IS
MY BOA HYPO OR SALMON?
Hypos and
salmons are the same animal. Here is a simple way to
look at this trait:
Hypomelanism does two things in
a snake: (1) It enhances red to a lesser degree. (2) It
reduces black to a larger degree.
When a hypo is bred to a
normal, about half will show the trait. The other half
are normal animals. THEY ARE NOT HET FOR HYPO. Hypos are
not het for salmon. They are hypomelanistic.
Hypomelanism is a proven dominant trait. Once a super
proves out of a co-dom line, it is then considered a
dominant rather than co-dom.
Now let's look at the
pigmentation of a hypo or "salmon".
If you take an F-1 hypo and
breed it to an F-1 hypo, your offspring will have had a
strong reduction in black, thus showing more red, pink,
and salmon colors. The offspring will generally lose
some pattern along the way also.
Suppose you line breed a
daughter back to the father? Again, the black is
reduced. Additionally, the animal will appear an even
more salmon color. Consider stripping a layer of black
from the animal.
What Jungles are and are
not:
I was asked to define and
hopefully bring more light and clarity on exactly what a
jungle boa is and what it is not. The jungle boa is an
established genetic morph. It is not a random aberrant
anomaly that pops up in clutches or imported from
Central America. Jungle boas originated in Sweden and
were purchased by Pete Kahl. Jungle boas have been
proven a dominant trait by Pete. The animals themselves
are easily identifiable as opposed to their litter mates
when born. This is where the junglish pattern which
would appear to be "aberrancy" is the variance of the
genetic morph itself. The jungle pattern in numbers
exhibits many facets from skewed saddles to zigzag, long
striped tail, fully striped animals to my favorite, the
chain pattern.
However, in these cases, the
genetic material is the same and a lower end jungle can
produce all of the afore mentioned patterns.
Jungle-to-jungle produces super jungles. Jungles-to any
normal animal or various morphs would produce
approximately 50% jungles. Mileage will vary according
to numbers produced.
Bottom line on jungles: the
animal must have the Swedish lineage whether you buy
from Pete, Jeremy Stone, or yours truly. Make sure you
know where the founding stock came from. There are
animals that are out there that have a jungle
appearance. This is aberrancy and not genetic. You can
find more information on Pete Kahl's site.
What makes a Boa pastel?
The pastel boa, coined by
Jeff Ronne, has proven to be a valuable asset to the boa
community. It is a very beautiful stand-alone animal.
This is another trait I feel there is much confusion
over.
I have talked to Jeff many
times about this trait and would like to use some of his
own text to help describe the trait. The first and
foremost thing I believe addressed is the genetic makeup
of the animal. The pastel is a result of polygenics.
So what is polygenics?
Polygenic = multiple alleles. A simple way to look at
this genetically is rather than looking at a single gene
having two alleles, you may look at each gene as having
many possible alleles that affect color mutations such
as the many colors in your eye. This is often times
overlooked in the overall color and appearance of a
reptile.
Now let's look at Jeff's
description "A Pastel is this: A boa that has an odd
overall wash lacking the normal amount of black and a
reduction in black pigmentation, in particular
throughout the pattern. This is particularly apparent in
babies, which have the same kind of washed-out pattern
as Hypos.
The saddles, as well as the
side blotches, have less black than "normal". In fact,
often the side blotches have no black whatsoever. That's
it. No more. No less. Too often people think "Pastel" as
I have described it is a color trait.
Even after reading my little
[tome], some people can still come away thinking that
the Pastel Trait has everything to do with color. It
does not. The Pastel trait allows color to be seen in
more of it's beauty. The Pastels people love the most
are the ones with the most color. However, the Pastel
trait is about the degree of black, period. Jeff also
has stated that the pastel is not a dominant or co-dom
trait as many people have speculated. I can't make Hypos
without using a Hypo. I could not go to a show and
select the right animals and "make" Hypo Boas. I can't
"make" an albino without having an animal that carries
the gene. I can however, "make" Pastels. Meaning, I
could go to a show and through carefully picking the
correct animals, without selecting Pastels, I could in
probably just two generations "make" Pastels. This is
because it is a polygenic that can be bred for.
I have done several
bloodlines and could easily do it again. A "mutation"
cannot be selected for. A selectively bred polygenic
trait can be. That is the bottom line. My hopes in
writing this or any article is to shed needed light on a
subject that might not be as cut and dry as a simple
recessive gene and polygenics is one of those subjects.
My past work has involved working with color pigments as
has Jeff's which I feel he would agree, has been a major
asset in understanding and working with and striving for
beautiful colors in boas."
