Partial Zig-Zag Pattern? Help please...

[heatherfeather30]

My male pastel ghost bred with my female Okeetee. They produced 8 lil' ones just like mamma was when she was a baby... except for one that has a partial pattern that I think is called "zig-zag"?

1st pic is of the partial zig-zag, and 2nd is a picture of another "normal".

1st Question: If this is a female will she carry on this pattern to her offspring? Or is this a fluke? If she would carry on this pattern I might consider keeping her if she is sexed female. So that is why I'm asking more experienced breeders.

2nd Question: I would call all of these babies normal het for ghost... right? I really need that morph guide!

The good thing is... all 8 have shed, and consumed their 1st pinkie...wheeewh!

 

[heatherfeather30]

Oops! Loaded the 2 pictures backwards. First picture is normal, second is the partial zig-zag. Heather

 

[Tula_Montage]

Zig zag is completely random to a degree. You can selectively breed the trait for excellent pattern, but it is not genetic.

All the babies should be 100% normal het for anery and hypo. Looks like mumma is not het for either if she produced only normals.

 

[heatherfeather30]

Thank you... I just want to be able to give the most accurate descriptions of the babies as possible. I plan on giving out pictures of both parents with a care sheet. I will also suggest this website. Hope that is OK...

I just want to give the future owners of my wee lil' ones the best information that I can. I also am listing the Corn Snake Guide by Kathy Love. I just want them to have the best chance they can! Heather

 

[tbtusk]

You've got it. All the hatchlings are going to be normals het ghost.

That pattern is zig zag, you're right on that too. That's one cool snake. I've never actually seen a picture of a snake with a very distinct and short section of zig zag like that, but I'm sure they've been produced before, and possibly pretty often. I might have even read about them somewhere. The really interesting thing to me is that this snake came from an okeetee by normal pattern breeding. I wonder if some of the many genescausing the okeetee look also contribute to the zig zag pattern...

This hatchling is quite the fluke, as you said!!

As for your other question, whether he/she will pass the pattern to her/his offspring, the answer is no, she probably will not. If you buy a full zig zag and breed that to this snake then I bet you'll get some partial and full zig zags, but besides that this pattern will not be passed on. The zig zag pattern is created by many unidentified genes working together to create a fional product that looks like that. Since there are more that one genes creating this pattern to reproduce it the chances are very small to be successful unless another snake already has all those genes (being expressed, that is expressing their trait in the animal). That means the other snake must also be a zig zag.

Interesting snake!! Congrats on the little bonus!

 

[Tula_Montage]

Excellent ideas! I'd buy off you anyday

Out of interest, can we see pictures of mum and dad?

 

[tbtusk]

Sorry, I started posting before you had replied tula.

And Heatherfeather, great ideas! I think i'll have to include photos and book suggestions too. Thanks for the ideas!

 

[heatherfeather30]

I will update this post when I get better pictures of mom and dad. Right now I have only nice "headshots" of dad... and only baby pics of mom. She is still cranky from the hormonal fluctuations and I can understand that!

I can also tell you I am in AWE of the photography on this forum. I can't wait to take outside shots of mom/dad... but I have to wait until I have a helper.

I sent a few pictures to Kathy Love so I know dad is a pastel ghost. LOL... I thought my ghost was turning pink on me! That's a newbie for you! :laugh:

Heather

 

[desertanimal]

Zig zag is completely random to a degree. You can selectively breed the trait for excellent pattern, but it is not genetic.

To clarify, it's not that zig-zag isn't genetic, but that it doesn't appear to be inherited in a Mendelian recessive pattern like many of the other color and pattern traits we have in corns. As a result, patterns of inheritance are not entirely predictable, much like whether your own nose looks like your parents' aquiline honkers is not entirely predictable. As tbtusk suggests, we aren't clear on how the genetic component of this trait works, and therefore can't predict its inheritance. But, like your parents' noses, if you breed two zig-zags together, your odds of getting zig-zags are much higher than if you breed a zig-zag to a non-zig-zag.