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Q: Rainbow Boa Losing Color?
Posted By:

PythonHouse

Hi, just wondering if any of you have seen this before.  This is Quatro, one of my Brazilian Rainbow Boas clutch from March 2010.

She has started to lose her color/pigment.  It started out as a small white section near her head, and is growing quite rapidly.  She is in great health and eating well.

None of the others in the clutch that I have kept show this.  Any ideas?


Points: 100
Topics: Skin , Genetics
Tags: Coloration, Genetics, Loss, Pigment
Species: Boas > Rainbow Boas > Epicrates cenchria cenchria
Administrative: Show/Hide

Author Comment 1/10/2011 12:53:17 AM

PythonHouse

Here is the link for her page

http://www.iherp.com/Public/Animals/ViewAnimal.aspx?AnimalID=41349 she was normal back then!

 
Member Comment 1/10/2011 1:59:39 AM

shellboa

I had a friend who's did this. He eventually figured it was some sort of fader gene but was bummed because he couldn't breed for it. Similar to ringers in ball pythons. Could be the same with yours. His didn't have any health issues.

 
Accepted Answer 1/10/2011 2:32:52 AM

gfx

Yep. I've got a BRB breeder friend who's got a male who goes through phases of losing his pigment. Here's an early phase:

and here's a photo from this past September:

The animal appeared normal at one point, it loses its pigment in random sudden chunks. He's bred it for the past few years and is hoping there's a genetic component to it. It'll be interesting to see if yours does the same thing. Got any background on it?

 
Member Comment 1/10/2011 8:01:17 AM

Tiger Onzuka

I think you may have something exciting happening here. Perhaps these are similar to the Calico Ball Python? Please keep us posted! :-)

 
Member Comment 1/10/2011 2:56:27 PM

Aimee

um, yeah - it's a Calico BRB. I have a friend who put down some major pesos to get one for her breeding project, and here's a link to breeder's site - http://www.briansharp.com/gallery8.htm

 
Member Comment 1/10/2011 2:58:28 PM

Aimee

oh, and look here - it's a recognized morph, although relatively rare at this point: http://rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com/Care%20Sheet%20Brazilian%20Rainbow%20Boa.htm

 
Assisted Answer 1/10/2011 3:09:41 PM

gfx

Actually, its not a recognized morph yet as its not proven. Fluffy didn't start to change until he was an adult so this '10 critter losing pigment so early could be an entirely different thing. It looks like some sort of snake vitiligo which could be linked to some sort of autoimmune disorder. Thus far Fluffy and his kids have been healthy so who knows. The snake does have some age on him. As I recall, it was claimed that he was an adult when he changed, Brian picked him up and had him for however long, then Dave picked him up and has had him for 3-4 years. Fluffy has sired litters for the past few years, I've not seen mention of any of his offspring changing yet. This snake in question is youngster so who knows if its the same thing.

 
Member Comment 1/10/2011 3:12:47 PM

Aimee

oh, thanks - I didn't realize. I've heard a handful of BRB people refer to it and didn't know it hadn't yet been proven.  

 
Member Comment 1/10/2011 9:48:39 PM

Imbricata

calico, there is a line of black headed pythons here in australia that is normal till later in life then it calico's more and more every shed till its almost complete white

 
Member Comment 7/29/2012 7:47:08 PM

Accalia

yup--its a "calico" BRB. people pay big bucks for these!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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