Albino red radix?

[guidofatherof5]

It was well worth burning 2 hours of vacation for this one. I've never seen one in person, let alone catching one in the wild. Here she is. I'm not sure my indentification is correct. What do you think? Hope she's gravid. She is beautiful. Has a great attitude, also.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/albino_red_radix1.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/albino_red_radix.jpg

[Zephyr]

Wow.
Lucky. lol

[Snake lover 3-25]

omg wow! beautiful!

[ssssnakeluvr]

sweet!!! that is a nice albino!!!! definitely red phase!!! did you acquire it or just take phots??? did someone find it?????

[guidofatherof5]

I caught it.
I had a resident watching out for it. The neighborhood rumor was there was a white snake cruising around. I met this guy last Sat. and gave him one of my cards. He gave me a call today when he saw it. I took off work and found it behind a piece of siding.

[ssssnakeluvr]

awesome!!!! wish I could find stuff like that.......

[TwistidMutations]

She's Gorgous Steve Great find

[gregmonsta]

Well done on that one ;)

[count dewclaw]

Great find! Must be nice having all these lovely snakes come your way.....

[drache]

great find
she doesn't have red eyes

[Sputnik]

Is she an albino if she doesn't have read eyes? Or could there be another reason for her lack of colour? Excuse my ignorance...:o




Edit: I found this on Wikipedia: "Some animals are white or pale due to chromatophore (pigment cell) defects, do not lack melanin production, and have normal eyes; they are referred to as leucistic."

[GartersRock]

Wow. What a find... If I found that... OMG you lucky!!!

[snakeman]

Eyes look red to me.Awesome snake good luck with it!

[prattypus]

I don't like you. Or your stinking luck!

[guidofatherof5]

Here's a couple more photos.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/albino_red_radix_3.jpg

This is my partner at the ranch, Gabby.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/albino_red_radix_4.jpg

[Jeff B]

Steve as I said on the phone this afternoon it definately looks to be a Nebraska strain (similar and may even end up to be compatible with Scott's Nebraska strain) as well as having the red radix blood from that area too, which is obvious by the rusty orange blotches on back and sides and head.
The Nebraska strain albinos tend to have dark eyes for an albino anyway, compared to other strains they are not a light bright pink eye, yet still very albino, and that snake is no doubt an albino, which explains some of the previous questions.
It's funny, because Scott and I both have red radix from that area aquired from Ian Campbell, and we are planning to cross the red radix to albinos, Scott is crossing to Nebraska strain and I am crossing to Iowa strain albino, and we were looking at several years and 2 generations to accomplish this, and you did it in 1 day, lol. A designer combo morph found in the wild, amazing but not impossible.
Big congrats, I am very happy for you, couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
That is one very valuable snake you have there, treat her as royalty.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you will find a red albino male to match and mate to her.
Best of luck and congrats again,
Jeff

[guidofatherof5]

I have to be honest, I am not the only owner. My friend Mark from Des Moines is a co-owner. If not for his help I would have never had this opportunity. He (Mark) will get to see her this Sat. as my kids and I are on another Herping trip to Des Moines. Mark and his wife are treating us to lunch. Thank you Mark. Hoping you will join the forum soon.

[guidofatherof5]

I set her up a temp. enclosure. I put her in her hide and 15 minutes later she was out. I could get about 2 feet from the enclosure and she would look like she was going to bolt, so I backed off. I was able to get a few shots of her. Hoping to spend some good time with her this weekend.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/albino_red_radix_relaxing.jpg

[prattypus]

Just kidding, I don't hate- just jealous!

[GarterGeek]

Congratulations on your rare and beautiful find!
I can't believe she wasn't picked off by a predator a long time ago what with her color...Doesn't seem to make for good camouflage.

[brain]

Wow Steve what a find in the wild.

[Sputnik]

I can see the red eyes now. :) Quite incredible to find such a rare animal! So lucky people knew of Tadadaaaa... Steve!- Radix- Ranch- Man! :D

[guidofatherof5]

Congratulations on your rare and beautiful find!
I can't believe she wasn't picked off by a predator a long time ago what with her color...Doesn't seem to make for good camouflage.

