In reference to the Ultra Hypos, I believe Jeff Yohe got them from me, and I seriously doubt I would have told him they were some sort of hybrid.
I got them from Mike Falcon and grilled him unmercifully about their ancestry. He said they came from a wild caught animal that he at first thought might be some sort of integrade with the yellow rat (I don't remember the locality he said the wild caught came from, but I am under the impression that Mike lives in mid latitude Florida, and gray rat snakes are just not found that far south. But he later concluded that it was an just an odd looking
corn snake. Even to this day, I have no idea how anyone can make a determination like that, other than a best guess based on reasonable assumptions.
As for the frosted look, no one needs to hybridize to get that look. My original Miami Phase corn I got back in 1978 had that look and it is not at all uncommon in many of my lines of corns.
Finally, I have been breeding the Ultra Hypos for years now and have not seen any evidence that would lead me to believe they are any sort of hybrid or integrade. Otherwise they would not be in my collection right now. I have had animals in the past that I felt very strongly were not pure corns, and once making that judgement, got rid of them as soon as possible.
So I just have to ask this: How can someone jump to the conclusion that an animal is a hybrid based on the scanty evidence they have at hand? By appearances? I have had animals for years, studying their actions and mannerisms before coming to a conclusion that may or may not be right. But I decided to err on the side of caution. Appearance alone is just not enough.
As such, I want someone to look at the below photo and in one breath tell me that the photo that Jeff Yohe took of an Ultra Hypo "looks" like a hybrid yet the photo shown here of a Sunkissed corn does NOT "look" like a hybrid:
And tell me with a straight face what criteria you are using for that sort of judgement.
Either you (1) can or you (2) cannot tell from appearances. Pick one (1/2): ___