Rough Scaled Sand Boa "New Morph"

[Martin Nowak]

This is a new phenotype / morph for 2024. The pattern popped up a few years ago and as is my practice, I outbreed traits first so as to have only minimal inbreeding. The examples here are all 2024 from two litters from unrelated "het" parents. I use quotes because it's yet early in working with this appearance. Again, I think it will prove out to be a recessive gene - but can't be proof positive yet ! More work and generations needed. This trait is distinguished from the XR by the broken pattern and circular blotches generally randomly dispersed the length of the dorsum. I think it is a very attractive appearance and look forward to future generations. Background color of the two litters appears to trend cream/yellow in one, and more reddish in the other.

Comments will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Socratic Monologue]

You need to have one of those 'Amazon Vine' deals where you send me free snakes and I post honest (if almost assuredly glowing) reviews of them.

Unrelatedly -- do you notice that inbreeding causes distinct issues, or particularly noticeable issues, in this species or is this just your general practice?

 

[Martin Nowak]

I have never inbred conicus. At most, some parents may be 12.5% related. It takes a long time but turns out much better in the long run.
I'm old enough to recall the first amel Burmese when inbred were just vicious animals. The first amel corns often had kinks, or had body loops attached and didn't hatch properly, same with inbred hogs.

As an aside, while in undergraduate school I studied an observation of wild corn snake babies at about 50:50 wanting first meals to be either mice or lizards (anoles or skinks). These were central Alabama locale specimens. So I caught 3 wild gravid females. Hatched the clutches. Babies were offered only pinkies as first meals. Those that ate were separated from those that refused for 3 weeks. The pinky refusers were then fed mostly anoles. I bred each group for 3 generations. The second generation - about 75% preferred prey of the parents and the third generation preferred about 95% the parents' preferred food.

As no doubt you know, most species with wide ranges - the more northerly locales will more frequently eat rodents. While in high school in Colorado I noted this among wandering garter snakes. High montane specimens would 100% eat rodents and as I caught them lower on the slopes and towards the high plains - they would sometimes prefer amphibians, fish, worms, etc. And also rodents.

As to your kind offer for honest and glowing reviews .... perhaps a test run with the attached pictures conicus phenotypes I'm working with.
One is the "Zig Zag Stripe" and presently for lack of a better name - the "Cream".

 

[Socratic Monologue]

Those two pictured animals are both stunning. The white highlighted border on the ZZS's dorsal stripe is really sharp.

As an aside, while in undergraduate school I studied an observation of wild corn snake babies at about 50:50 wanting first meals to be either mice or lizards (anoles or skinks). These were central Alabama locale specimens. So I caught 3 wild gravid females. Hatched the clutches. Babies were offered only pinkies as first meals. Those that ate were separated from those that refused for 3 weeks. The pinky refusers were then fed mostly anoles. I bred each group for 3 generations. The second generation - about 75% preferred prey of the parents and the third generation preferred about 95% the parents' preferred food.

Yup, I'm definitely a fan of selecting for feeding habits. I've been selecting holdbacks and breeding stock on a couple mildly troublesome species with this trait in mind.

Seems to me there's a lot of work in this area that could be done with Ball Pythons, an area of the hobby that has strong financial incentives to breed whatever animal has the desired traits and preferably get it at the lowest price so that project is profitable even in the face of quickly falling morph values, and then sell all the offspring ASAP regardless of their feeding habits.

 

[ckjacques]

Thanks for the interesting story about the wild corns you worked with and diet preference. Very interesting stuff for sure. I am trying a similar approach in animals I work with to hold back only the ones that will accept rodents as their first meals.

That cream animal is very interesting, and the ocelots for sure have a lot of promise. RSSBs are definitely not taken seriously enough in the hobby overall.

 

[Martin Nowak]

Thanks CK ! Agree on the RSSBs not taken seriously enough. Perhaps "we the conicus nuts" can change that asap. They really are fine animals. I am confident diet preferences are strongly genetic.