I agree with you. She's has to be a smart girl or just incredibly lucky. I'm leaning towards "Smart".:)

[adamanteus]

Very lucky find! Can I have her?

[Sid]

A fantastic Radix, Steve. Congratulations on the new addition.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Very lucky find! Can I have her?

sorry James, shes MINE ;)

she's a lovely snake Steve, and indeed she does look like the nebraska strain albino, to the T! I would breed her separate from another albino line first though, in order to keep this strain pure. Then once it's been proven out and all that, you could cross the albino offspring to other types of albino radix to see what's compatible or not compatible!

[Mommy2many]

Beautiful snake!

[guidofatherof5]

She was out taking a swim when I entered the room. She let me get right up next to the glass. She also ate a few small earthworms and baby night crawlers tonight. I'm going to push my luck and see if I can hand feed her a pinky. I'll report back.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/bathing_Rita.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

I decided to give pinkies a try. I placed 3 thawed and warmed pinkies on a small lid and slid it into her hide. The open end of the hide(box) has a small flap on it. I thought if I turned the flap up I could get a better look inside the hide. This whole flap thing took about 4 seconds. When I truned the flap up I could see she already had one pinky half gone. Then a second one was gone. She then ate 2 out of my hand. I think she's going to do very well here at the T.radix Ranch.
She's still a little jumpy but what can I expect she has only been here 30 hours. A few days of TLC and I'll have her eating right out of my hand.:D
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Rita_eating_pinkies.jpg

[Jeff B]

I totally agree with you Shannon, and advised Steve the same thing, to first breed offspring male back to mother and/or sibs to sibs, or if he finds an albino male in the same spot that would be nice , to keep the strain pure, then after captive offspring pure strain albino are produced in good number, at some point breed to outcross, and/or to other red radix to try to improve red, and/or breed to the existing Nebraska strain to test to see if they are compatible.
Welcome to the world of morph breeding Steve!!!, consider yourself on the fast track,lol

[drache]

even though I'm not so much into albinos - this one is really beautiful

[GarterGeek]

I agree with you. She's has to be a smart girl or just incredibly lucky. I'm leaning towards "Smart".:)

I just had another thought. Not that I'm denying her "smartness":), but perhaps her color has actually helped her evade predators. Bright colors usually signify to predators that an animal is poisonous. Could her unusual coloration have even assisted in her survival?

[guidofatherof5]

I just had another thought. Not that I'm denying her "smartness":), but perhaps her color has actually helped her evade predators. Bright colors usually signify to predators that an animal is poisonous. Could her unusual coloration have even assisted in her survival?

Very interesting thought.
Her albinism may have help her in the fact she may not be as tolorant to sunlight, which could have kept her out of exposure to more preditors.
She's actually more of a light color than the bright reds and yellow that can signify poisons.

[GarterGeek]

Very interesting thought.
Her albinism may have help her in the fact she may not be as tolorant to sunlight, which could have kept her out of exposure to more preditors.
She's actually more of a light color than the bright reds and yellow that can signify poisons.

Oh, wow. The more I learn the more fascinated I become.:D I didn't know that about albinism and sunlight. It makes sense though.

True. You're right - White is not a "poison color" :rolleyes:

I wonder if it could still freak a predator out though. I'm sure that if I came across a blue cow, I would hesitate to make burgers out of it. Of course, animals don't think like that...Do you think it may have made a difference?

[guidofatherof5]

Oh, wow. The more I learn the more fascinated I become.:D I didn't know that about albinism and sunlight. It makes sense though.

True. You're right - White is not a "poison color" :rolleyes:

I wonder if it could still freak a predator out though. I'm sure that if I came across a blue cow, I would hesitate to make burgers out of it. Of course, animals don't think like that...Do you think it may have made a difference?

I doubt if her color would have shocked them into thinking about it before they would attack. It may be a combination of a lot of factors that let her live this long. The person that called me said he has seen her for the last couple of years. Personally, I think she spent much of her time undercover, which extended her life.
I've noticed that she love to spend time in the water dish. This may be a treat for her since she probably didn't get out much. Of course this is all speculative. I'm just glad she made it and I have the opportunity to care for her. It would have been a shame if she had died by a shovel or hoe.

