Odd (Coffey line) Gray-Banded additions

[DeadMouse]

While I do not currently have these in my possession (too cold to ship), this is a pair I bought from Dan Grubb recently and will hopefully receive next week once it warms up a bit.

Female:

Male:

To be honest, these little guys floored me when I saw them as I've never seen a Gray-Banded king look so different before whether an Alterna or Blairs phase. I'm sure some won't care for them and that's fine, but to me, they are most welcome additions and will be something fun and interesting to work with.

These are called Coffey line Gray-Bandeds. Unfortunately, Dan is unsure just what type of genetic trait this is although he currently believes it is a type of line trait. I guess time will tell.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Michael823]

Those are gorgeous. You must be very excited. I agree, too, they are quite unique looking, especially the female... wow! Best of luck with them, and congrats.

 

[Nanci]

Wow, that's crazy!!!!!!!! I've seen some approaching the pattern of the male, but NOTHING like the female!!

 

[ArpeggioAngel]

They are beautiful!
I know nothing about the line or the genetics, but they almost remind of some snakes I have seen at the Daytona expo that were being called "grey eyes" which I believe were a hybrid between alterna and mex-mex if I recall correctly. Not saying that is what these are, just what they remind me of at first glance.
Regardless they are some stunning snakes and I can see why you would be excited - I sure as heck would be too!!

 

[Iguanagirl8662]

Wow that first one is amazing, the second one is goregous too congrats!

 

[Candachan]

I love them, especially the female!

 

[DeadMouse]

Wow, that's crazy!!!!!!!! I've seen some approaching the pattern of the male, but NOTHING like the female!!

I too have seen some very aberrant patterned specimens approaching that zig zag/aztec look just like the male, but the female is very unique. After getting our Superconda, I told myself that I was not going to buy anymore snakes for a long while. Boy was that a short lived prospect. After seeing that female, I had to work something out with the wife so that I could buy her.

Dan does have one other female that closely resembles the female he sold to me as well as more of the aberrant style GBK's which can be seen here on his web page: http://www.dgreptiles.com/Alterna.html

He's got some very cool GBK's and I'm hoping one day to add an Anerythristic to my collection as well should he prove successful in breeding his.

They are beautiful!
I know nothing about the line or the genetics, but they almost remind of some snakes I have seen at the Daytona expo that were being called "grey eyes" which I believe were a hybrid between alterna and mex-mex if I recall correctly. Not saying that is what these are, just what they remind me of at first glance.
Regardless they are some stunning snakes and I can see why you would be excited - I sure as heck would be too!!

I don't disagree with you, they look very much like a granite style Mex-Mex and GBK hybrid. This is what Dan explained to me in an email: "I am still new to the Coffey line, I think it is more a line breeding trait. when you breed an abberant snake to a non abberant from the same line you get the funky babies. When I have bred abberant to abberant I have had two clutches of all abberant 4 in each clutch for two years, so I am very lucky or they are breeding true but don't seem to work as simple recessive. I bred an abberant male to a normal female and got four regular offspring. I am using them to add to the bloodline but it will be a few years before I can tell what is up with this line. So far I am stunned by what hatches from the Coffey line."

So hopefully these are pure GBK's and not a hybrid, especially since I will be integrating them with my other GBK's for projects.

Those are gorgeous. You must be very excited. I agree, too, they are quite unique looking, especially the female... wow! Best of luck with them, and congrats.

Wow that first one is amazing, the second one is goregous too congrats!

I love them, especially the female!

Thanks everyone for the wonderful comments so far! Without a doubt, it's the female that is the gem of this pair and she was really the main focal point of the ad that was placed as well as the snake that caught my attention. The male, while very unique himself, was basically a throw-in deal with the female. All the same, I'll be glad to have them both.

 

[RobbiesCornField]

Those are just too dang cool looking!

 

[ArpeggioAngel]

So hopefully these are pure GBK's and not a hybrid, especially since I will be integrating them with my other GBK's for projects.

I will be definately keeping an eye out for offspring down the road. Will be interesting to see what they produce for you. Might have to get myself on a waiting list!!

 

[StrangeCargo]

Congrats! I saw those advertised on Kingsnake... By the time I got the cash, they were sold. They are REAL stunners and should produce so great babies one day! Cool stuff... again- congrats.

