iHerp Australia Issue 2 | Page 9

this to the next level! Finally, at seventh place on the proven morph list, are the ‘Super Striped’ Alpine Blotched Blue-tongues, which originate from an animal I picked up from the late Rob McCarthy. This proved out to be a classic incomplete dominant characteristic, with quite striking hets exhibiting a ‘red racing stripe’, and a super form that takes on a fine pinstripe appearance which is virtually melanistic. Photographs of these animals go nowhere near expressing how incredible they really are. An exciting further opportunity for these animals exists in tandem with a line of axanthic blotchies that should prove out in the 2018 season. Almost endless combinations. The plot thickens when further colour and pattern potential is unlocked through pairing different mutations together to investigate the expression of each combination. This was a logical pathway that followed the explosion in morph production of Ball Pythons, boas, Leopard Geckos and Corn Snakes, to name just a handful of species, and resulted in tongue- twisting combinations with multiple genetic loadings. So when Snake Ranch posed the question, ‘What would the melanistic albino blue-tongue look like?’, I for one was somewhat intrigued, to say the least. Being a comparative latecomer into breeding blueys, I was quite surprised that I was first to crack this combination – especially since there were claims that this had already been achieved (which subsequently proved to be untrue). So by pairing a black male to an albino female, the first hets were produced that carried the genetics for both traits. The result – later christened ‘Lava’ – was breathtaking, and for me marked the point at which the rest of the hobby really started to realise how amazing blue-tongue morphs could be. The molten hot looks of the Lava form are unparalleled (well arguably so!) by any other morph, and this has become a ‘must produce’ for other bluey breeders. Three other ‘combos’ have already been produced. I also managed to combine the Black Eyed Anery gene with albinism, creating a ‘Snow’, which is essentially white with lemon or peach hues. The ‘Platinum’ is from Roger Kramer, and brings together J R Coward’s White Northern Blue-tongue and the melanistic form, resulting in an animal that has a real eye-catching ‘polished silver’ appearance. Lastly, the ‘Alabaster’ was created by Karen Russell from a cross involving a White Northern Blue-tongue and a Black Eyed Anery. The result is unbelievable, and identical in appearance to the Black Eyed Leucistic Ball Python. A colourful future. The potential of blue-tongue morphs has been well and