How many eggs were in the clutch that failed to produce any amels or stripes? There is a chance this egg is a case of parthenogenesis. I realized that is what one of my females did when the male failed to produce any more amels despite breeding to multiple females het for amel.
That's a good point, Shiari. This season's clutch from Artephius x Princess Irene which hatched without Amels or Stripes was a clutch of only 14. A big enough clutch that I was surprised, but certainly not a vast number.
The thing is, Artephius produced a Butter baby years ago with Tulip, an Amel Stripe het Anery, Caramel. This long-ago little one was a Cubey sort and at the time I wasn't sure if it was Stripe or Motley, having seen very few Cubes at the time. Unfortunately I have only memories as the photos of that baby seem to among the lost ones following some hurricane or another, lol. This baby did prove Artephius as het Amel and Stripe or Motley, which I now believe is Stripe based on this new baby.
I'm confident that Sceptre's baby was sired by Artephius rather than being parthenogenetic. Artephius's having proven het Amel and Stripe/Motley are part of the reasons. Artephius is Masque, and has sired many Masque babies. This one is Sceptre's first Masque, so that's another part of it. I don't know the mathematical odds of sperm retention vs parthenogenesis, but I really do think that this is Artephius & Sceptre's baby, not just Sceptre's.
That said, the science teacher in me is always curious. I would happily submit everybody's DNA for analysis. Is there anybody doing such a thing with corn snakes?
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