what is a stargazer

I ask it here because it seems appropriate.

I read about them breifly in a book a while ago, and the question just kinda resurfaced in my head, what exactly are the symptoms of a stargazer? Is there any easy way to tell?

I mean I know the one thing I read somewhere is that they look upwards, but y'know, a lot of corns seem to do that. At least a lot of corns I've seen anyway, I mean is there a guide somewhere that describes it in detail? A video? Anything like that?

Here is a video, poor little ones!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEtEAUQNeXs&feature=related

hmm. I can't help be paranoid about my corn now. Snake doesn't do the shaking head about thing often, but normally when I put them back into their tank the first thing they do is go up against the edge and shake their head about, although I'm pretty sure this is just trying to escape.

They also put their head up every now and then, but its normally just stationary, y'know against the edge of the tank head up resting against the plastic looking out.

The only reason I worry is because I'm pretty sure a couple snakes I've seen at the place I bought mine might be stargazers. (one I saw definitely was).

Snake however tends to be pretty stationary, curled up beneath a cardboard tube. When they're out exploring they have perfect control etc, the only time I see them shake their head (i say them since I haven't found out the gender yet) is when I pop them back into the tank, and its always against the plastic side of the tub.

Wyldrose said:

Here is a video, poor little ones!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEtEAUQNeXs&feature=related

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Awe, poor babies

Whats really annoying is some breeders will ignore the neurological problems and breed them, its such a shame.

AZ

AZTEC said:

Whats really annoying is some breeders will ignore the neurological problems and breed them, its such a shame.

AZ

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That is sad, there are so many out there that see dollar signs when they look at their animals, not love.

Agreed. Its the same with other reptiles too like there are some geckos I believe at a store near me, they have a neurological disorder so all the do is walk around in circles with their heads up. Apparently because they've got this condition they're actually more valuable.

I can't help but think a lot of these are sold as "special breeds" to new owners who don't realise what they're getting is basically a snake with palsy.

Stargazing is a genetic condition linked to the sunkissed morph, so with your snake being anery het amel it's highly unlikely it would even carry one copy of the stargazing gene.

diamondlil said:

Stargazing is a genetic condition linked to the sunkissed morph, so with your snake being anery het amel it's highly unlikely it would even carry one copy of the stargazing gene.

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Stargazer is not linked to Sunkissed, it just started in Sunkissed lines. It is a simple recessive gene that can be carried by any morph.

If you know that your line of Corn does not trace back to Sunkissed lines, then it is very unlikely it is carrying Stargazer as het. If you do not have any lineage on your Corn, it is possible. With all of the Sunkissed Projects that have been created, ALL Normals, Amels, Anerys and on and on from these Projects are 50% ph Stargazer, not just the Sunkissed.

ecreipeoj said:

Stargazer is not linked to Sunkissed, it just started in Sunkissed lines. It is a simple recessive gene that can be carried by any morph.

If you know that your line of Corn does not trace back to Sunkissed lines, then it is very unlikely it is carrying Stargazer as het. If you do not have any lineage on your Corn, it is possible. With all of the Sunkissed Projects that have been created, ALL Normals, Amels, Anerys and on and on from these Projects are 50% ph Stargazer, not just the Sunkissed.

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I doubt that all of the Normals, Amels, Anerys and on and on from these projects are 50% ph Stargazer. Now if the originals carry the trait yes, but you are stating that every snake to come from a Sunkissed project is possibly carrying Stargazer. I just do not think that is true. If so, it would be showing up much more than it does. Unless there are people out there, who like you, have hidden the truth behind their stock.

ecreipeoj said:

Stargazer is not linked to Sunkissed, it just started in Sunkissed lines. It is a simple recessive gene that can be carried by any morph.

If you know that your line of Corn does not trace back to Sunkissed lines, then it is very unlikely it is carrying Stargazer as het. If you do not have any lineage on your Corn, it is possible. With all of the Sunkissed Projects that have been created, ALL Normals, Amels, Anerys and on and on from these Projects are 50% ph Stargazer, not just the Sunkissed.

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In this country, Joe, I doubt if that many normals, amels and aneries will have come from sunkissed projects, if they did they'd most likely be listed as poss. hets, as special and different project snakes

AZTEC said:

Whats really annoying is some breeders will ignore the neurological problems and breed them, its such a shame.

AZ

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Wyldrose said:

That is sad, there are so many out there that see dollar signs when they look at their animals, not love.

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However, having homo stargazers is a necessity for the breeders who wish to run test clutches to determine if SG is present, or not, in their stock. Test breeding can determine if the gene is present, and from there, it is up to the breeder to decide what to do with the offspring, and what to do with their stock, if their stock tests positive. It is the only way to be certain that a het gene is not getting passed along, only to pop up in someone elses' hatchlings generation/s down the road.