Pastel...

And here he is a few weeks ago...


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Joe Lydon
Got Boids?

obviously, just like anything else, if you keep degrading the gene, or reducing it's strength, by outcrossing to normals, then you may get less of the oddities and extreme aberrants.

Would seem like the more you combine the gene, the more you can get out of it...

BUT, then again, some of the most aberrant and extreme oddities have been produced from normal appearing Harlequin ourcrossed to a normal...
it is still uncertain, from my understanding..

I wish Tim and/or Brendan would post their thoughts more frequently as they are going through their breeding trials..!

Thanks, Joe
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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

wow, I didn't realize that. I guess I was not reading the website and posts correctly!! (wouldn't be the first time!)
Thanks for the info, this morph deff has a lot of potential!

>Its my understanding (and I am probably wrong) that every single boa in a harlequin X normal clutch is a harlequin, no matter what it looks like. Furthermore, it has been said that, even the most normal looking harlequins can still produce the great looking striped/colorful harlequin offspring.

That doesn't square with the genetics of dominant mutant genes that I have seen in other species (mouse and pigeon). As I have never seen more than pictures of harlequins, I have no actual data. But I'd need to see actual data to believe that harlequin acts so unusually.

I can easily believe that harlequins show variation. And I can accept incomplete penetrance, where a harlequin looks normal while still being able to pass the gene on. It's the production of ALL harlequins from a heterozygous harlequin x normal that requires evidence.

Paul Hollander

These animals have consistantly defied the "rules" as I have always felt I understood them as well. I certainly don't claim to know exactly which ones are heterozygous,and,which aren't,(or,homozygous for that matter.) Anyone that has become familiar with me through my posts here on the Forum,(or,other boards.)should know that I'm really just continually searching for the right answers to my own questions,if I were motivated solely by making a buck,or,blowing a bunch of smoke up anyones rear end,I would've just jumped on the Jungle bandwagon,and,sold all but one,or,two of the animals I've produced from the original group at exorbitant prices...I can tell you it would've certainly been much less work,and,a lot more financially rewarding.I doubt that very many people would've ever complained in terms of their appearence...two primary characteristics associated with this bloodline are directly inherited in a non-recessive manner,pattern aberrancies & coloration/pigmentation...I can honestly say that I have seen enough proof though my breeding results,that I do not need anymore convincing,so very few of my future breeding plans will be geared toward trying to provide evidence to convince others...I'm simply moving forward in the direction I think will provide the best results over the long term...my advice to those that already own animals from this line,no matter what they look like,would be; "breed them" and,see for yourself...I seriously doubt that we have seen the best of what this line can offer & I'm more interested in looking for it first & trying to explain it later! *lol*...We've been blessed with two more "never before seen" examples of seemingly spontaneous mutation from them this year,and,it opens a host of brand new questions that I'm sure will require even more attention,so we've got plenty to keep us occupied for a while...

Well I just sealed a deal with your brother and couldn't be more excited with all the possibilities of the 3 Boas with Harlequin blood soon to be in my possesion. They definitely have something going on with them and some of the questions being asked can be answered by just looking at the Boas and what future offspring they produce. I will have my report finished in a few years hopefully...LOL

Please fasten your seatbelt!These boas are highly addictive! working with them has been the equvalent to "herpetocultural crack cocaine",(for me anyway ) what started as a happy little "back-burner" breeding project has dramaticly reshaped the last eight years of my life & kept me up many a night!(it has also led to an accelerated interest in photography & then genetics,among other things!) many people are more content to be able to accurately predict the outcome of their breeding projects,but,there's definately something to be said for the "element of surprise"! I look forward to your contributions,and,future breeding efforts...with these animals seeing is believing.(and,believing is kind of mind blowing )

Thanks for the warning but I live for excitement. It's funny I as telling your Brother I quit drinking and smoking only to get my addiction back for Boas. YIKES!!!!!!

Hey Tim,
if everything is still a go with us, I get the feeling I will end up with a whole 'nother room as a snake room since I won't want to let go of any of the babies!! lol I think part of the unknown is what is so exciting about the harliquin line. The whole idea of not knowing what to expect in the prodgeny is why I like the ATBs and GTPs, you just never know what might pop up!
The unknown has always drawn me..

have a great weekend and post more harli pics! Every day! lol
-april

Here's a gratuatous picture as per your request. I'm looking forward to seeing the results from that little gem of yours!

It's good to see some folks actually are "getting it" in terms of what we've been trying to say about these animals for quite a while now...some of this is covered on my website,although it's time for an update,or,two...part of the reason I don't go into too much detail here is that,about the time I get any in depth post typed up the server resets & it's lost...an excersise in frustration & wasted time.
Worth re-reading