Aztec Is Our First Snake

[Twoboyz]

Aztec is our first snake and we love him. Does anyone know what he might be? I know the picture quality isn't that great. He seems to be doing great settling in.

 

[Emily1188]

OK, well first, he is beautiful!

He is definitely an amelanistic snake, or "amel". He looks to be what people call a "reverse Okeetee", which is an amel snake bred to have extra thick white borders on their saddles. He also has an aberrant pattern on the neck, which is very pretty!

 

[Twoboyz]

Thanks. He's so sweet too. His personality is great.

 

[ashnruss]

I don't know what he is, but he's stunning!

 

[Tara80]

Definitely an RO (Reverse Okeetee) and a beautiful one at that! Nice thick borders.

 

[Hallie]

Very nice little RO! Congrats on the new family member and welcome to the addiction. He will color up quite a bit more as he gets older. My amel, Fred, was quite pale when I got him as a hatchling, almost looked like a colorful snow, but now he's just as colorful as a typical amel. Your little guy will have the nice thick white borders though!

 

[Drakonis]

He seems a Jungle corn to me!

 

[Hallie]

He seems a Jungle corn to me!

I see nothing about this snake that would indicate that it is a hybrid. :shrugs:

 

[Twoboyz]

Thanks for all your comments. I'm like a beaming proud mama, and only a week into this.
I love RO's. I was a little worried that his colors might fade as he grew so I'm excited that they'll probably get deeper. I already want another one, but I'm letting common sense take over and starting slow.

 

[Twoboyz]

I'm not familiar with jungle corn. I'm going to have to do some more reading.

 

[Drakonis]

The pattern is different from a cornsnake!

 

[Hallie]

Here is my Fred to show you the color difference from hatchling to yearling:

(Sorry about the feeding picture, I really don't like posting them, but it is all I have from him as a baby.)

(He's blue here, but you can still see the difference in color 'saturation'...it has gotten even better now, but I don't have any recent pictures of him.)

The best place you can see it (on your snake) is around the head marking...see where there is color in front of the mark on his head that appears to be spreading back toward his neck? He should get nice and bright like that and his yellow will also brighten up.

A jungle corn is a corn x California king hybrid.

 

[Twoboyz]

Thanks for showing us Fred. He's beautiful. My son loves him too. No worries about the feeding picture. I'll be seeing it live later because it's feeding day for us.
Take care

 

[Hallie]

The pattern is different from a cornsnake!

I see a snake with normal appearing saddles with a few aberrant spots up toward the head (normal pattern variation), very wide borders (typical of a quality RO), and a normal facial structure (which you wouldn't see in a jungle corn, as they nearly always have a shortened nose due to the king influence).

Thanks for showing us Fred. He's beautiful. My son loves him too. No worries about the feeding picture. I'll be seeing it live later because it's feeding day for us.
Take care

You're welcome. And thank you. I can't wait to watch your little one grow up, keep us updated with lots of pictures, maybe even start him his own progression thread so we can watch him grow!

 

[Twoboyz]

I'll do that Hallie. Thanks for your interest. I think this is my favorite board. I love looking at everyone's pictures.

 

[Caryl]

Your little RO is pretty now, and is going to grow into a stunningly beautiful adult. Keep us posted, and we can all have fun watching his colors come in.

 

[Emily1188]

The pattern is different from a cornsnake!

It's simply an aberrant pattern along the neck, like Hallie. Do a search for "Nautley" if you want to see the same kind of pattern taken to an extreme.

This is from Kathy Love's website:

I think your little guy is going to have STUNNINGLY thick white borders as an adult!

 

[bapkate]

GORGEOUS reverse okeetee . Aztec is going to be a real looker when he grows up.

 

[Twoboyz]

Thanks for all your kind words and interest. Aztec is feeling the love, as I am.
Peace!

 

[Chrissie&Coral&Lilly]

Very nice snake...May I ask why you called him/her Aztec? I have a Aztec as well....But i named her for her Aztec pattern...or if you prefer the Zig Zag pattern