this to the next level!
Finally, at seventh place on the proven morph list, are
the ‘Super Striped’ Alpine Blotched Blue-tongues, which
originate from an animal I picked up from the late Rob
McCarthy. This proved out to be a classic incomplete
dominant characteristic, with quite striking hets
exhibiting a ‘red racing stripe’, and a super form that
takes on a fine pinstripe appearance which is virtually
melanistic. Photographs of these animals go nowhere
near expressing how incredible they really are. An
exciting further opportunity for these animals exists in
tandem with a line of axanthic blotchies that should
prove out in the 2018 season.
Almost endless combinations.
The plot thickens when further colour and pattern
potential is unlocked through pairing different
mutations together to investigate the expression of
each combination. This was a logical pathway that
followed the explosion in morph production of Ball
Pythons, boas, Leopard Geckos and Corn Snakes, to
name just a handful of species, and resulted in tongue-
twisting combinations with multiple genetic loadings.
So when Snake Ranch posed the question, ‘What would
the melanistic albino blue-tongue look like?’, I for one
was somewhat intrigued, to say the least. Being a
comparative latecomer into breeding blueys, I was
quite surprised that I was first to crack this combination
– especially since there were claims that this had
already been achieved (which subsequently proved to
be untrue). So by pairing a black male to an albino
female, the first hets were produced that carried the
genetics for both traits. The result – later christened
‘Lava’ – was breathtaking, and for me marked the point
at which the rest of the hobby really started to realise
how amazing blue-tongue morphs could be. The molten
hot looks of the Lava form are unparalleled (well
arguably so!) by any other morph, and this has become
a ‘must produce’ for other bluey breeders.
Three other ‘combos’ have already been produced.
I also managed to combine the Black Eyed Anery gene
with albinism, creating a ‘Snow’, which is essentially
white with lemon or peach hues. The ‘Platinum’ is from
Roger Kramer, and brings together J R Coward’s White
Northern Blue-tongue and the melanistic form,
resulting in an animal that has a real eye-catching
‘polished silver’ appearance. Lastly, the ‘Alabaster’ was
created by Karen Russell from a cross involving a White
Northern Blue-tongue and a Black Eyed Anery. The
result is unbelievable, and identical in appearance to
the Black Eyed Leucistic Ball Python.
A colourful future.
The potential of blue-tongue morphs has been well and