Blacknecks Are Different

[Stefan-A]

Ahh.. comparison. The grass is always greener...

That's a misapplication. "The grass is always greener" would be applicable to someone drooling over something different, like that bleached blackneck, when he already has a normal.

I just look at that picture and strikes me as a beautiful snake. I couldn't care less what it looks like compared to something else. So no, it's not fugly.

It is fugly. It's fugly as freaking hell. It's a downgrade. A monkey model.

[ConcinusMan]

A monkey model.

[Stefan-A]

Export variants of Soviet military equipment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Very nice looking snake!!! The normals are very nice looking too, but this snake is in no way fugly to me!

Speaking of different, Kris Haas found this cyrtopsis at the bottom of an empty swimming pool in Mexico. Hypomel/albino? First that I've seen or heard of. Nice!

[chris-uk]

Speaking of different, Kris Haas found this cyrtopsis at the bottom of an empty swimming pool in Mexico. Hypomel/albino? First that I've seen or heard of. Nice!

Can someone explain to me how this would be considered hypomelanistic or albino? Isn't the definition of albino an absence of melanin (i.e. no black or amelanistic), and hypomelanistic would have reduced expression of melanin (less black than normal)?

I'm looking at this and seeing black, but it doesn't have the bright yellows of a normal. In my eyes it's hypoxanthic or axanthic.

As I say, that's what I would have considered it, I think this snake looks like a bleached our version of the normal, and I tend to switch off when it comes to morphs. But in this case my interest was peeked by the description of it as an albino.

[ConcinusMan]

Can someone explain to me how this would be considered hypomelanistic

I consider it to be hypomelanistic. Whether it be amelanistic or hyopmelanistic it wouldn't necessarily be incorrect to call it an albino. It appears to have reduced melanin, not to mention, pink / red eyes. Any other pigments that may or may not be affected is irrelevant.

Isn't the definition of albino an absence of melanin (i.e. no black or amelanistic),

The definition of amelanistic does mean a complete lack of melanin. However, "albino" doesn't necessarily.

and hypomelanistic would have reduced expression of melanin (less black than normal)?

Correct. It might be helpful to think of it as intermediate between normal and amelanistic.

it doesn't have the bright yellows of a normal. In my eyes it's hypoxanthic or axanthic.

Yes I noticed that too and you could be right but we don't really know whats going on here on a molecular level. It is quite plausible for a mutated allele or pair of alleles on a loci to have an affect on more than one type of pigment or pigment precursor simultaneously. Also, I think this is a western ssp. They vary quite a bit and don't necessarily have "bright yellows" as a normal. Even if it is as you say, hypoaxanthic or axanthic that doesn't change the fact that it is also hypomelanistic. It very well might have all pigments reduced.

Simply having a lack of normal pigment production, one could call it albino. It doesn't necessarily have to be completely amelanistic to be called an albino. Make sense? In fact, another laymans term for melanistic is "black albino"

[chris-uk]

Makes sense. Thanks Richard.

[ThamGirl]

That is a gorgeous snake! Does seem to have some odd genes going on, though.

Wow, reading that article, I didn't realize just how different the Easterns are from my Westerns. Similar temperaments, but food preference seems pretty different (ours are fish/tadpole eaters, avoiding frogs and toads and flat out refusing mice). Not to mention that you have to light the tank for Westerns- they stop eating if you don't and don't seem to like UTHs.
I do still want a pair of Easterns though. ^_^

[chris-uk]

Not to mention that you have to light the tank for Westerns- they stop eating if you don't and don't seem to like UTHs.
I do still want a pair of Easterns though. ^_^

My western blacknecks don't have problems with UTH, they have bright LED lighting as well. They just don't need a reason to stop eating, when they eat and how much is completely down to whim and the male is worse than the female.

[ConcinusMan]

Not to mention that you have to light the tank for Westerns- they stop eating if you don't and don't seem to like UTHs.

A friend in Portland keeps WC westerns in racks with heat tape and they do just fine.

They are nippy little boogers though. Open the racks and they scramble to hide from the light and/or do a viper impression.