[guidofatherof5]

I thought I would post a few more of Rita. She musks me everytime I get her out. She's a hard case. Before you ask, she's not a problem and yes, I will keep her.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Rita5.jpg
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/rita1.jpg

[brain]

You should keep her. Didn't you say you had a mael in this color?

[guidofatherof5]

You should keep her. Didn't you say you had a mael in this color?

I do not possess one at this time but hoping that will change sometime soon. If that doesn't happen I will breed her with a high-red radix next spring.

[k2l3d4]

She is beautiful!

[brain]

I do not possess one at this time but hoping that will change sometime soon. If that doesn't happen I will breed her with a high-red radix next spring.

Would you call this fem an “albino”? I can see the red eyes but then the might be the way I’m looking at her.
And if you did breed to a high red-radix man the colors are going to be out of this world. :cool:

[guidofatherof5]

Went in to check on her and found she shed. I didn't even know she needed to. Wow, she's even prettier. Her atitude is still bad.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/fresh_shed_1.jpg
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/fresh_shed.jpg

[drache]

yeah - she's amazing looking

[count dewclaw]

She is beautiful!

[GartersRock]

Incredible!!!! Wow she is stunning...

[guidofatherof5]

I no soon post in another thread about how one of my snakes doesn't like my daughter Gabby. When I findout that Rita(the beautiful snake this thread is about)is fine,calm, no musking with Gabby but becomes agitated when I come near. Rita has good taste in friends:D

[guidofatherof5]

I don't think she's gravid. What you see is 3 fuzzies and a pinky. She still doesn't like to be held. Hoping this spring will bring some baby make'in. I think I better go out and find me one of these in the male version.:D
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/rita_full.jpg

[count dewclaw]

She's looking good!

[Zephyr]

Very beautiful snake. :)
She MIGHT be gravid... My neighbor's snake was gravid last year but she didn't look it at all.

[TheArtist]

what a pretty girl she is. Really expensive too! Congrats ^^

[bkhuff1s]

Wow crazy find

[guidofatherof5]

what a pretty girl she is. Really expensive too! Congrats ^^


2 gal. of gas and a little patients.:D
It was a bargain.:)

[guidofatherof5]

It's been a month and 7 days since she shed. She shed again today. She must be doing well on the food and comfort. She has a roomate now. A female from the same yard she was found in. They are about the same size and seem to be getting along fine. I'm still on the fence about her being gravid. Now, I'm leaning towards gravid. Another month should prove it out, one way or another. In any event she's a welcome member to the Ranch.

[Mommy2many]

That is one beautiful snake.

[GarterGeek]

I hope she's gravid...I'd love to see a litter from her. Just seeing her is a treat though. :)

[jere000]

you can send me that radix:D

[guidofatherof5]

you can send me that radix:D

I'll do that..........................Not.:D

[jere000]

I'll do that..........................Not.:D
you have 150 lol nice snake

[guidofatherof5]

you have 150 lol nice snake

But only one of her.:D Sorry.

[jere000]

But only one of her.:D Sorry.
you must have some seriously good luck to find that

[guidofatherof5]

I'm not sure luck would be the correct word. How it all came about is interesting. It really happened because a new friend trusted me. Thanks Mark. We're all waiting for you to join! Take the time and get-r-done.:D

[jere000]

I'm not sure luck would be the correct word. How it all came about is interesting. It really happened because a new friend trusted me. Thanks Mark. We're all waiting for you to join! Take the time and get-r-done.:D
i wanna see some babies

[CRIKEY!]

Hey Steve,
I was out of the loop when you caught this little beaut. The last I read was that she had a nice litter. I was just curious to here how she's doing. She is quite a find. I'm sooooooooo jealous. :D Do you have any new photos?

[charles parenteau]

Very very nice Steve good team work!what a beautiful snake.

[guidofatherof5]

Hey Steve,
I was out of the loop when you caught this little beaut. The last I read was that she had a nice litter. I was just curious to here how she's doing. She is quite a find. I'm sooooooooo jealous. :D Do you have any new photos?


