Clutch #2, pipping out

So I have a mystery, and I need it solved.

This clutch that is hatching out is from my TSK Axanthic possible het Clown female to my Clown male and my Pastel Clown male.

I had intended only to prove out whether or not this female was Het Clown, and so far over the last three years have had no success. 

This year, however, I had eight eggs to see what the odds were.

So of course, now they are pipping, and the first animal popping out is an Axanthic.


WHAT???????????????

There is no good reason this animal should be hatching from this clutch, considering the fact that the female was bred exclusively to Clown and Pastel Clown males this season.

The slight possibility of retained sperm is there, so I sigh and wait. This little girl popped out on Sunday.



Last night, however, I look in the incubator, and I see this.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAT??????????

So yeah. I hit on the TSK Axanthic Clown. 

I should be stoked, right?

Problem is, I have no idea how I did it!!!

So I'm thinking that this is a possible scenario.

Way back in the olden days, I didn't have clown stuff.. I had Het Clown stuff. I got a Het Clown male from Bryce Honstead of Reptile Image, who produced the first TSK Axanthic Clowns. (Click to read/see the original babies from 2008. I WAS THERE FOR THAT! )

I knew the male was 100% het Clown, and that was it.

Fast forward a year, and I breed the Het to a Pastel and keep all the Het females. I have 0.1 possible Het Clown and 0.2 Pastel possible Het Clowns.

Grow them up, and breed them to a Clown...

I hatched out 1.1 Pastel Clowns from one of the Pastels, which I then held back.

All the while, the TSK Axanthic possible het Clown Female, also from Bryce, is growing and breeding and not showing any signs of anything Clown like.

THIS YEAR, I bred the Clown male (from a completely different source, and pictured first), and the Pastel Clown male that I produced from my clutches wayyyyy back in the day. (Did I mention WAAAAYYYY back in the day?)

So... my thought is that my Pastel Clown male is also het TSK Axanthic. And that my Het Clown from WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY back in the day was also het TSK Axanthic.

And I lucked out super style with possible hets.

Cause there is no other explanation for this. At all. (Unless you can think of one...)

So... yeah.

There are three more eggs to hatch, and two or three that went bad. (I'm crossing my fingers on one of them).

We shall see when everyone comes out what the heck is going on.. at least more of the puzzle.

Yeesh.

Have a great day, my friends.