Tessera Debate

I know,I know...broken record right? But............don't you really want to know? I know I sure as hell do. I wouldn't mind having one. I am one that can actually afford to get a pair. But,at the same time..i'm holding my breath waiting for one day a sticky will be posted somewhere with actual proof. Until that day comes,well I'll stick to the morphs that been around a lil while. Someone,anyone please give your thoughts. Your thoughts exactly. Well,give your thought when you 1st heard about the tessera and give your thoughts now.

Honestly, if it had been some back woods breeder who introduced these and put them on the market I might have questioned it - but coming from Don, KJ and Graham - three highly respected members of the cornsnake community, I trust and believe that they have done the work and research to advertise these as true cornsnakes and not hybrids. I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure KJ especially has issues with hybrids not being labeled correctly so I would imagine if he had the slightest doubt about these that he would not be working with them or advertising them as pure cornsnakes.

I agree with what Katie stated. There is no big conspiracy going on. All the people involved with the project are exceptionally open about everything they know/believe about the morph. If you have doubts talk to anyone of them and they will happily answer any of your questions. And like anything out there until we can take the animal apart at a genetic level, who is to say what is pure corn snake. And at this point in the game is there really any true example out there of "pure"?
Decide if you want the morph or not and move on from there.
Terri

I'm going with Don Soderberg's statement "Other than appearance, all physiology is classically cornsnake, though the pattern complex resembles that of other species (including pattern mutations in other species). Arguably, no obvious (or cryptic) hybrid markers have been observed."

My first thought was "Wow, that's cool, I don't understand it, looks like a garter snake." My thoughts now are "I wish there would have been a "super" form, and the color morphs are really cool."

Not directed at you, Whotty, but it seems like every time something new appears, people are so quick to credit it to hybridization, with no proof of such. I'll be glad when snake DNA testing is commonplace.

If the original Tesseras had been hybrids, exactly _what_ would have produced them??

What exactly would they be a hybrid of anyway? I have never seen any hybrids bred that give such uniform and expected patterns when bred together or into other Sub/Species. I laughed at the last thread that people were barking about hybrids because they claimed that some how someone bred a NEW WORLD Ratsnake with an OLD WORLD obscure Ratsnake species that shares a similar pattern trait. Not only is it impossible/unproven to cross an old/new world species but one as obscure as they claimed was ridiculous.

Not to be rude but if your worried about murky Corn genetics then you should probably look into another hobby because Emoryi and Obsoleta have been heavily bred into the current genetic stock either by accident or malice. I gave up caring a while ago after seeing how many intergrades were mislabeled and resold. I cringe everytime I see any 'Cream' variety being sold.

I don't really think there is much debate. I trust the breeders who have introduced the tessera. I think they have the background and knowledge to stand behind their observations. I know there are some who are skeptical, that's your right. It's also your choice how long you want to wait before coming to your own conclusions. If there is a debate to be had, I'd like to hear from the OP anything they find contradictory to Don's, KJ's and Graeme's findings.

I am open to the idea that they MAY be hybrids, but so far, I haven't seen any evidence for that theory.

I agree with Vicky, but I highly doubt the breeders originally involved would have intentionally passed off hybrids. If there is some contribution of some species other than guttata, it is entirely UNKNOWN to Don, KJ & Graham. At some point DNA sequencing will be cheap & easy & someone will settle it.

Could care less if they are hybrids.. I still don't know how the heck anyone can test for hybridism... *shrugs* Even if they were, how you going to prove it out??

Originally Posted by CrazyCorn

What exactly would they be a hybrid of anyway? I have never seen any hybrids bred that give such uniform and expected patterns when bred together or into other Sub/Species. I laughed at the last thread that people were barking about hybrids because they claimed that some how someone bred a NEW WORLD Ratsnake with an OLD WORLD obscure Ratsnake species that shares a similar pattern trait. Not only is it impossible/unproven to cross an old/new world species but one as obscure as they claimed was ridiculous.
...

Uh yeah, that's not correct. Many crosses have been done between corns and old world rats. The striped Leopard rat was not that uncommon, 7-10 years ago. (I believe that's what some were saying it was crossed with?)
Here is a link ...http://www.herpcenter.com/colubrids-...fo-needed.html

Originally Posted by Nanci

I'm going with Don Soderberg's statement "Other than appearance, all physiology is classically cornsnake, though the pattern complex resembles that of other species (including pattern mutations in other species). Arguably, no obvious (or cryptic) hybrid markers have been observed."...

If they were not hybrids, then why not openly introduce the original breeder of the original stock?
1. Because this person may ask for a cut of the profits?
2. Because this person could still breed there own?
OR...
3. Because this person could tell the animals actual heritage?
Wouldn't this end any and all debate?