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Is this a ghost?

I say it's a Caramel. It looks more like a Caramel than any Ghost I have ever seen including the pictures Susan posted.

CA001m.jpg


D80
 
It really doesn't look like a ghost to me either. Some few ghosts might look that way, but if I saw it for sale as a ghost I would be kinda skeptical unless I knew the breeder to be trustworthy. I've seen pastel ghosts, really peachy ones, and darker ones with a lot of black on them, but not all rolled in one and this snake just looks all wrong for a ghost to me. But I like and select for lighter colored ghosts anyway. What it looks like to me is a normal with some localty or other, the background color seems kind of metallic looking, maybe caramel or the Alabama corns already mentioned.
 
WOW! Such an amazing array of guesses. It is in my opinion very much a ghost. A nice ghost, but a ghost none the less. In my opinion, it does not have nearly enough yellow wash to the front half of it's body to be a Caramel.
 
I think it's might be a Dilute Pastel (dilute, hypo and anery), as it's saddles are just too pink/orange in comparison to the body (which looks quite murky) to be a plain old ghost. Here's two examples of Dilute Pastels for comparison :

IMG_8368.JPG
dilutepastel-m.jpg


Compared to :
attachment.php


Though with such a murky colour it's difficult to ID XD What are the chances that the snake is coming up to shedding and thus the colours are dimmer/darker than normal?

Just my two cents :crazy02:
 
Well, she wasn't in blue on Tuesday night, but I haven't bothered her since then to check. I have no idea when she even ate last or what schedule she's on. I'm erring on the side of caution and leaving her for 5-7 and then I'll feed her. She's a little on the skinny side and I know she's been alone since Saturday, so I feel comfortable feeding her asap.

I'll definitely keep everyone posted as to whether she's in shed or what the owner says she is. Very interesting anyways. :)
 
I guess what we really need is more photos under various different lighting situations and with different backgrounds.
 
I wouldn't say it's impossible, but it doesn't look like a ghost to me. I wouldn't rule out caramel, but my guess would be a simple regional variation of a normal corn.
 
I am still saying this guy is a Alabama Corn. Walter had some adults for sale here a couple months ago. But I cant for the life of me find the threads. I think he may have deleted them. But if he still has the pics (Walter) then maybe we could post them up here.
 
well, I think we'll only be certain if you breed it. I don't think more pictures will help.

I think 2 people are saying it's a Caramel....really? I mean they don't even remotely look the same. This one has nothing "Caramel" about it. That's definitely out of the question.

But in my opinion it's a Hypo. I have females proven to be homo hypo which have almost full black belly checkers. This one clearly has reduced black on its belly so it must be a hypo.

I say breed it next year to a Ghost and see what comes out :) Only then we'll know for sure.
 
When it sheds take a picture (with no flash maybe?) and post it here.

If the shed is dark and has melanin on it then it's not a hypo, if it's totally white and clear, then it is a hypo. That could at least clear up the ghost mystery.
 
Cornparadise said:
I think 2 people are saying it's a Caramel....really? I mean they don't even remotely look the same. This one has nothing "Caramel" about it. That's definitely out of the question.
Click to expand...

I know I've seen caramels that look pretty darn similar. I wouldn't say that's definitely what it is, but I don't see it looking any less like a caramel than a ghost.

Cornparadise said:
I have females proven to be homo hypo which have almost full black belly checkers. This one clearly has reduced black on its belly so it must be a hypo.
Click to expand...

I don't understand this logic. Your female hypos have solid black ventral markings and since this one clearly doesn't, it must be the same thing?

I think too many little secondary characteristics are being applied to morphs as if they're diagnostic for that particular cultivar in this thread. We need to keep in mind that phenotypically normal corns vary widely in melanin density, background coloration, ventral pattern, etc. There are plenty of wild populations that have drastically reduced black pigmentation, but that doesn't mean they're homozygous for hypomelanism. This brings me to my next point...

Jessicat said:
If the shed is dark and has melanin on it then it's not a hypo, if it's totally white and clear, then it is a hypo. That could at least clear up the ghost mystery.
Click to expand...

If there is visible pattern on the shed, that should rule out the ghost idea. However, I don't think lack of pigment on the shed confirms it's a ghost either-it could still be a normal corn that happens to have reduced melanin.
 
Jessicat said:
When it sheds take a picture (with no flash maybe?) and post it here.

If the shed is dark and has melanin on it then it's not a hypo, if it's totally white and clear, then it is a hypo. That could at least clear up the ghost mystery.
Click to expand...

Kevin S. said:
If there is visible pattern on the shed, that should rule out the ghost idea. However, I don't think lack of pigment on the shed confirms it's a ghost either-it could still be a normal corn that happens to have reduced melanin.
Click to expand...

Not sure how pigment in the shed skin is going to tell anything as hypos, ghosts, normals, caramels, etc all have pigment in the shed skin. The only ones that don't are anything homozygous amel or dilute.
 
I was editing the previous post and hit post by accident.

I think everyone is foolish to think we can always identify snakes by looking at them. Even the most common of morphs experience natural variation thus affecting their appearance. With this variations now so varied anymore you can't always be sure. A friend explained it like this. There are 7 or so distinct color morphs now, same as the standard phone numbers. If my math is correct, there are 5040 permutations (God I hope I did that right). Think about that, not to mention you have pattern morphs that take away melanin and several pattern morphs have the same effect on the ventrals making them plain and somewhat have the same effect on the laterals.. It amazes me when people sell "bloodred motley" or "Bloodred Stripes" without test breedings. Yeah superficially they may appear to be a motley or stripe, but how can you be 100% sure without testing for bloodred.

So, if we do not know the genetic make up for sure, I wouldn't venture a guess anymore. Just my perspective.

dc
 
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