Pic of my corn

[Anthony]

Here is a pic of my corn I bought about 2 1/2 months ago.
She is a ghost corn, 4 feet long and about 3 years old.

[Kevin M]

Glad I took a closer look. At quick glance (And with the shading) I thought that was a baby rock python for a moment.

She's a nice size. You plan on breeding her?

-Kev

[PSYCOSNAKEMOM]

I thought that if your snake was a snow, then it would look white? I'm sure that this is because I'm clueless about the gentics of the whole thing. So what makes it a snow? Learning slowly, Sam:confused:

[Kevin M]

The corn pictured above is a Ghost, Not a Snow...

However, if it were a snow the genetics would begin with Amelanism & Anerythrism A.

Snow Corn: (From SMR)
http://www.cornsnakes.net/gallery/snow328.jpg

[PSYCOSNAKEMOM]

I read Ghost, and did something in my mind with the word Snow! I have odered "the book" and hope that I'll catch on quick after reading. Because even realizing that your snake is a Ghost, I still would have questioned why is it not white? Does that mean that your Candy Cane had to have some Snow in it's back ground, you know because it is lighter? You can say, "Wait until you read the book Sam, the clouds will slowly disappear!" Anyhow! GREAT shots. We're into shedding right now, so maybe some good photos tomorrow. Sam

[ROACHMAN]

I bought one today but he is still a baby and i dont have a pic of him , but i seriously believe that you have a Anerythristic corn there , type "A" most probably , Type "B" would have been more grey and the contrast not so high , the whole gost corn strand is "lighter" hence the name gost ....or that is my humble opinion :-)
below is a pic of a Anerythristic Female Corn type " A" ....see what you think

[Hurley]

Ghosts and snows are actually made up of a couple of color mutations (in this case, deficiencies of certain colors).

A white snake who is a snow carries two traits that make it appear as such: amelanism and anerythrism (type A)

A muted grey-tone snake who is a ghost carries two traits as well: hypomelanism and anerythrism (type A)

If I break these down, it makes more sense to me. The three genes involved in making ghosts and snows then are amelanism, hypomelanism, and anerythrism.

Amelanism is a condition where the snake fails to produce the black/brown pigments (melanin). The name comes from a- lack of; melano- black color; -ism a condition of. Run it together -->a condition where there is a lack of black coloration, hence the amels you see around being the red and white snakes with varying degrees of yellow/orange thrown in. These guys always have red eyes since there is no melanin (pigment) in the irises to color the iris, and no melanin in the retina to make the pupil appear black. With the 'black' removed, you are left with whatever red and yellow the snake should have normally.

Anerythrism is a condition where the snake fails to produce the red/orange pigments (erythrin). {note: yellow seems to be affected independently and is not eliminated by anerythrism type A} The name comes from a- lack of; erythro- red color; -ism a condition of. Again, together you get anerythrism = a condition where there is a lack of red coloration. This results in a 'black and white' version of a normal snake. These are the grey-toned snakes we see around. There are other relatives to anerythrism type A that I am not going to get into here (charcoal/anerythrism type B, caramel, lavender).

It you think about it, what do you get if you combine anerythrism and amelanism...a snake that lacks the reds and the blacks leaving you with a white snake with or without varying amounts of yellow. There are other colors that will show up, pink tones, etc., that are governed indepently of the amel and anery genes. This gives us a wonderful variety within snows alone! Cool, in my opinion.

OK, onward...

Hypomelanism is a condition where black pigment is reduced but not completely obliterated. The name comes from hypo- a reduction of; melano- black color; -ism a condition of. Therefore, hypomelanism is a condition where black pigment is reduced. To confound the issue further, some believe that hypo may actually intensify the red tones making the snake more vibrant. Is this an effect of the gene or is the color just more visible without the black? I don't know, but I'd love to have someone prove it out!

Add hypomelanism to anerythrism and you get a black and white snake with muted blacks resulting in a washed out/silvery snake --> ghost.

Below is a picture (I hope) of a ghost and a snow for comparison.

I hope this helps!

The corn snake manual really does help clear it all up, you'll love it.

[Hurley]

:D

[ROACHMAN]

And there you have the full biological explination in a nutshell :-)

Hurley i see you have also started going into your genetics seriously , good going...i have alooong road ahead

:D :rolleyes: :D

[ROACHMAN]

Here is a couple

[ROACHMAN]

I must say doesnt matter what she is she is a beauty !!! whish mine was that big already , they really look gorgeous

[Kevin M]

I think Hurley sumed it all up in a nutshell.
How much do we owe you for that lesson?

-Kev

[Rich Z]

BTW, that photo above posted by ROACHMAN is by Bill & Kathy Love, and I will have to remove it unless he has gotten permission from them to post it here.

Regardless, there is an error in the caption on that photograph. The Butter Corn is NOT a form of snow corn. Snow corns are based on 'A' Anerythrism and Amelanism, whereas the Butter Corn is based on Caramel and Amelanism. I thought I had mentioned this to Kathy a long while ago and it was going to be corrected in the photograph. Oh well.

[ROACHMAN]

sorry didnt know i am not allowed to use the pic i will remove it ..sorry:eek:

[Serpwidgets]

Snow pics...

Pinky has a good bit of yellows, and has retained a lot of the pink. (her pinks don't show up very well in these pictures)

http://serpwidgets.com/freepics/posts0202/Pinky_0202_1.jpg

http://serpwidgets.com/freepics/posts0202/Pinky_0202_3.jpg

http://serpwidgets.com/freepics/posts0202/Pinky_Yellow_0202_1.jpg
She may have a yellow belly, but she isn't lily-livered! ;-)

http://serpwidgets.com/freepics/posts0202/Pinky_Head_0202_1.jpg

[fatalfx]

friend just gave me a cornsnake and it is white as paper no other flaw or color or anything. with red to pink eyes what the hell is it . its so cool looking under black light lol...........ps i got it for 10 bucks and its about 12 inches long......mabee hair longer.........

[PSYCOSNAKEMOM]

Serpwidgets, my friend Diane bought me your book as my favorite christmas presents, of course my frireinds think that I am weird, that I should want, jewerly and junk, I love it, thanks, your photos have turned to Xs on this thread and I don't think that means how they are rated (lol)

fatalfx....show us some pictures, sounds like a blizzard!!!!

Happy new YEAR everyone, sam ~~~~~~~~~:~