Yes, I definitely noticed the white chin/throat right off the bat which seemed a bit odd for an Everglades rat.

Now, are it's pupils black or pink/red?. If they are pink or red, it is amelanistic(albino,..total lack of melanin), not hypomelanistic(greatly reduced melanin pigment).

Also, without knowing it's precise genetic origin, or knowing anything about precisely what both parents were, and grand-parents, etc...it could very well have some Yellow ratsnake geneflow in it's lineage too, as they are far more prone to displaying white chins and throats. There are quite a few albino Yellow rats in the hobby mainstream. A good friend of mine wanted to give me a nice male albino Yellow Rat hatchling this year at the Daytona Reptile Expo, but I simply have too many breeding projects here as it is.

Anyway, since the throat/chin area do seem to be whiter than normal, if the eyes are red or pink, the chances of it having some amel yellow rat geneflow in there are fairly likely, even though it is phenotypically more orange colored.

It's a very nice looking animal either way you slice it!..



~Doug
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"


serpentinespecialties.webs.com

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