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looking to learn more about corn snakes

P

phillyroc

New member
hi

i am looking for any one that help me get started into keeping some snakes just as a hobby and to some day try and breed my fist snakes..

one hold back is that i do not know the slang and have no idea what these words mean like

"het" and the names of the corns like "motley" and "morph"

and bunch of other hard to spell and say words but i am very dedicated and with a little help i should be on my way... i have been breeding dogs for 10 years and horse for 4 years..

thanks you for any help that you could provide me with

i am also looking to buy from a good and respectable breeder who has been doing this for years i am looking for top quality snakes just like my dogs and horse, all my breeding stock is from 15-30 year breeder or i bred it my self 1st-2nd-3rd generations from home....

please point me in the right direction....

thanks again

rocco
 
Your first step is to buy a copy of Kathy Love's The Corn Snake Manual. It can be purchased directly from her site at www.cornutopia.com. The next step is to read it at least 5 times. In the meantime, read as many posts on this site as possible, especially the ones concerning any and all problems. When you feel ready to purchase your first corn snake and wish to buy from some of the most experienced, my first suggestions would be Rich Zuchowski (SerpenCo), Kathy Love, and Don Soderberg (South Mountain Reptiles). These are among the very best. There are many others and you can just about find them all here.

To get you started on the terms you mentioned, as well as a few other common terms:

het - short for "heterozygous". Refers to the genetic make-up. Most cornsnake genes are "simple" (ie only one pair makes the desired look). If both genes in the pair are the same, either dominant or recessive, the snake is homozygous for the trait. If the genes in the pair are different (one dominant and one recessive), the snake is called heterozygous (het) for the trait. Most traits are seen only when the snake is homozygous for the recessive gene. Heterozygous snakes do not show the recessive trait, but can pass it on to its offspring.

morph - what the snake looks like as a result of certain genes or combinations of genes. "Cultivar" is another term for the same thing.

motley - a specific morph/cultivar of cornsnake where the pattern on the back is connected in a certain way. The belly also lacks any markings (checks/checker board pattern). This morph is related to the striped morph and can be combined with it for some interesting results.

amel - short for amelanism - morph caused by a pair of recessive genes that removes the black color from a normally colored corn snake. These snakes are basically various shades of orange and red.

anery/aneryth - short for anerythrism - there are 2 different types (A and B). The 2 types are controlled by completely different pairs of recessive genes. A type "B" aneryth is usually referred to as a "charcoal". Both genes remove the red color (most of it anyway) from a normally colored corn snake. These snakes are usually various shades of grey/black and brown, often with yellow on the neck.
 
thank you

thank you very much.......

i am a good listener and a quick learner, i hope to get my first corn soon, but first i will take you advice and read some books.........

thanks again

rocco
 
I just wanted to second the suggestion to get Kathy's book. Great source of information about corns. In addition, you could do searches here on the formums for terms that you read but are not familiar with. You may not get an easy to read definition, but you would get a lot of great information that would explain the term, as well as a bunch of other stuff. Even doing that, I'm starting to think that understanding the genetics involvded with the different morphs is something I'm never going to understand completely. Good thing we have Serpwidget and a few other experts here to hold our hands for us. :)
 
every one on this forum is real kool

thanks dude,

every one is real kool on here and thank you i will get that book this week cause i can't wait to get my first corn...

rocco
 
Thanks and another dictionary question

This thread has been very helpful, as has the entire forum. I wish I had found you all, and picked up the owner's manual, before I got the snake. The book will be my next purchase. Actually, we have done well, I have owned Bubba since late February. We have been through one shed and a buch of pinkie mice, and he is now a whopping 15 inches long.

The question is, when discussing corn snake morphs/cultivars, what is a phase?

Make it two questions, what is the translation of 1.1 or 3.0 or whatever at the bottom of posts when describing one's snake menagerie? At least I assume that is what is being described.

Thanks, you folks are a wonderful resource.

Brownie
 
Kathy Loves Book is great.

Also, I found a very knowledgable person at the reptile store that I frequent who gives me help and answers questions.

also, the networking in this forum is very helpful.

There are also numerous web-sites that you can investigate.
 
The numbers you see associated with a snake, ie. 1.1, indicate gender. The first number is male, the second female, and the third if there is one is unknown. So for example, 1.0 would be one male, 0.1 would be one female, and 0.0.1 would be one unknown gender.
 
you can learn alot from good people

this forum is great and i have learn alot from just some kind strangers who share atleast one same interests, "corn snakes"

thanks again

rocco
 
A good suggestion ( Besides the Cornsnake Manual) is to check out the photo gallery, the genetics section, and Rich Z's site. He has a link to his site under his name when he posts anything. He has a very good explanation of various morphs along with the pictures there. The photo gallery on this site shows lots of various morphs, and the genetics section is self-explanatory.
 
I had hoped to post a few more definitions in my earlier post but the husband needed the phone line so I had to stop short.

brownie55 - the only times I remember seeing the term "phase" is when it is part of an actual cultivar's name...EX: Miami Phase and Milk Snake Phase. It may also be used in just describing a certain look of a particular cultivar, such as..."many of my anery A's are of the lighter/browner phase instead of the black/grey phase." But I really don't see this very often.

A big help in trying to figure things out or get an answer is to use the search function of this site. Most things have already been asked and answered, but getting multiple answers can help clarify things. It took my awhile to figure out that there are at least 3 different hypo genes, and that they have specific names. And Lava corns really threw me until I put it in the search and read multiple posts. I'm still mildly confused, but at least have a bit of a clue and can always search again when I need to!
 
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