I saw this idea posted in the corn snake thread with a different morph (credit to @metalheadreptiles ) and I thought it would be neat to document Nova’s progression as she ages. I haven’t seen any progression photos of the IMG gene. All I’ve seen are babies with varying degrees of black, or adults. I absolutely love the IMG gene and part of what I love about it is how it changes over time. I’m really hoping Nova ends up solid black, but until then I thought I’d create a thread to share some pictures of her and to hopefully show off the progression of the IMG gene. Nova is an IMG Motley 100% het Anery for those interested in specifics. This is the first photo I have of her, taken by the breeder on July 19, 2023
14 Likes
And here is a picture of Nova after her first shed with me on September 19, 2023
I plan to update this thread either after Nova sheds, or after important milestones (6 months, 1 year, etc.). Let me know if this is something y’all are interested in!
13 Likes
She’s lovely! I’d definitely love to watch her grow up and develop her adult coloration.
Back on the old cornsnakes forum, I had individual progression threads for all of my snakes. I love the idea. It’s neat to see how individual morphs change as they grow.
6 Likes
I for one am! It crazy how much darker she got within just two months time! Keep those updates coming please! She is stunning already btw! 
5 Likes
My biggest draw to IMG is watching one progress. I’ll be tagging along and looking forward to seeing how Nova ages. Looks to have gotten darker already!
I’d love to see shed picture updates personally but whatever you decide to share will be awesome.
With the motley and het anery involved, I think you’ve got a great chance of having a VERY black snake as she matures
7 Likes
@solarserpents I’ve noticed that corn snakes in general go through quite a drastic color shift as they age, and I find that fascinating!
@smite I would love to post pictures after each shed, but I wasn’t sure anyone would be interested in that. Luckily it seems there’s quite a bit of interest! Sometimes I forget that here in the forums, I’m not the “crazy snake girl” lol and y’all are just as excited about snakes as I am 
8 Likes
Me too, but now there’s a bit too many to reasonably do that so gotta condense. 
I always love progression threads!!! I say bring it on. 
3 Likes
Nova shed last night (12/30/2023) and I took some new pictures this morning. Her head is significantly darker, as is her tail. And her side pattern is starting to blend together. I wish the camera picked up her iridescence, she is glowing!
11 Likes
Woah, how neat is this idea? I definitely can’t wait to see how she develops from here on out.
6 Likes
Great idea on this thread, I can’t believe how much darker she’s gotten in just a few months!! I just got an IMG boa of my very own, so I’m looking forward to watching her change and darken as she matures. But my girl doesn’t have motley, she’s just IMG (het VPI), so I’ll definitely be interested to compare and contrast how the motley IMG evolves over time vs. IMG without motley. It’s my understanding that IMG motleys become pretty much completely solid black, whereas single-gene IMGs retain a little bit of pattern.
5 Likes
Congratulations on the new boa! I hope you’ll come to appreciate and love the gentle boa demeanor. I know I’ve definitely been converted to a “boa person” lol
That’s my understanding as well. The breeder I got Nova from said IMG motleys get solid black about 98% of the time. IMG motley Anery is usually a guarantee solid black snake. IMG aneries also get pretty black, but typically keep more of their pattern than IMG motleys. I’ve been told single gene IMGs can get solid black, but it’s not a guarantee. Some retain more pattern than others. Genes like hypo and VPI help maintain the pattern I think.
I’m by no means an expert on boa morphs or IMG, so anyone with more knowledge feel free to correct me
4 Likes
I’m already totally in love with her. It’s taking every ounce of self-control I have to leave her alone to decompress and settle in.
My girl came from an IMG/VPI pairing (if I remember correctly), and the breeder said her IMG parent was very dark, so we’ll just have to see how she matures. I actually kinda hope she keeps a little bit of pattern, especially on her head, but I think she’ll be stunning no matter what. Even with her deep in shed right now, she already has some iridescence.
Nova is so gorgeous! I look forward to watching her progress and darken.
5 Likes
Great idea with the photo log. I wish I would have done the same with mine. This is my IMG Motley Anery het Kahl, at almost 3 yo. Almost completely black, but the “het Kahl” will most likely keep her chin white.
10 Likes
She’s magnificent!! 
3 Likes
I thought I’d share a couple pictures of my girl Lenore, before and after her first shed with me (hope that’s okay, not trying to hijack your thread, @starchild26).
Here she is the day I got her, in shed.
And here she is about a week later after she shed.
Not any huge colour differences yet, but she’s much more iridescent post-shed.
6 Likes
Gosh, that is just a spectacular animal! 
Congratulations on that killer addition.
4 Likes
Thank you! I’m completely in love with her. She’s as sweet as she is beautiful. 
3 Likes
I know you said you aren’t an expert but curious if you or anyone else has any idea how Arabesque and/or Jungle will age with an IMG. My girl has all three genes and I love her pattern and color so much but I also wouldn’t be sad if she loses a lot of that and becomes very black as I think both will be beautiful. Her dark areas are already extremely iridescent.
Love this thread so much, I have been intently watching!
2 Likes
I’m not sure how jungle or arabesque interact with IMG. I’m not a breeder, just a snake lover/keeper. All of my info on IMG came from Nova’s breeder, and I want a solid black snake so he was telling me what combos would give me the best chance of getting an all-black boa. Maybe someone else here would have better information. @mattcookreptiles has an IMG jungle boa
Also tagging @smite @lumpy and @tommccarthy
They all have more knowledge about morphs and breeding than I do. Maybe one of them would be able to answer your question?
4 Likes
Anery Motely IMGs are going to be some of the blackest blackouts for IMGs.
5 Likes