Axanthic BHP Yes or No

[andyscott]

Hi all,
The responce to my photo has been fantastic. I have found all your opions to be very interesting.
I have now added a few more photos, of my little girl, so you can get a better look at her.
Is she Axanthic or Not? It dosnt matter, she is stunning to me.
I EMBRACE DIVERSTY ( poeple & bhps)
The very last photo is of a hatchling from the same clutch of eggs, Axanthic or not, they are siblings..
Cheers Andy.

 

[junglepython2]

Out of interest any pics of mum and dad? EIther way it's a stunning snake.

 

[Paliadon]

Looks like there might be some brown there, so I have to without seeing more detailed pictures, I would have to say no. Merely very nice BHP.

 

[hornet]

yea, i can see brown insted of black.

 

[eladidare]

i cant see any colour so i reckon it might be

 

[MrBredli]

Axanthic means no yellow. They still have red pigment which, when mixed with black, appears as brown... definitely axanthic IMO!

 

[itbites]

well she's definitely not your average bhp thats for sure! and i think she is stunning! Also Neils snakes are awesome quality definitely looking to get some more womas through him and now after seeing that gorgeous specimen will be looking at one or 2 bps as well

 

[zulu]

re Axanthic

I looked up axanthic Andy ,i dont know what ime on about ,completely different to what i thought,ime head butting the wall,hitting meself with left hooks and uppercuts :lol:

 

[MrBredli]

For reference, check out this axanthic Ball Python, it too shows brown colours: http://rustys-balls.com/Axanthic.shtml

 

[Hetty]

What MrB said, axanthics lack xanthophores, not melanin (responsible for black/brown pigment).

 

[zulu]

re Axanthic

Axanthic means no yellow. They still have red pigment which, when mixed with black, appears as brown... definitely axanthic IMO!

What i got when i looked up axanthic Mr bred was axanthic means yellow or yellowish including colours made from yellow such as green and orange.I thought that axanthic was black and white with no brown,the old bumblebee BHP looks vey axanthitically exuberated dont you think young dude,yeh he has brown but hes got crap loads of yellow Axanthacality ! that yellow bummblebee is so hot hes melting! :lol:

 

[MrBredli]

That's right zulu, no yellow also means they can't produce any colours that rely on the yellow for example, an axanthic QLD BHP that would normally have bright orange bands would have red bands, as the yellow is not there to mix with the red to create the orange. They are still able to make red and black and all colours that result as a mix of the two (plus white i.e. black and white = gray).

That Bumblebee could well be xanthic perhaps, producing far more yellow than it should.

I think some of the confusion re: axanthic BHP's may be due to something Neil wrote on his website a few months back... saying they were true black and whites (which is not entirely correct), and that axanthic meant they had no yellow OR RED pigments, which is not at all correct.

 

[zulu]

re Axanthics

Dam confusing for burnt out bricky Mr Bred,on that ball python site they explain it a bit further,that bhp in the avatar has no yellow,black,white,grey,and reddish brown so what is it? What also are the babys denver had that are born black and white and then change later,its confusing to non scientist,pushin me brain power to the max joung bred dude imes gonna explode with bits spattering the walls and computer HaHa.

 

[junglepython2]

That's right zulu, no yellow also means they can't produce any colours that rely on the yellow for example, an axanthic QLD BHP that would normally have bright orange bands would have red bands, as the yellow is not there to mix with the red to create the orange. They are still able to make red and black and all colours that result as a mix of the two (plus white i.e. black and white = gray).

That Bumblebee could well be xanthic perhaps, producing far more yellow than it should.

I think some of the confusion re: axanthic BHP's may be due to something Neil wrote on his website a few months back... saying they were true black and whites (which is not entirely correct), and that axanthic meant they had no yellow OR RED pigments, which is not at all correct.

If a mutation is affecting the production of yellow pigment it will often also prevent the production of red pigment maybe that is why Nell made those comments?

Just to confuse things axanthic specimens can also have some yellow through the expression of carotenoids and iridophores, occasionally turning black into brown.

 

[Tsubakai]

For reference, check out this axanthic Ball Python, it too shows brown colours: http://rustys-balls.com/Axanthic.shtml

There is no way I'm clicking a link for a site called rustys balls - seen that sort of thing before and am scarred for life :shock:

 

[Paliadon]

There is no way I'm clicking a link for a site called rustys balls - seen that sort of thing before and am scarred for life :shock:

Ha ha. Nice one.

 

[MrBredli]

Now you're confusing me zulu warrior. :lol: Which BHP are you referring to? Not to sure about Den's BHP's, but if they produce yellow pigments as they grow then they are not axanthic simply because an axanthic cannot possibly produce yellow pigment at any time. Some snakes eg WA BHP's may appear as though they are axanthic, but in their case it is not a matter of being unable to produce yellow pigment. I'm sure that they are able to produce yellow, they just don't produce enough for it to be visible to the naked eye simply because their patterns do not require (much, if any) yellow pigment to be produced. As with Bandy Bandy's, evolution has caused them to have a black and white pattern, not a genetic defect.

Think of it this way... all snakes have a blank canvas that is pure white. The colours we see on their skin are made up of varying amounts of the three pigments which they can produce which are black, red and yellow. All snakes have varying amounts of these pigments in their skin and just because one snake does not appear to have any red does not necessarily mean they can't produce it. The amounts of each pigment produced will vary throughout the life of the snake, and it will vary from species to species and from individual to individual. With axanthic, amelanistic and anerythristic animals, due to the genetic abnormality, they are physically unable to produce yellow, black and red pigments respectively, ever in their entire life. In most cases, these traits are heritable and are recessive.

 

[firedragon]

Thats beautiful,

 

[MrBredli]

Another way to think of it (yellow pigment in WA BHP's) is to compare them to humans. Unlike reptiles, humans can only produce one colour in their skin which is black (reptiles can produce 3 colours). All humans are able to produce this black pigment (except albinos of course hehe...) and yet some of us are white as a ghost and others are as black as my car. Just because we have the ability to produce black pigment does not mean we should all be black. Similarily, even though WA BHP's can produce yellow pigment, it doesn't mean they should be as yellow as QLD BHP's. Thier genetic makup determines how much of each pigment is produced, which could be a lot, or could be almost none at all.

 

[Hetty]

Thats beautiful,

It was a nice post.. but I wouldn't say 'beautiful'.