"Motley" Irian Jaya Carpet
On August 21, 2006, in a small clutch of eight fertile eggs (out of 10 total), I hatched eight aberrantly patterned Irian Jaya carpets, which I'm tentatively calling "Motley" Irian Jayas. The most notable feature of these snakes is that they have some degree of vertebral striping extending from the back of the head. In addition to the stripe, they also have a variable puzzle-like pattern covering the rest of the body. The parents are both Irian Jaya carpets, a very unique male and a normal female. The sire is a very clean colored, semi-reduced pattern Irian Jaya who is completely devoid of black, making the color scheme most reminiscent of the Platinum ball python. Although it seems reasonable to believe this is a co-dominant color and pattern mutation, we cannot say this with any certainty until the original male can be bred to a different female next season to confirm my findings.
Anthony Caponetto - anthony@acreptiles.com