We had anticipated producing a reasonable number of albino macs this year, but our star white male (and up until now the only albino Antaresia – mac or otherwise, that we have seen) had other ideas, and for the first time in three years, did not make a good showing in the reproductive stakes – producing only one small clutch despite being paired with four able and willing heterozygous females. If that wasn’t bad enough, the heterozygous males and females that we paired produced a much smaller than the anticipated 1:4 ratio of white to normal looking young (closer to 1:12) while at the same time a proportion of each of the three clutches of eggs produced died during incubation, suggesting the possibility of a lethal gene combination associated with the recessive genetic condition that suppresses melanin production. With this in mind, we are going keep the very few white young produced, as these may in fact be (relatively) genetically advantaged. We will continue to outbreed, and hopefully will be able to produce more robust albinos in the next year or two. We will only offer these when we believe the line is more viable. This unfortunate outcome is especially disappointing as we know how devastated those people who ordered albinos will be. Deposits will of course be immediately repaid.