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OK so without sounding too stupid please tell me what Im missing here. The snowglow ... would be an animal that expresses both the traits of the sunglow and snow. Sure, no problem, but what Im not getting is how this animal would look any different from a snow in the first place. In essance you would be producing an animal that expresses the albino, anery, and hypo gene at the same time.

Question #1 - IM sure this will answer my second question but bare with me, I know Im jumping around. The sunglow, first of all it is an animal that expresses both the albino gene and hypo gene. If albinism is the lack of melanin and hypomelanistic is the REDUCTION of melanin only, then why does combining these genes ENHANCE the colors found on a sunglow? Certainly there must be some sort of INCREASE in red pigmenation attached to the hypo gene, correct?? Otherwise a gene that reduces melanin ONLY combined with a gene that gets rid of it completely would result it the same animal as the gene that gets rid of it completely by itself(albino either way). After all if NO melanin is found on an animal in the first place, you cant reduce it to produce a different look. Someone straghten me out here Im sure Im off on something.

Question number 2 - OK, getting back to the snowglow. If an animal has the albino gene, a complete lack of melanin, combined with the hypo gene which is a reduction of melanin (as per above), and then you add the anery gene which is the lack of RED pigment, even if the hypo gene DOES enhance red pigmentation in combination with reducing melanin, you would still have a WHITE boa??!! Correct??? Take out all the melanin, add a gene that reduces melanin and maybe (???) increases red pigmentation, then take out all red pigmentation ... you would essentially have a boa with NO pigmentation.

So why/how can/would the snowglow even exist?

Please fill me in if any of you are still hanging with me! LOL ...

BTW, what would this animal look like? Theoretically??? Are these traits found in any other snake in combination? Maybe corns??

Thanks for the schooling Im certain Ill receive!

Ji

I've had the same questions....I have purchased a type 2 anery in hopes of using my snows to someday create a truly white boa. After experssing my goals I was told on a different fourm that a "snowglow" would be toatally white and that some should be produced this year. I am wondering what a "snowglow" would look like, in my opinion a Hypo snow would look like a snow. snow boas are kinda of a cream color and do show the yellows....I don't see ow the Hypo trait would reduce any of that.

Sorry if I got of track
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Terry

I haven't seen a snowglow but I would guess it is a white boa that looks very similar to the regular snow.. If it was created from the salmon line, I'd think there would be some type of abberancies in the saddles, where on regular snows you have a normal pattern... I don't think they are really going to be marketed for "Looks" but more for the genetics potential. I'm hoping to produce one or two this coming season with my Male DH sunglow poss het anery X DH snow female.

Here's my DH sunglow poss het anery

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Joe Lydon
Got Boids?

I agree that the snowglow probably won't look much different than the snow and I also agree that they will be very valuable due to the potential offspring they can create. Another advantage, and I think a very important reason for creating them, is that they should be a much stronger snow boa. Just like the albinos, snows have a tendency to be weaker than a normal boa, i.e. grow slower, have a greater tendency to get sick, etc. Remember that albinism isn't just a different looking boa, but it is a genetic defect. This along with inbreeding has caused them to be "weaker". Hypos are very strong and hardy animals - they grow faster, breed sooner, and are just overall stronger animals. From what I have heard, sunglows are much stronger animals than albinos due to the hypo gene.

Just my $.02

Matt Crabe

I don't care what anybody says. You will not be able to tell a snowglow from a snow for sure until you breed it and see what it produces. I do believe it could be a stronger snow, but that could be done many cheaper ways.

If you want to produce a cool litter with a lot of different snakes, a snowglow is for you. If you want a better looking snow, you're wasting your money because it aint gonna happen.

the sunglow, why does it express greater coloration than the albino. A albino (lack of melanin) combined with a hypo gene (reduction in melanin) along the same lines as the snow vs. snowglow, I would think in the sunglow and albino SHOULD look the same, as I understand the genes. What am I missing?