No resent photos, yet. I'll work on it. She's eating like a pig and so is the high red radix. I'm going to start their cool down. The food is done for the next 3 weeks. Then it's in the fridge for a month or so. I've got some plans for those girls so they will need a chill down.:D

[mustang]

wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jitami]

I missed this thread the first few times around, too... and wow, I'm sorry I did! What a gorgeous girl! So, was she gravid? Were all of her offspring normal? I know this is a very silly question for you, but did you keep many of them? Very cool find :)

[ConcinusMan]

Definitely albino, not leucistic. She has pink eyes, and retains her yellow and red pigments. Not unheard of in the wild, but chances of finding one her size, in the wild... jeez... millions to one! you must feel like I did when I found a wild, striped, albino CA king! it was a newborn though, under debris. My brother found an adult with 2 heads. Lucky bast...

[guidofatherof5]

I missed this thread the first few times around, too... and wow, I'm sorry I did! What a gorgeous girl! So, was she gravid? Were all of her offspring normal? I know this is a very silly question for you, but did you keep many of them? Very cool find :)

She had 10. All healthy and normal. Some are starting to get some good red in them. I own half, which half I don't know. The co-owner gets first pick. I'll take whatevers left.

[guidofatherof5]

She's out of brumation and back eating. I've got a red phase male from the same area(loaner stud) arriving in the next couple of weeks.
Someday, I'll have my own red phase Nebr. albino male radix and won't have to depend on the kindness of others.:D
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/rita.jpg

[Snakeknot]

Sounds like your wild find likes your cookin'! I so wanna go on a snake hunt here but we still have snow on the ground and more predicted for tomorrow. I've gotta bad case of the winter blues!

Devon

[ConcinusMan]

*sigh* I know what you mean. We had a few teaser days in Feb when it was sunny and got up to 60 F. I caught one quick glimpse of an ordinoides and that was it. It's back to low 50's and lot's of rain. I got quite a few people waiting on me to come up with some nice ordinoides, and I'm quite tired of waiting to catch a pair of concinnus for myself. Dang winter!

[ssssnakeluvr]

*sigh* I know what you mean. We had a few teaser days in Feb when it was sunny and got up to 60 F. I caught one quick glimpse of an ordinoides and that was it. It's back to low 50's and lot's of rain. I got quite a few people waiting on me to come up with some nice ordinoides, and I'm quite tired of waiting to catch a pair of concinnus for myself. Dang winter!
boy I hear ya there!! wanting spring to hit real soon!!!!!!

[ConcinusMan]

daffodils and trees are starting to bloom so the signs are there, but the snakes are not!

[guidofatherof5]

As I type there is some mating activity going on with my Nebraska red phase albino radix. The red phase male that is on loan is getting very interested in her.
Fingers crossed.

[Snakeknot]

I have a neighbor with some property. ( They raise miniature horses. ) Her teen daughter tells me that every spring, they have tons of garter snakes everywhere. I'm thinking she might have a den on the property and I can't wait until spring to check this out. But we still have snow here. Ugly, dirty, crunchy snow. Usually after a big snow here, we get a sudden bout of warm weather and the snow disappears as quickly as it came. Not this year! Spring can't come soon enough! I want warm temps, flowers, green plants and time to garden! This winter is seeming to take forever!

Devon

[ConcinusMan]

It does sound like a den area. I haven't quite pinpointed where the concinnus dens are at Salmon Creek in Clark Co. WA just yet but there are partially flooded areas (temporary pools) near the creek every spring, loaded with frogs and tadpoles. First couple of weeks of 70+ degree weather, there are concinnus everywhere, breeding. I mean, they're thick. This particular population is mostly made up of very large snakes.(2-4 feet long)

We are supposed to be mostly sunny and about 62-64 degrees this weekend. Come Hell or high water, I'm going to be there. Crossing fingers that there will be some out basking in the sun around noon time.

