|
Origins of Spotted Stripe Rough Scale Morph
I am often asked about the origins of my "Spotted Stripe" (SS) morph rough scaled sand boas. Pictures included for this narrative. Pics taken 11/10/2022.
25 years ago (1998) I purchased the dam - as an adult - at a snake show.
19 years ago (2003) I purchased the sire - as an adult - at a snake show.
Except for the first two years after purchase (bred but no babies), they bred and produced healthy young every year since then including 2022.
12 years ago she produced a single Spotted Stripe in a litter of 12; and since has produced one per litter in 5 of the litters. See example pic of 2020 SS.
I never inbred the SS. Outcrossed and then bred presumed hets. In 2022 four litters were born to different visual SS pairs and 100% offspring were SS. (N remains small - these litters were first time pregnancies and were comprised of 4,3,3,3 babies. No stillborns.) Over the years I noticed three distinct background colors: white/cream, silver, yellow. These hues - with limited production so far - appear to be straight line transmissible to all offspring while retaining the "spotted strip patterns". Some have very narrow midline stripes and some have wider stripes... but all the same pattern. They also have very limited patterns on sides - just small spots for the most part.
The dam has produced in excess of 200 healthy babies; 23 in 2022.
Reportedly - the dam was imported wild caught unknown years prior to my purchase. No verification of this - just the verbal anecdote.
In 2019 this same pair dropped a single female which is of wild type pattern but quite reddish / rust in tone. See pic. All other offspring over all the years have been typical gray / brown wild type patterns and colors.
Another random wild type pair in the past 6 years has dropped 2.1 "zigzag stripe" - one per litter in three of the litters. See pic. More to learn about this pattern. (I can't load more than 4 pics per thread - so will place this pic in a new thread).
|