Black Magic.... or More?

I admit it. 

I am horrible at remembering some of these names of the combo morphs. 

Some of them are pretty simple (Bumblebee, Pastave, etc..), but some of them I can't remember for the life of me which morph it involves. 

Perfect example is the Black Magic.

The Black Magic is apparently a Black Pastel Mojave, which I produced for the first time here this year, 2011. 

The Savannah is a Cinnamon Mojave, which I also produced for the first time here this year.

Hey look! A Savannah and a Black Magic

So yes, I produced both this year, and I have to say, they are interesting! In the photo above, the Savannah is on top, and the Black Magic is below. How can you tell? Well, I know I did a blog on this a few months back.

The Savannah has a lighter overall coloration, with a less dramatic color from spine to stomach. It also has a lighter head. In the more dramatic Savannahs, the blushing is very intense and the pattern is pushed almost halfway up the body.

The Black Magics are all very dark (of course), with a dark head and deep gold tones, deeper than the Savannahs. The pattern is not dissipated as it does with some Savannahs.

The photos hopefully show the overall tonal differences between the two.

Now, here is the question I have...

What do you call a Black Pastel Lesser?

Apparently there is no fancy name for it...

I produced this girl last year, 2010, on accident in a Mystery Clutch. At first I thought she was a Pewter. YAY for learning....

Anyway, she looked like this as a baby. Completely different shade of color, head was VERY Black Pastel like (but brighter), and an overall silvery body coloration, similar to that of a Pewter. 

And now, not so much. You can tell she is not a Pewter. 

She is my favorite mistake from 2010, and I am trying to figure out what I can do to make something amazing out of her. I'm sure it'll be pretty easy, considering how cool she looks.

Here I go, off to daydream and plan.

Have a great day, my friends.

BP and Cinny complex

I have noticed that a lot of my collection consists of Black Pastel and Cinnamon stuff. 

Is this a problem? No way, Jose!

But I do find that I have many of them. And also many combinations of them.

And I am going to share with you some pictures of some of them. 

Now we all well know that Black Pastels and Cinnamons are similar in terms of genetics. They both are dark and have an interesting pattern, as well as nice blushing and a orange-yellow undertone. They both have a solid dark snake as a Super form, and they both make similar looking animals when put with a Pastel (the Pewters). 

But of course, that is not to say that they are the same. Because they are not...

But they do work similarlhy, and therefgore should be considered as a complex type as well. 

I'm just not sure what they would be called.

The Black-innamon Complex?

I digress.

Now it is time to enjoy some pictures of some of the combinations I have hiding here. 

Above is the Pewter Het Red Axanthic, one of the few in the world, as I understand it. 

Below, we have a Black Pastel Lesser. Not so rare, but absolutely stunning.

I am really glad to have her in the collection. One of those combinations you wouldn't expect to look so amazing...

And of course, the Super... Kinda. 

This here is the Silver Bullet, the Pastel Super Cinnamon or Pastel Super Black Pastel or Pastel Black Pastel Cinnamon. 

Isn't that super confusing? Yeah... It is.

I'd love to have a contrast shot of these gals next to a Super Cinny or Super Black Pastel, but for some reason I don't have any. Oh well... 

So there you go.

Black Pastels and Cinnamons are awesome. 

The Blinnamon Complex, my friends... 

Have a great day!

Blue Balls?

AHAHAHAHAHAH!

(I'm sorry, Mom...)

Yes, I caught the bluest Ball Python I have ever had the chance to see.

This is my Hypo poss het Pied male, who is in the blue. Hypos or Ghosts get VERY blue when they are "in blue" which as we well know is the pre-shed indicative state of ecdysis. So in a few days, we should see this guy nice and shiny with new skin. He is still trying to breed his one and only girlfriend this season, the Pied poss het Hypo female. Let's hope they both prove out, yes?

This particular female has five to six follicles the size of gumballs, so we should be seeing something come up real soon in terms of ovulation. I hope to catch it on camera! 

Anyway, I went out of my way to take some pictures for you guys this week, because as I recall, I had not put up any photos at all last week.

