| Willis Wildlife Enterprises |
| Hypomelanistic |
Hypomelanism (aka hypo, hypo A, Rosy) is caused by a
simple recessive gene. Hypomelanistic cornsnakes have a
reduced amount of melanin which often "cleans the dirty
wash" over the oranges and reds, may reduce the size and
intensity of the black saddle borders and often "bronzes"
the belly checks. However, some dark adult hypo corns
may look darker than some light normal corns. Hence,
appearance alone cannot be used to determine whether
hypomelanism is present genetically in certain individuals.
Identification of hypo hatchlings is more accurate as their
appearance can easily be distinguished from normal
siblings. There are at least 4 different types of
hypomelanism and breeding trials are still in progress to
determine the compatibility between the types/genes. So
far, it seems that the current hypo genes (hypo A, ultra,
Sunkissed and lava) are all caused by separate genes and
that when hypo A and Sunkissed are both present in
homozygous form, they have a compounding effect in the
reduction of melanin.
simple recessive gene. Hypomelanistic cornsnakes have a
reduced amount of melanin which often "cleans the dirty
wash" over the oranges and reds, may reduce the size and
intensity of the black saddle borders and often "bronzes"
the belly checks. However, some dark adult hypo corns
may look darker than some light normal corns. Hence,
appearance alone cannot be used to determine whether
hypomelanism is present genetically in certain individuals.
Identification of hypo hatchlings is more accurate as their
appearance can easily be distinguished from normal
siblings. There are at least 4 different types of
hypomelanism and breeding trials are still in progress to
determine the compatibility between the types/genes. So
far, it seems that the current hypo genes (hypo A, ultra,
Sunkissed and lava) are all caused by separate genes and
that when hypo A and Sunkissed are both present in
homozygous form, they have a compounding effect in the
reduction of melanin.