Basically the hypo gene MUST contain an INCREASE in red pigmenation correct? It has to be that way, I mean ... look at a sunglow! LOL ...

Correct???

A Hypomelanistic Boa is a boa with reduced melanin i.e. Black pigment. If you look at hypos compared to regular boas you see lots of oranges yellows and reds. Which tells me these colors are hiding behind the black in a normal boa. In a normal albino black is expressed with the color white. Reds yellows and oranges still show in an albino, but are hidden under the white (black) pigments as the boa darkens. So if you put the hypo gene with the albino gene you are removing all the black areas which overpower the reds and are showing white. So with the reduction of black the reds, yellows and oranges can show through on a sunglow. And that is why sunglows have such intense coloration.
Hope this makes sense it does in my head, but it doesn't always come out that way on paper.
Thanks
Josh

makes sense I suppose. So basically your saying in an albino the melanin is removed thereby leaving the animal with white/light areas in exchange for the black/dark areas in a normal. These white areas cover up the reds/yellows/pinks, ect just as the melanin does in normals. By adding the hypo gene you are reducing those dark areas beforehand, allowing for an animal that has that much more color showing through rather than being covered up in the first place, then you add the albino gene to remove the leftover melanin that the hypo DOES contain ... and viola ?? LOL ...

Everyone agree this is whats happening??

Thanks for the education guys!

that was just a theory I threw out there that seemed to make sense to me.

I dont really know whats going on with it

Yep that's the way I see it, but I do agree that there is more to the Hypo boa than just a reduction in black. The thing I love about Hypos are that no two look the same. Great snakes...
Josh

I had this same discussion with corn snakes just two years ago. I thought that a Hypo Snow corn would not be any different from a regular snow corn and I was very wrong. Hypo Snows (with Corns) are a very pink snow corn, with pink flecks breaking through the white color, super pretty snakes. I don't think that any would disagree that there is also a patern and color change that comes with Hypos, other then just reducing black pigment. I am still three years off from a SnowGlow Boa, but I can't wait to see them LOL
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

In my opinion it is obvious that the Hypo has been mislabled.

Hypomelanistic cannot simply be a reduction in black or the Albino and the Sunglow (albino/hypo) would look the same.

Along the same lines tho, it cant also be an increase in red coloration, or the Anerythrystic and the Ghost (Hypo/Anery) would look the same.

The other color in boas is yellow (Xanthin i belive)

If the "hypo" caused an increase in the Xanthin(yellow), as well as a reduction in Melanin(black) then the resulting colors would show much more orange. That would make sense. ie... Sunglow.

Also... When the "hypo" gene is combined with the Anery gene.... if you added an increase in the Xanthin (yellow)... then the remaining Black and Yellow would combined to display a washed out grey color... ie... Ghost.

So in my amature opinion... the Hypomelanistic name is actually a misnomer, because the genetic trait is both reducing melanin and increasing Xanthin.

But Im no expert.

at least something along those lines, Hmmmm anyone know for sure? Certainly some of the pros out there know ...

As for what it could mean with the snowglow.... If what im thinking is right and the yellow increases as you drop the black with the hypo mutation..

My guess would be that the snowglow would look much like the snow.. but with a much sharper pattern. Looking more like the albino ball python where the contrast between the white and yellow is very pronounced.

>In my opinion it is obvious that the Hypo has been mislabled.
>
>Hypomelanistic cannot simply be a reduction in black or the Albino and the Sunglow (albino/hypo) would look the same.

I agree with Mishkam's reasoning. That is one of the reasons that I prefer Rich Ihle's label of "salmon" for these snakes.

Paul Hollander

Seems they wouldn't be "glowing" because the anery gene would cancle out the color. Snow Ghost just seems more fitting.

I agree that the hypo gene adds color, more in some instances than others, but there are colors that are just not there normaly.
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Ed Lilley, www.constrictorsnw.com