identifying a lavender

What should I look for to positively identify a lavender?

Do they invariably have ruby eyes? If so, is it always obvious on the hatchlings?

These animals were clutch mates.


thanks, Jean

First of all, I have to say - WOW!!! They are ALL just absolutely STUNNING!!

Lavenders can vary quite alot in color. If you haven't checked out Rich Zuchowski's site yet (www.SerpenCo.com), it's a great place to get alot in info on many corn morphs, including a history and many great pics. When you get onto his site, click on 2004 Hatchlings (far left), get to Lavender (most morphs are in alphabetical order), then click on the pic/More details.
That should give you an idea as to what to look for.

Do you know what the parents of those snakes are? That will help in the identification.

IMO, the gray one looks like a lavender, and the pink one in the "middle" looks like it could be a lavender or even a hypolavender. Send them both to me anyway and I'll run some breeding trials on them for you! It may take a couple of years of breeding trials to get their exact genetic make-up figured out, but I will get it,... and first picks of the hatchlings. Then you can have them back, fully identified!

The parents look like the "normal" one in the back on the other pic. I've been calling them ghosts, since anery specimens have also pop out, and a hypo specimen this year. The parent project is for normal colored Aztecs, but these animals have an odd looking hypo as comon ancester, at first glance, that hypo looked amel. The father of these is a regular Aztec, het for at least anery type A.

I've been supposing that these are anerys with that strain of hypo (which I highly doubt is type A). Even if not from that strain, I'm pretty sure these are hypo something... maybe they is ALSO something else??? I bought some hypo lavs from V.Russo this year, and they really don't look like the "peach" one as babies.

I've seen babies for sale (CSM) that look quite a bit like the babies I have here, that turn out like the "peach" looking specimen.

This is what they looked like as babies,


thanks for looking, Jean

There are at least 4 known hypo genes. I have some experience with anery A's that get an over-all "wash" of pink/peach, but that one of yours has more than even my best specimen! You may be dealing with one of the other hypo genes.

I would suggest that you go to www.cornsnakes.com and post your pics in the cultivars/morphs section. There are ALOT of "regulars" on that site that have alot of experience with the other hypo genes and they may be able to help you further identify your snakes.

Hope to see you there!

Some of us do lurk around here too Susan!

Thank you Suzan,

I've read a rather long post on that forum concerning hypos, and it was very interesting. It's after reading that post and seeing lavenders that I started thinking MAYBE these could be another strain of lavs, maybe not. I'm having a hard time putting in my head that lavs are not somekind of hypo type whatever, combined with a type of anery, even after seing hypo lavs (I know, sounds like denial ) To me, even the "regular lavs" look like they are hypomelanistic, and those ruby eyes contribute to that even further. Which is why I'm inquiring about exactly "what" a lav should look like? Am I looking for a type of anery... or a type of anery that invariably has red irises?

Anyhow, I'm keeping all 10 of them this year, and I think that 4 of them will be like that peach one, I'll photo document their developement that's for sure, and I really don't mind growing them, I think they look great, period.

Maybe I'll post on the other forum like you said...

take care. Jean

Is there no excape?!

Hi Gary! I know alot of the cornsnakes.com group lurk over here also. It just doesn't get the same traffic.