Kat said:
Well, not everyone agrees that all ultra lines carry grey rat. There are some that sure seem to, and others that don't. I don't know if you read the other cornsnake site, but apparently someone found a wildcaught corn that looks for all intents and purposes to be an ultramel. Could be something somebody released, or it could be an example of the gene itself surfacing from "pure" corn lines.
-Kat
I agree with this statement. There are those that say since there is no proof, or no immediate proof that their Ultra Based Corn has Gray Rat in them, but no knowledge of nothing is nothing. There is one thing for sure, there is no proof that any Ultra doesn’t have Gray Rat in them. I would love to see photos of the Ultras that are Pure Corn that were bought from Mike Falcon. Nobody will post photos of them, because they look like hybrids. Check out the ones in this photos. Do you think they are pure Corn? They were told they were when they bought them. Mike Falcon said that he bred the Ultras X Gray Rats, Barr, not only bred them to Gray Rats and sold hybrids, but sold them as Pure Corns to several people too, and Shivers also said that they have Gray Rat in them. They all three said they were pure Corns at one time or another too.
I always find it amazing that some people will say that some Ultras do not have Gray Rat in them simple because they were not told they do by the person they happen to buy them from. They could buy a 50/50 Gray Rat/Corn Ultramel and they will say that it is pure Corn, because they were not told they were a hybrid. Now we get into the 25/75 hybrids, 12/88, 6/94, and 3/97 and they will swear they are pure, because somebody 10 years ago did not pass on that information. The entire history of the Ultra line has had Gray Rat stories pop up, over and over, year after year.
The fact is that Mike Falcon and Mike Shivers stories about the origins of the Ultras have changed a few times. If they were pure Corn all the way, this wouldn’t have happened. There is no doubt that they bred them to Gray Rats, but Falcon says that he bred them to Corns too. How can we tell the difference today? We can not. They happen to slip up at one time or another to the wrong person and the forgot to keep their secrete. It is very easy to remember the truth, but lies can be forgotten and the truth surfaces. When they are question about why they told people they were pure Corn and now we find out there was Gray Rat in them, they start back peddling and scramble to cover their ass. Shivers got out of snakes altogether, before the true came out. People have actually said that the only reason he said they have Gray Rat in them, is because he is jealous of them being so popular and regrets getting out of them, so he is trying to devalue them. WHAT! Maybe he just doesn’t care any more and told the truth.
The original “Carrier” of the Ultra gene was wild caught and did not look like a pure Corn to begin with. I never really thought about the possibility of the Gray Rat being the Ultra carrier, but what if they first saw the Ultramel or Ultra gene, when they bred them to the Snows? They would assume, that the gene came from the original “Carrier”, but that would not necessarily be the case. The Ultra gene could have just matched up with the Amel gene in the snow and presto, Ultramels. Mike Falcon doesn’t have a clue how the Ultra genes are passed on even today and really doesn‘t have a clue what an Ultramel really is. If he doesn’t have a clue today, do you think he did when he saw his first Ultramel? Read the Ultra Mystery Thread as it happened and make up your own mind.
I fully believe that the Ultra line did have Gray Rat in them in the beginning, but I also believe they are just as pure as any other mutant Corn snake out there today. Creamcicles and the Ultramels have been shipped around the country and bred into almost everything and sold as pure Corns. We are talking about Mutant Corns, not Wild Caught Corns. People are so hung up on their mutants having to be pure, so why don’t they just get Corns from wild caught stock. There is no proof that some Rat Blood is not in them either, but at least you would know they came from wild caught stock. “But I like the mutants“ Me too, and if they didn‘t exist this forum wouldn‘t exist either. We have been breeding Corns for around 30 years and we have not been keeping records for just as long. Hundreds of thousands of Corns have been bought and sold, and the records have not been past on. Thousand of people have came and gone and many of them produced Hybrids. Where are their ancestors now? In our Corn Snake gene pool, but since we don’t know for sure, our Corn Snake Mutants are pure Corns right?
I read thought he thread on the other forum. It does look like an Ultramel. Finding an Amel carrier or Ultra Carrier in the wild would be one in a million, but finding one with both genes, would be about one in a Gazillion. It will be interesting to see what it proves to be.
And thanks for the puzzle, it was interesting to try and figure it out.. Guess it shows how good I am at picking hybirds, huh? 