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Boas: Viva la Revolucion
The boa boom is upon us and we
who are living in the golden age
of this reptile renaissance are
a very fortunate group of
individuals. From humble
beginnings as a pet trade
staple, the Colombian boa, as
well as many Central American
boas, has emerged as a super
star in the world of reptiles.
Sporting colors, patterns, and
varieties that blow the mind,
the revolution has just begunI
have been fortunate to have
lived in the earlier days of
these wonderful animals; before
the gigantic investment
potential came to fruition. I
watched in awe as the various
morphs snaked their way through
our imaginations and into our
homes. Still, there is more.We
live in the day of the albino
boa, Hypomelanistic, Sunglow,
Motley, Arabesque, Jungle, T-
positive Nicaraguan just to name
a few. Others are on the horizon
including the “Chain boa” (if
proven out by yours truly) as
well as the much anticipated red
albino boa which many are racing
to create .There will be many
animals through line breeding
and cross breeding that will
surely astound
us.
III
I dare to dream that we are
closer to what many would
consider to be the crown jewel
of boas, the luecistic boa. Can
you imagine a six feet plus
animal as if carved from the
whitest of ivory with blue or
black eyes? The mind races and
the heart quickens at the
thought of what I know will be
produced and reproduced in the
years to come.
The Internet has offered many
innovative avenues of boa
husbandry and breeding.
We learn more each year as
greater numbers of individuals
share their hands-on education
from years of breeding trials.
The boa market, like many other
commercial markets, is fueled by
design and color. The excitement
flourishes with each new season
as the common to the
extraordinary is born. Likewise,
each new year we hope for
something more fantastic than
the year before. I’ve often
likened this to a kid at
Christmas.
Those herpers who haven’t bred
boas or even owned boas have
truly missed out on a fantastic
experience and a wonderful
animal. The size of a Colombian
is enough to satisfy most of a
“big snake” feel, yet small
enough to handle alone and
collect in larger numbers than
one could with members of the
giant constrictor family. Even
though I have way too many
animals at my facility to handle
frequently, I have found
distinct personalities from
snake to snake and more of owner
recognition than other species I
have kept and bred.
In my most humble opinion, I
feel that the common Boa
Constrictor Imperator is one of
the best pet snakes available.
Today with the emergence of the
dwarf boa into the main stream,
there are even more reasons to
add boas to your collection.
The term for love or money does
come to mind concerning the BCI
and other boa subspecies and the
answer to that would be “yes” to
both.
There is a giant circle that
revolves and more herpers jump
in every day making it even
larger. This is, of course, the
revolucion that titles the
article. Those who fall in love
with these wonderful animals
will continue their pursuits
regardless. There is always one
more snake to breed, one more
snake to sell, and one more
snake to buy thus completing the
circle. Then it begins again.
What a fantastic revolution in
which to be involved!
Boas, in my opinion, are and
will continue to be an excellent
candidate for investment. Still,
one must realize there are
pitfalls as well as gains.
Livestock is dead stock at some
point in time. Animals may never
breed, or take twice as long as
expected. However this is true
with all forms of livestock.
Indeed, this is a work of
patience and therefore has to be
a work of love so as not to
disappoint.
Thirteen years have past since
my first boa breeding, and with
each new year and successful
breeding there is the same sense
of excitement to see those
beautiful little baby boas being
born . Most things get old after
time but this is one thing that
never does.
I compared snake breeding and
birth to a kid at Christmas. It
certainly is as far as I’m
concerned. The best thing is
that unlike the kid at Christmas
where the presents got old after
a few weeks and maybe stuck back
in the closet and forgotten,
once you get hooked on the boa
revolution you won’t want to put
it on the shelf because you’ve
grown tired of it. You’ll want
more and more. You’ll want to
see even more babies born and
the new morphs in just the right
cage you have picked.
This
industry has come a long way
from the common pet store boa to
the living works of art we have
brought into our homes and
framed in a cage . The boom of
the boa revolution awaits. Will
you become a part of it, or let
it pass you by? Boas:
viva la revolucion!
Translation; Boas: live the
revolution!
Darrin Brasher 2005
also how about putting this
article up
The Skinny on boa
breeder males
I
have been breeding my
passion ,the boa
constrictor imperator
for the last fifteen
years and in that time I
have continually sought
after better and
brighter ways to
accomplish the best bang
for the buck . Back in
the beginning of my
career in progress on
the road to becoming a
professional breeder I
studied every thing I
could get my hand on
concerning breeding and
care of the BCI .During
this time there wasn’t a
computer in every home
and the various breeding
manuals were all that
was available at the
time . As most older
information evolves into
more accurate and up to
date information the
“skinny” on breeder
males is no exception .
