Alabama vs Miami

[Cane]

Well, I just received my Okeetee corn, Shesha, but the other 2 that were in the running for me were the Miami phase and the Alabama. I don't personally care for all the fancy morphs but I had a really tough time deciding between these 3. I had never seen any of them except on internet pictures and I'm really happy with my new boy but what are the differences between the Miamis and Alabamas? I might not ever get a second snake but I am curious.

 

[Lycari]

Miamis have a light grey or tan ground color, clean borders, and orangey saddles.
Alabamas have a very metallic look to them with dark red saddles, thick black borders, and metallic ground colors--females are often grey and males are often more bronze looking.

Miami: http://iansvivarium.com/morphs/miami/?sid=94d24f16c066ad03b01522907d3ab462
Alabama: http://iansvivarium.com/morphs/alabama/?sid=94d24f16c066ad03b01522907d3ab462

 

[Lycari]

My first and beloved corn was my late Saga. </3 She was an Alabama with gorgeous borders and a surprisingly light grey ground color. The vet said she was a very nice Miami phase, and I had to correct him and point out that her saddles were almost ruby red, much too dark for a Miami. Her brother, Zayvion, whom I recently purchased from MysticExotics, is an Alabama Tessera. He's got that same deep red and light ground color, with a bronzed tint. Both were/are beautiful. I just love the Alabama locality.

 

[MysticExotics]

Alabama's and Miami's are both normals, essentially, that originalted as locality animals. The Miami phase have been refined to become the look you see today (most common is the LBR line Miami).
Both Miami's and Alabama's originated as locality "morphs". The Miami phase has been around for a little while.
Alabama's are newer, and have not yet been refined. They are only fairly recently recognized as a "morph". They are still a nirmal.
When crossed with any other morph, the Alabama's tend to end up with a tan ground color, vs the metallic grey.

The snakes that Lykari is referring to, are from an F1 outcross, with an Alabama female that I used to own, paired with an Okeetee Tessera, that I borrowed from my friend Tara.

I am hoping to get a WC locality Alabama clutch this year, from a different pair of Alabama's. Both are wild caught, long term captive.

Alabama's are still not easy to find, as not many people have actual Alabama locality snakes.
Miami's, on the other hand, are readily available, and the breeder with the most notable line of Miami's, is Carold Huddleston (LBR). She has refined the Miami line, and prodiced some of the most amazing Miami's you can find.