gravid, hets ect please explain???

[coatesy]

Ok forgive me if this sounds dumb. have read several threads and still need clarification. To start with what is meant by GRAVID when refering to snakes?
Next what is a HET short for and what are they? and finally if i was to breed my normal olive what type of male should i try to find to get a mixed clutch.
Sorry if it sounds stupid but just not exactley sure of it all..
any help would be good.. cheers..

[Ricko]

gravid= pregnant, got eggs. and het means hetorozygus (<---spelling??) for something in the case of olivesits het for albino. i hope i got that second part right.

[wokka]

so if you have a normal olive and you want hets just go out and buy an albino. ha ha.

[expansa1]

Originally Posted by Ricko

gravid= pregnant, got eggs. and het means hetorozygus (<---spelling??) for something in the case of olivesits het for albino. i hope i got that second part right.

Heterozygous or 'het' means it carries the gene,(say for albinism) as a recessive trait but doesn't show it! Cross 2 hets and you get 25% normal, 25% homozygous = Show (Albino etc) and 50% are also hets.

Homozygous means the trait is dominant and therefore would be albino in this case!

Expansa1

[coatesy]

cool so can can you visually tell the difference beetwean normal and hets?

[MrBredli]

No.

[coatesy]

so how can you tell if you are getting ripped off or not

[MrBredli]

You can't really - you'd have to buy off someone you trust.

[expansa1]

Originally Posted by coatesy

cool so can can you visually tell the difference beetwean normal and hets?

Unfortunately you can't tell by looking at them! The only way to tell is to breed them together and determine if they are hets by the colour of their offspring!

i.e. If you breed an unknown with a known het, there will either be all normal looking babies (if the 'unknown' is a normal) or 25% that show the trait (if the 'unknown' is a het)

expansa1

[coatesy]

so that means that 25% would be albino, 25% would be normal olive's and 50% would be hets. but if you breed a known het and a normal you will only get 100% normal with no hets

[wokka]

a lot of het are really possible hets. meaning theyhave come from a known het and a hormal so there is a possibility the the progeny are het or normal but no way of knowing. I guess that why proven albinos are worth so much. Some one has to pay for all the time and frustartion of trial and error.

[MrBredli]

so that means that 25% would be albino, 25% would be normal olive's and 50% would be hets. but if you breed a known het and a normal you will only get 100% normal with no hets

A known het and a normal would produce 50% normals and 50% hets. An albino and a normal would produce 100% hets.

[Sparty]

Looking at a lineage chart, identifying heterozygous animals is rather easy. Given snakes have a much higher offspring number, it is usually a good probability of getting atleast one homozygous recessive animal.

Contrary to theory, a trained eye can sometimes tell a heterozygous animal. When the process of miosis starts, the seperation of DNA though random, is not entirely random, it occurs in segments. Meaning that, along with the albino locus of the DNA there is often other phenotypicly dominant traits able to be seen. However, this is near impossible for anyone not professionally trained\interested.

When expansa says 25%, that's theoretical. And though it usually comes within 20% of the average for small clutches, don't always assume the genotype of an animal due to the lack of albanism.

I have to post my displeasure to see people breeding albanism in animals, it's unhealthy, and any of them with a strong education in genetics\science like myself, would understand the VAST health problems associated with breeding recessive traits in animals. In evolutionary terms, albanistic animals seldom last long in a predatory environment, as per nature intended..

[Australis]

Originally Posted by Sparty

I have to post my displeasure to see people breeding albanism in animals, it's unhealthy, and any of them with a strong education in genetics\science like myself, would understand the VAST health problems associated with breeding recessive traits in animals. In evolutionary terms, albanistic animals seldom last long in a predatory environment, as per nature intended..

Are you saying all albinos are unhealthy?

Just because evolution selects against them in the wild, doesnt mean they are any less healthy compared to normal types in a captive situation free of predators.

Matt

[junglepython2]

problems associated with breeding recessive traits in animals

Many normal traits are recessive, while some undesirable traits are dominant. Recessive doesn't necessarily mean bad or strange. But I do know where you are coming from with the albino point of view.