In the earlier days the
recommendations tended
to be the same and in
some cases that
information is still
being used . The word
was that male boas
should be six to seven
feet in order to be a
good candidate as a
breeder . This is where
for the last 4 years of
breeding I go totally
the other way on . I
tried the large males
earlier on and was met
with much disappointment
in my breeding efforts .
After a few years of
such disappointment I
started downsizing my
breeder males . Now by
downsizing I really mean
downsizing .In keeping
close records I was
beginning to notice that
the smaller males
perhaps a lean 4 feet
were doing a much better
job . This is where the
experiment began . With
each consecutive year I
was introducing males
smaller than the year
before . What may have a
been a 4 foot 3 pound
male at 18 months
dropped down to a 3 foot
2.5 pound male at the
same age and my results
were getting even better
. The rationale for this
is simple logic and a
track sports analogy
lays this out
beautifully . Take a
look at the relative
mass of a sprinter as
compared to a long
distance runner . The
sprinter carries likely
twice as much mass as
the long distance runner
but who can endure the
longest ? We know that
female boas likely take
the most patience of any
snake to breed . I have
had animals go a full 6
months before copulation
was allowed . So does
the powerful fastest
approach of a sprinter
work best or the long
distance runner ? Easy
one huh ? So that brings
us back to the mass
issue . A very large boa
will not likely go the
distance and requires a
lot more fuel than the
much leaner male . This
brought me even further
to the lean extreme last
season using animals in
the 2 pound range and I
was very pleased with
the results . Now to the
most interesting aspect
,this season every male
I have used are all
weighing in the 18 to 20
ounces at a range of 17
months old to 3 years
old . These have
performed better than
any males I have ever
used . Some fellow
breeders had doubts as
to whether or not a male
that small would be a
champion breeder but my
gut said yes and it was
correct . Most have saw
the gem that is no
longer with us “The
Brasher Bloodred Hypo “
. This snake was grown
quickly and didn't breed
for me until he was past
5 years old and died
after that breeding .
The coral female he did
breed was very receptive
and ovulated early .I
feel in looking back had
I kept this male to a
much smaller size I
would have gotten more
than one small clutch
from him . A question
arose as to whether or
not males this small
could breed massive
females . The answer to
that is a resounding yes
! A 20 ounce albino male
successfully bred a
monster 25 pound hypo
het for albino then
immediately started
courting another het
albino female , this
female ovulated as well
3 months later . This
guy had plenty of
spurring action and
energy to breed a female
over ten times his
weight . Another
interesting fact is the
overall activity of
every male in this
weight range is simply
nonstop . Every time I
go into the facility I
see tails waving in the
air . I can pull these
males about once per
month and offer a small
prey item and they eat
and go directly back to
there job . I have been
amazed at the sheer
tenacity of these
animals and it is by far
the best of the best in
my size experiments . A
question you may have is
my husbandry techniques
for these animals and
keeping them at this
“skinny” size . First I
believe in feeding baby
boas only mice for the
first 6 months of their
lives ,no rats .
Secondly I feed males
and females weekly until
around 2 feet and this
will correspond to the 6
month mouse feeding
schedule . Once a male
has reached the 6 month
mark he is fed rat pups,
nothing bigger
approximately 20 to 25
feedings for the next
year . This will put the
male at the correct
weight and size right on
the 18 month of age
breeding schedule . The
male is then fed as
stated earlier usually
once per month during
courtship . I have
suffered no ill affects
in pulling the males
during this time . Once
breeding has finished I
will put the male back
on the once every 2 week
feeding schedule through
out adulthood . This
“skinny” male method
appears to be ideal for
the larger breeder .
Space requirements are
minimal as well as cage
maintenance and cleaning
. Food bills are
considerably cheaper as
well as heating cost per
rack . Overall I
couldn't be more pleased
with these results .
Will I try smaller ? If
its not broke don’t fix
it . As far as I'm
concerned the old saying
is definitely true in
breeder males ,”thin is
definitely in" .
Darrin Brasher copyright
2006
Disease Resistance
to Antibiotic
Therapy
Being in the
business of a
professional reptile
breeder with a
background in
pharmacology I get a
lot of calls and
e-mails asking for
recommendations in
treating sick
animals thus this
article .
There is a growing
problem in the
reptile world that
hasn't been
addressed as I feel
it needs be and this
is the purpose for
this article . What
is this growing
problem you may ask
? The problem stems
from overuse of
antibiotics as well
as under dosing and
not following the
entire length of the
dosing regimen .
At some point or
another your animals
are going to get
sick and if
available we
normally pick up the
most widely used
drug say Baytril as
an example. So where
is the problem in
this ? The problem
is a resistance to
the very antibiotics
that may save your
animals life . How
does this happen ?
One means of this is
mutation of bacteria
to new drugs
developed . This is
an absolute uphill
battle and a very
slow one at that .