Graham

 

[vetusvates]

Hmm...very interesting. Beautiful little critters.

 

[tyflier]

GORGEOUS!!

There are some really increbile abberrant patterns being produced with greybands these days. Lozier Canyon and Highway 277 locales have been throwing some stunning aberrant patterns over the last couple years.

That female, though...I've never seen anything like her. Would you mind if I shared that first photo with a friend of mine? He's an alterna freak...

 

[DeadMouse]

Thanks a lot everyone for the wonderful comments!

Congrats! I saw those advertised on Kingsnake... By the time I got the cash, they were sold. They are REAL stunners and should produce so great babies one day! Cool stuff... again- congrats.

I guess it pays to be quick then! Actually, he had them listed at least once before I had contacted him and when the ad expired which I disappointedly (new word ) assumed that they had been sold. When he relisted them the day or two after, I emailed him right away and counted my blessings when he accepted my offer.

GORGEOUS!!

There are some really increbile abberrant patterns being produced with greybands these days. Lozier Canyon and Highway 277 locales have been throwing some stunning aberrant patterns over the last couple years.

That female, though...I've never seen anything like her. Would you mind if I shared that first photo with a friend of mine? He's an alterna freak...

It is very interesting some of the specimens that are coming out of the GBK's. It just seems though that they are very hard to find and only in small quantities when available. While I understand the problems with problem eaters (and the male I'm getting only eats lizard scented pinks right now), I wonder what else is proving difficult to produce these awesome animals in larger quantities.

As far as the picture goes, those that I posted were taken by Dan Grubb and were used in the original ad that he had placed on KS. Considering that they were posted on a public site, I don't think he would have any problem other people showing off the wonderful animals he's producing.

When I get them in my hands, I'll be sure to take more pictures of them. Of that you can be sure!

 

[tyflier]

It is very interesting some of the specimens that are coming out of the GBK's. It just seems though that they are very hard to find and only in small quantities when available. While I understand the problems with problem eaters (and the male I'm getting only eats lizard scented pinks right now), I wonder what else is proving difficult to produce these awesome animals in larger quantities.

There's probably a few different factors contributing to this...

One of them is for sure, clutch sizes. Very small, in terms of quantity...only 3-6 eggs per clutch, as far as I know.

Also, most of these highly aberrant pattern traits seem to be linear, rather than recessive in nature. That makes it a touch difficult to breed reliably. Alot of the speckled ones, like your male, are starting to become more widely available, though I haven't seen any that display such a distinct tail.

Greybands are a relatively new thread in the hobby. People have always worked with them, but never with the intensity that they are now recieving. That's probably at least partly due to a closure on the captive collection of them in most of the native US localities.

Couple that with the effort it takes to get the males established, and it goes a long way towards excplaining the rarity of them...

Let me know how the breeding goes with these two. I'm very interested in the F1 outcome. Chances are very high that these are linear traits, but it will still be interesting to see what such an outrageous looking pair of outcrossed mates will produce...

 

[dionythicus]

Those are too cool. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this line.

 

[DeadMouse]

Well, after patiently waiting over a week until the weather warmed up a bit, I gave the go ahead this last weekend for Dan to ship the snakes which just arrived this morning.

I have to say, these snakes are totally awesome in person. The pictures I originally posted, which Dan took and used as part of the ad for them, really do them no justice. Once they get a little settled in, I'll take some more pictures and post them here.

Dan even included a live sideblotch lizard to use for scenting as the male is still only taking scented pinks. Even the lizard is a cool and fun little added bonus.

 

[diamondlil]

Wonderful snakies! Glad they arrived safely.

 

[DeadMouse]

Wonderful snakies! Glad they arrived safely.

Thanks Janine!

Well, I went to feed the mice and saw that I just got some newborns, so I figured "what the heck" and decided to toss in a few for new guys. Boy, that female has a voracious appetite! She wasted no time scarfing down both pinkies. I guess they didn't serve any snacks on their flight up here. So obviously I had to take a few pictures.

The male wasn't too interested in his lizard scented pinks yet but I figured I might as well snap some shots before I left him alone for the night.

Enjoy!