How shameful.

Anyway, here we go.

This photo is a photo with flash of my Pastel Super Mojave.

The one below it is without flash. I have yet to perfect the White Snake Photo syndrome, but I wanted to take these photos to show you the yellow overtones of her back and neck, as well as her faded head. 

She's getting big, and I can't wait to have the opportunity to decide what the heck I want to put her with!

And of course, the infamous Black Pastel Lesser that was mistaken for a Pewter back in the day. Yeah.. I won't let myself live that one down.

 

I am always so proud to show off my G-Stripes.

This gal is actually one that I acquired from another breeder, and compared to the line of G-Stripes that I work with, she is darker. But I can't complain, cause she has the complete stripe that I love, so I am glad to have her in the arsenal. 

Black Pastel? Why yes, thank you. 

This girl is Het for Hypo, so she may be paired up with that Blue Guy up above. We shall see.

And last but not least, my Pinstripe poss het Hypo. She may go with that Blue guy too. We shall see if he proves out to be Het Pied (as she is as well), and then we will make decisions based on that. 

This season should be a determining factor in a few pairings. That is always fun!

So there we go. More pictures to come, more animals to share, more stuff in general. No slacking this week.

Have a great day, my friends.

One of these is not like the others

For the past couple of days, it has been photographs. I have been having a good time with my camera, and I have been enjoying my new babies.

Now to tie all of my photos together, I have to be clever. I talk about colors, patterns, specific morphs and their combos. 

And I am going to do it again today. 

It's Friday, so I was thinking about doing something cool... Maybe have a hunt for the morphs that tie things together. 

So this blog was born.

Above is the Pastel Pied. He is a cutie patootie, as well as being an awesome looking morph as well.

Below is the Super Pastel Lesser Male. VERY yellow, as I discussed in a previous blog. 

 And this guy below?

This is my Pastave holdback girl. Pastel Mojave for the win!

Gotta love that morph, seriously. 

But Wait... What's this? Does this tie in with anything else?

At first glance, it looks like a Pewter. That's a Cinnamon Pastel, right?

So everything on the blog has Pastel in it, right?

Well, no.

This is the Black Pastel Lesser, which technically, if you want to be a smart-ass, has "pastel" in it due to the name.
I'm sorry, but that doesn't count.

 

This gal right here doesn't count for the Pastels that have been previously shown, and this one is not like the others. 

YAY!

Did you like that tie in?

 

Yeah, I'm good. 

HAH!

I hope you enjoyed the photos, and I will be back with more on Monday.

Have a fantastic weekend, my friends.

It gets confusing with Mystery Clutches

Once upon a time, Heather bred some animals together, and used several males to one female.

"No problem", she thought. "It will be easy to figure out what is what, and the odds will be better for me"

She learned the hard way, and hopefully, you will learn from her mistakes.

Exhibit A:

MYSTERY males (several double co-dom males, including Pastel Lesser, Bumblebee, and others) to a large normal.

8 eggs, 3 slugs...

Hatched out??

8 NORMALS.

Impossible, one may think...

But nay, my friends, it is not. It is the luck of the draw, and she drew the joker, and he was pointing and laughing at Heather.


So she traversed on... with many mystery clutches to be had, she was still looking forward to other results.

Exhibit B:

Pastel Lesser or Sterling males to Black Pastel female.

Results look promising...

Silver Bullets, Pewters and Pastels.

But wait... one thing doesn't look right.

What is this???

Heather at first thought it was a Pewter... Now we all know that if it was a Pewter, we would not be discussing this issue at all.

It is a Black Pastel Lesser.

Heather mistook it for a Pewter. She even took it to the show and had it marked as a Pewter.

Shame on her.

Shame shame shame.


So remember, Mystery clutches do bode well, and do not. To be sure of what you are hatching and to pay attention to what it could be is KEY to breeding. 


I think that we are not going to be doing Mystery Clutches next season... Just to save me the headache.

So there you go. Learn and live and learn some more.

Hope this helps you all out, and have a fantastic day, my friends.