Posted by Doug on August 24, 2000 at 12:42:43:
In Reply to: Captive cross breeding of Drymarchon subspecies posted by Roy on August 24, 2000 at 05:05:01:
I know of a well known breeder who did cross Texas with Eastern subspecies. My guess is that it would be easy to do with any of the subspecies.
Red throat easterns seem to sell for more (they really are beautiful) but I sense an undercurrent of "designer morph" attitude swelling in the drymarchon ranks. It's probably not that big of a deal since the red throat phase is common in the wild. Still it wouldn't surprise me if "we" started breeding for more and brighter reds ultimately aiming for a solid red indigo that would have Zero chance of surviving in the wild.
: Has anyone ever done this, as some have with Elaphe and Lampropeltis? Not that I would condone it, but it could be easily done as the Drymarchon are all subspecies of the same snake, i.e., D. corais. It certainly must happen in the wild, especially with the blacktails, unicolors and yellows, there are probably hybrid animals combined with parentage of any one of these subspecies. Also, what about Eastern and Texas Indigos?
: Has that been done in captivity? I'm only interested in what has been done by captive breeding or any regional taxonomical observations, however, I don't condone the procreation of Drymarchon morphs in captivity for any reason, especially the "designer" snake trade.
: Thanks,
: Roy