GoldDust Corn Snake
GoldDust is actually the Rosetta Stone of a new genetic type that has been floating around for a while undected except for the baffling results it has produced. A while back a line known as "Ultra Hypo" was being marketed by Mike Falcon and Mike Shiver. By hapstance, Mike Shiver bred this into his Butter Motley line, and in subsequent generations some very odd results started to become evident. Some truly exceptional looking animals were being produced that looked like "Super Ambers". And for a while, that is all they were really know as, as "Ambers".
Anyway, to make a long story shorter, it has been determined that this Ultra Hypo gene is actually a codominant trait when mixed with Amelanism. In effect, when you breed a Ultra Hypo to an Amelanistic, the resulting animals are heterozygous for both Ultra and Amelanism, which is reflected in an animal we have tentatively labeled as an "Ultramel". It appears much like a Hypo, but there are some rather distinctive differences in them that are pretty difficult to describe, based on the natural variations you will see in any corn snake.
Anyway, Ultramel combined with Caramel produces a breathtaking looking animal we are calling a "GoldDust" corn. Once you see one in person, you will fully understand why that name was chosen for this cultivar.
One thing I do suggest, however, is that if you plan on using anything related to the Ultramels in breeding projects, you may want to read up on this topic FULLY so you will be able to produce somewhat predictable results in your projects.
If you are interested in reading more about this, I did expand on this subject quite a bit in the Ultramel discussion in this list of cultivars. Also, you can stop by my CornSnakes.com forums website and do a keyword search on both Ultramel and GoldDust to pick up more info as needed.
Oh, another disclaimer here. There is a lot of controversy (at least originating from a hand full of people) about the origins of this Ultramel line and correspondingly, the GoldDust. Some feel that there is Gray Rat snake lineage involved here, and some even claim the genetic type for Ultra(Hypo) came exclusively from this Gray Rat snake heritage. When I obtained my first Ultra(Hypos) from Mike Falcon, I kept an open mind about it, and even cautioned some people I sold Ultras to that it was possible they were hybrids. But the longer I worked with them, the more I became convinced that either they were NOT hybrids, or if they were, there were no positively identifying markers that I could see that would reasonably brand them as such. And believe me, I was looking HARD at them.
But in fairness to anyone concerned about such things, I felt this deserved to be mentioned here for them to make up their own mind about what they choose to believe.
