Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Two months ago we fell in love with this guy at a reptile show. Didn't know much about the species at the time and have been doing some research. The seller only said that he was an albino gopher snake. Was wondering if anyone could tell us more specifically what he is.

I'm not usually one for impulse buying, but he had such beautiful coloration and a great personality. We couldn't pass him up.

One more picture.

I believe that is an albino San Diego gophersnake-Applegate strain. You could not have picked a better pit as your first!! They are hard to beat!!

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Genesis 1:1

So out of curiosity, why do you believe he is an albino San Diego gopher snake- Applegate strain? Basically, what characteristics would mark him as that? I tried to do a search for it, but was having a hard time finding specific info.

Our guy has a lot of red/pink "splotches" down his sides. It's hard to see in pictures, though.

Any good websites/books that talk about the different gopher snakes?

Doing a Google Images search will bring up a lot of results.
His markings, everything about him, just simply shows that is what he is. Gorgeous, my friend!!

As far as websites or books, that may be hard, as not a lot of sites specialize strictly in pits these days.
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Genesis 1:1

you can compare yours to mine. He's an Applegate albino SD gopher as well.

Sir William of Luxbury aka Discern is correct in thinking it appears to be a classic Applegate version of annectans. In reality the original male progenator was a deeper burnt orange color, and specimens like that and in varied lighter shades running to yellows were produced, even at Bob's house (I was there). The unique thing about them is the clean white blotching that is generally uniform in a cookie cutter fashion in the extreme. Other would be annectan albinos are much "muddier" in the sense that colors run and disolve into one another. We take the "Applegate's" for granted these days but they remain as a beautiful reminder of what magic can occur in nature.