[Snakeknot]

Does anyone know what the behavior of wild garters in eastern Pa.? My understanding is that they have communal dens and the males leave early, eat and shed but hang around waiting for the females to wake up. WHAT MONTH DO THEY DO THIS HERE? I would sure like to target a local den if I could find one if only to assault the poor garters with my camera maybe for collection IF I'M LEGALLY ALLOWED! ( But only then. )

Now I gotta get a plan to track down a den. I guess putting an ad in the paper is kinda silly. I would like to get a reputation among the locals that if you find a snake in your house, call me to remove it for you. That chore kinda sounds like fun, FOR ME!

Devon

[ConcinusMan]

OK, now I'm really disappointed. SAT was sunny and we got up to 66 F degrees. I had to work. Put in 12 hours. I thought, no problem. Forecast called for the same on Sunday so I can go look for snakes then.

I slept in 'till 11am. Clouds started rolling in and by noon it looked like rain and it was only 56 degrees. It just kept getting colder and now we have rain. So much for my herping weekend. I think someone is trying to teach me patience and I am resisting furiously.

@snakeknot:

There is no particular month. Much of it depends on ground temperature. You can suddenly have several days in the 70's and see no snakes at first. You can also have a mild late winter and see snakes when it's only 60 degrees. Still having overnight freezes?

Are there any spring bulbs in the ground that are now flowering? Tulips perhaps? That's your cue that the brumating snakes may also be feeling the warm up.

I know that where I am, if spring tulips are blooming (they did so about a week ago) then you can find garters near den sites on a sunny afternoon when its at least 60 degrees.

[guidofatherof5]

*UPDATE*

It's official. Rita has accepted me. Ever since she came to the Ranch she has refused to trust me. She would allow my daughter Gabby to handle her but refused to be calm around me. That has all changed.
For the last week Rita has been greeting me every time I open the enclosure. This morning she came out and climbed up on my arm and then around my neck. Then it was back down my arm. She then rested under my hand. I gave her a good back scratch and rub. There's no more jumping away everytime I move. She has been a hard case but well worth the time invested.
To have my once wild albino red phase radix trusting me make this a great start to the season.

[infernalis]

Your magic with those Radix Steve.

It's about time she figured that out. ;)

[guidofatherof5]

She's a beautiful girl. Hoping for a good breeding year.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/good_rita.jpg

[Snakers]

She's a beautiful girl. Hoping for a good breeding year.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/good_rita.jpg
Ok it was feeding day today and my albino red radix was missing give her back Steve i know its her;):D

[guidofatherof5]

Ok it was feeding day today and my albino red radix was missing give her back Steve i know its her;):D

Being a law enforcement officer I know that possession is 9/10 of the law. If plan on taking her by force, I should warn you about the ninja radix that guard the Ranch. They were trained by Chuck Norris:D

[ConcinusMan]

And everybody knows the 3 leading causes of death in the USA.

1. heart disease
2. cancer
3. chuck norris

[guidofatherof5]

Rita is really packing on the weight. She's at 197grams. I didn't witness a mating but she's bent on eating everything.
I'm very glad she's finally came around to trusting me.
I was starting to get a complex. I didn't need another one of those.:D

[Snakers]

They were trained by Chuck Norris:D[/QUOTE]IL NEVER SEE MY RADIX AGAIN :(

[ConcinusMan]

Steve said: They were trained by Chuck Norris:D


I'LL NEVER SEE MY RADIX AGAIN :(


Oh no! I'll never see by beloved radix again! :(

Then along comes chuck norris to help you. You know what happens next.:D

[guidofatherof5]

A couple of my beautiful Rita. She continues to grow and mature. I'm guessing she's a young snake.
Hoping for many years of company and beautiful babies. Her demeanor has gone from shy and skittish to outgoing and calm.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/rita6.jpghttp://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/rita21.jpg

[MasSalvaje]

I love the pics Steve!

-Thomas

[Hollis_Steed]

i think that rather than planning a vacation to somewhere like disney land or yellowstone park I will plan a trip to the Radix Ranch to visit Steve and his snakes! Beautiful snakes and hospitality to boot!

[guidofatherof5]

i think that rather than planning a vacation to somewhere like disney land or yellowstone park I will plan a trip to the Radix Ranch to visit Steve and his snakes! Beautiful snakes and hospitality to boot!

All are welcome.
Thanks.