GLOSSARY

• Albino : A snake with absent or deficient of melanin. Common name for "amelanistic".
• Amelanistic : No melanin.
• Anerythristic : No red pigment.
• Axanthic : No yellow pigment.
• Co dominant : A gene that causes the homozygous form to look different than the wild-type and the heterozygous form to have traits of both.
• Dominant : A gene that causes a snake to look different than the wild-type and where the homozygous form and the heterozygous form look the same as each other.
• Double Heterozygous : Being heterozygous for two different traits.
• 50% Possible Het. : A snake that comes from breeding a heterozygous snake with a wild-type. Statistically, one-half of the resulting babies are heterozygous. Until their genetics are proven, each of these baby snakes are known to be 50% possible "het.".
• Gene : Unit of heredity that determines the characteristics of the offspring.
• Genetics : The study of heredity. Heredity : The transmission of genetic characters from parents to offspring.
• Het. : Short for heterozygous.
• Heterozygous : Having two different genes for a given trait. Such a snake with one recessive, mutated gene looks normal,but it can pass the gene on through breeding. A heterozygous snake with one (co)dominant, mutated gene looks different than a wild-type because of that gene.
• Homozygous : A snake where both genes for a given trait are the same. Even recessive genes, if they are in a homozygous state, will affect how a snake looks.
• Hypomelanistic : A snake having less black and/or brown color than a wild caught animal.
• Leucistic : A pure white snake with blue or black eyes.
• Melanin : Black or brown skin pigments.
• Melanistic : Abnormally dark, due to increased melanin.
• Mutation : An abnormal gene that under certain circumstances can cause a snake to be born with an appearance other than wild caught animal.
• Normal : A snake that looks like the wild caught animal generally seen, and it carries no mutated genes.
• Offspring : Babies.
• Possible Het. : A snake from a known breeding that has either a 50% or 66% possibility of being "het." For a mutant gene. This is an inexpensive way to obtain snakes with the genetic make up required to produce much more valuable snakes.
• Recessive : A gene that affects a snake's appearance if it's present in the homozygous state. A heterozygous snake carrying a mutated, recessive gene looks normal.
• 66% Possible Het. : A snake that comes from breeding two snakes that is heterozygous for the same mutant gene. This produces babies in the following proportions: 25% will be homozygous, 50% will be heterozygous, and 25% will be wild-type. Of the normal-looking babies, 2 out of every 3 (66%) are heterozygous.
• Snow : A snake that's homozygous for both albino and axanthic or (for some species) albino and anerythristic.
• Tyrosinase : An enzyme needed to synthesize melanin.
• Tyrosinase-negative : An albino whose cells lack tyrosinase, producing a white and yellow/orange snake with pink eyes. A separate albino mutation from tyrosinase-positive.
• Tyrosinase-positive : An albino not able to synthesize melanin, but capable of synthesizing tyrosinase, which results in lavender-brown skin color.
• Wild-type : The way the snake usually looks in nature (i.e. the normal color and pattern).
• Xanthic : Having more yellow color than wild caught animal.