Hello everyone! I had my first ever corn snake clutch hatch yesterday (with one still chilling in the egg absorbing yolk) and I was super confused by the genes I saw. The pairing was a 0.1 Palmetto Pos Het Amel, Caramel, Stripe, and Ultra x 1.0 Caramel Het Palmetto. I raised the male up from a yearling, and the female(2021) I bought as proven. I think there might be some Caramels but I’m waiting to see what they look like after a shed or two. My confusion comes from the fact that all the Het Palmetto babies have split belly checkers of some varying degree. The male does not have any split belly checkers so I was super confused about how some look almost Super Masque, but that just wouldn’t make sense, unless it’s just varying intensities of Masque and the female is just Super Masque. I’ll also update with photos of the last baby, #11, when they finally emerge from their egg, but from what I can see they also have the split belly checkers. Also, three of the four Palmettos have paradoxing, which is super cool! Any and all ideas welcome!!!
OH! Here’s the photos of the parents! Cruton, my male Caramel het Palmetto, and Koi Googly-eye McGee, my female Palmetto.
Congrats! 10 is a Caramel. I think split belly checkers can happen independent from Masque, but even het Masques can have strong belly expression with weak headstamp expression. Super Masque headstamp almost always has the bald look or near-bald scream mask look.
Edit to add: Palmettos can have splotches consistent with their morph’s coloration.
I know there can be natural variation, but #2, #6, and #7 have pretty extreme splits. That’s what has me confused, none of my corns that aren’t Masque, Motley, or pied-sided have splitting like that, or at all. Can the variability cause such distinct lack of most checkers in the case of #2 and #6?
I think that much of a split isn’t uncommon with single-copy Masque, which is everywhere. Caramel dad looks single-copy Masque to me, so he’s got a copy to pass down. 
Wait, he looks Masque? I guess he does look like a super low expression especially with his belly. That’d be really fun if he is!
Also, I do know that about Super Masque, which is why I was sure that they weren’t Super. I’ve got a second clutch who is 1.0 Super Masque, Redcoat, Lava het Diffused, Amel x 0.1 Caramel het bloodred who looks Super Masque. The male was sold to me as Super Masque but he’s not got a clear belly so maybe he’s just Masque? He’s got the Super headstamp though. The pairing will tell me if she’s Super Masque and if she’s het Diffused and/or Redcoat, and if she has any unknown hets.
Beautiful group. You don’t see so many old school looking Lavas like that anymore.
Oh, and yeah, I really think the dad of the first clutch is het Masque.
@jacobhyde Congratulations on a fantastic clutch! And I particularly love the Palmettos and the Redcoat!
Oh swag! I love being able to add morphs and hets to their cards and documents so this is a wonderful treat!
Thank you so much! I have a whole bunch of stuff and projects that I’m working towards! 2027 and 2028 are going to be crazy. In 2027 I’ve got 3 female corns and 1 female ball python that will be added to the docket for a total of 6 pairings. In 2028 I’ll have 6 more female corns, 2 more female ball pythons, and 1 female hognose ready for a total of 15 pairings! I love working with these snakes and absolutely adore the science with the genetics. I’m specifically looking forward to two clutches in 2028 with both being orchids, though one female is only 50% het Lavender. There is a bunch of genetics that I’m also working with, and could absolutely go on and on about it all!
Wow you are certainly going at it full strength! You are most certainly in the right place for solid advice as well! And of course you must keep us updated with progress and pictures! I can almost hear the excitement in your words! 
I wish you the very best of luck Jacob! 
I absolutely will! The second clutch from Brandy and Helios, my Caramel girl and my Lava boy, is estimated to hatch around 07/01/26 so I’m super excited about that!! I’ll also make sure to post update photos of the thread clutch, which is Koi Googly-eye McGee, my Palmetto girl, and Cruton, my Caramel boy. 
Please do Jacob! I’m super excited for you!!! 
Looks like another Masque!
I got a couple photos of #11, who I think is a normal Masque with two of the suspected Caramels, #2 and #10.
The normal Masques are so bright. The het Palmetto Hypo effect is real. I haven’t worked with it, but I’ve seen photos where even Amels that were het Palmetto were brighter.
I know, they’re so pretty, and I can’t wait to see what they look like after a few sheds! I’ve got a normal Miami Tessera, so I’d love to compare colors of the het Palmettos to her.
Me too Jacob! 