Baby Checkereds on the Ranch

[ConcinusMan]

I had a female concinnus that had her last litter when she was 10. She lived much longer than that and probably could have had more but I didn't let her breed after that.

isn't a hypo and a Pastel kind of the same thing...?

Not really. Pastel checkereds were originally being called "hypo" but that's not even a word by itself. "Hypo" followed by no other letters is meaningless.

They're definitely not hypomelanistic since they have normal dark black. They can't be hypoerythristic (like my yellow spotted concinnus') since checkereds don't have red. They aren't really "hypo" anything. Anyway, it was unofficially settled that these would be called "Pastel" checkereds.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I am the jerk who came along and coined the name pastel. I have been calling them pastels since very early on, simply because I feel that hypo is not accurrate in describing this snake. Pastel is a better term... the black on these snakes is actually darker and more defined than a normal. The other colors are lightened and brightened. As pastels grow, their scales darken a little, (see where I am getting at? these snakes are identical in their coloration type to the pastel ball python) and most pastels could be mistaken for a nice normal as an adult but the color in-between their scales is an almost fake looking lime color that makes them stand out. If you know what to look for you can always spot a pastel. Especially the head, neck and facial pattern. I just got in an adult male pastel from Ben Siegel Reptiles this morning. Ben auctioned it on facebook, but he had no idea it was actually a pastel... because hardly anyone knows they even exist. Neither did anyone else... so I was lucky to steal the snake for $35. I only had one picture to go off but I as pretty confident I was bidding on a pastel. sure enough it's here, and it's the real deal! a REALLY NICE male. With an extremely aberrant head and facial pattern... Currently courting an albino female also from Ben. I am growing up two pastels that were born WHITE last year, so far, they are still white with a lime green tint... it will be interesting to see them mature. Steve's little baby there is a pretty nice looking one... it will be interesting to see her develop! The pastel checkered is my favorite garter snake in the whole world... and taking them to the next level is my goal!

[ConcinusMan]

The girl I got from you is darkening a bit but not too much. Still has that nice green color. Every time I think she's starting to look like a normal she sheds and brightens up again. Her and the albinos are growing very fast Shannon. I swear they've about doubled their length in two months. That's faster than my fastest growing radix or concinnus. Seems like they're always in shed.