In the 40’s when
penicillin was first
produced it was
deemed a “miracle
drug” and at the
time it certainly
was destroying
almost every germ it
came in contact
with. Some 60 years
later penicillin is
rarely used to treat
even minor
infections as
bacteria becomes
more sophisticated.
The crux of the
problem of drug
resistance is due
generally to three
things :
1.The bacteria DNA
can go through a
spontaneous mutation
.
2.Bacterium may take
up DNA from another
bacteria called
microbial sex
transformation
3.Resistance can
also take place by
plasmid . Plasmid is
when a small circle
of bacterial DNA can
move back and forth
between other
bacteria lending it
the necessary
resistance to any
bacteria it has
survived giving it
the ability to
resist or even
destroy antibiotics
.
Smart germ
mechanics .
These microbial
bacteria are very
smart in the way
they affect
antibiotics . They
can target and
disable the drug
itself or even cause
the drug to be
unable to enter the
cell wall of the
bacterium making it
totally useless .One
interesting thing
about the germs that
we face is that the
majority of the DNA
make up of these
germs are 95-99
percent the same so
you can see how
easily it is for the
germs to share DNA
with each other
creating multiple
mutations . This has
led many in the
scientific field to
believe that most
bacteria share the
same origin.
How does this
information apply to
my collection and
what can I do to
avoid these problems
? Many of the afore
mentioned problems
occur by simply
overuse of
antibiotics . Lets
face it , it’s a
very simple thing to
shoot what we have
on hand for any
number of maladies
and this is one of
the biggest problems
. One of the things
with these germs is
what doesn’t kill
them makes them
stronger . A simple
way to look at this
is a flu shot . We
take a shot of the
killed virus to
allow our antibodies
to adapt and create
immunity to the
particular strain of
the year . This is a
similar way that the
germs themselves
develop drug
resistance . Now if
another strain of
the flu virus comes
through it is of a
different genetic
makeup so the shot
is totally
ineffective for this
strain . If the
correct antibiotic
is not used to treat
the suspected
bacteria it allows
other germs to
create this
resistance . The
scary and dangerous
thing that can occur
is that these germs
can be passed
through air , water
and even copulation
. This then can
spread to other
animals in your
collection and make
them resistant to
the antibiotic where
they were not before
.
So how do we avoid
this ? The best way
to avoid this is to
take your reptile to
a qualified Vet and
let them do a
culture on the
animal . This
culture can then be
grown in a lab and
tested for
sensitivity against
a very large
spectrum of
antibiotics usually
30 or more finding
the exact drug that
will kill the germ
in question . Many
times vets will come
back with the
prognosis that the
gram negative
pseudomonas is the
culprit of upper
respiratory , lower
respiratory and
secondary to mouth
rot . This is of
little consequence
as it applies to the
necessary drug
needed to defeat the
infection . There
are in fact over one
hundred germs that
can cause these
problems . Under use
is another problem
that can cause
resistance . It is
imperative that the
dosage instructions
be followed to the
letter . This works
exactly as it does
in humans . If we
take a course of
antibiotics that are
prescribed for 7
days and stop at
three because we
feel better we are
jumping up the
chances of
developing the exact
same problem . The
germ is not
completely destroyed
making the germ a
much stronger germ
that is likely now
resistant to the
prescribed
antibiotic causing
the necessity to use
an even stronger
drug to defeat a
relapse . This is
the exact same
scenario that can
happen in reptiles .
“So we just use a
more powerful
antibiotic” some may
say .This is where
the biggest overall
danger lies . Yes
you can use a much
stronger drug but
the much stronger
drugs are becoming
more limited and are
created at a very
slow pace . What
happens when there
are no more stronger
drugs ? Your animal
likely dies . This
is where we must
take the
responsibility as
herpers and
professional
breeders to limit
the use of
antibiotics as much
as possible .
Keeping records of
the drugs used on
each animal is a
good thing to do for
the future of the
animal as well as
your collection .
Stringent husbandry
practices is also a
very important means
of keeping these
bacterium at bay .
Make sure your temps
are proper and your
cages are kept clean
. At the first sign
of respiratory
distress try
quarantining the
animal and raising
the temperature and
humidity before the
use of antibiotics .
If this action does
not work use the
steps in the article
. Today’s
antibiotics and
methods of treatment
are state of the art
and many times the
saving grace of the
animals we work so
hard to keep healthy
and breed . It is my
hope that this
article is of help
in keeping your
collection healthy
and furthering the
education of the use
of reptile
pharmacology.
COPYRIGHT Darrin
Brasher 2006
E-mail
darrin@brasherreptiles.com
All content, images, and logo © 2000-2007
Brasher Reptiles.
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