[about these definitions]

Albino - a snake with absent or deficient melanin.  Common name for "amelanistic".  See tyrosinase-negative and tyrosinase-positive.

Amelanistic - having no melanin.

(Co)Dominant - a "combination term" used in this Genetics Wizard to identify a gene that is either dominant or codominant.  The Genetics Wizard will give you the correct genetic makeup of the offspring.  You need to know if you are specifying a dominant trait or a codominant trait to determine what the babies will look like.

Codominant - a gene that causes the homozygous form to look different than the wild-type and the heterozygous form to have traits of both.

Dbl. Het. - double heterozygous.

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.

Heredity - the transmission of genetic characters from parents to offspring.

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-type.

Leucistic - a pure white snake with dark eyes.

Mutation - an abnormal gene that under certain circumstances can cause a snake to be born with an appearance other than wild-type.

Normal - a snake that looks like the wild-type generally seen, and it carries no mutated genes.

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 makeup 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 are 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-type.

Please Note:   These definitions are provided solely to help people question The Genetics Wizard, and they have been expressed in simple terms to make them easy to understand.  If you have other needs and want strict, scientific definitions, you should consult another source.   [back to the top]