I’ve been trying to research as much as I can about het markers, I can’t really find much on the topic other than pied. I just want to know what are the common markers are and how accurate they actually are.
I’m not totally sure but I think some signs are blushing and ringers though I’m not sure how accurate those are and it probably varies with the morph.
Genetically speaking there is no such thing as het markers from a recessive trait. There is a theory that pied is actually a incomplete dominant gene and that’s why people can pick out “hets” But in reality that would mean it’s just the single gene version of pied and visual pied is the super form of a incomplete dominant gene. If that makes any sense lol.
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That for sure makes it easier lol.
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Out of curiosity, I know recessive is non-visual unless homozygous but what determines if it’s recessive or not? Are they all similar except they’re just labeled as recessive or dominant if they’re visual or not and it could be possible for one to be mostly recessive but a little bit dominant? I’m still learning myself so I’m not totally sure about this.
Edit: @t_h_wyman or @chesterhf
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I’m going to be honest I’m not the best person to explain all that! @chesterhf or @t_h_wyman are experts of that field!
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A recessive gene is one that requires both mutant copies be present for a phenotype to be seen
A dominant gene is one that generates a phenotype when only a single copy of the mutant gene is present
Under dominant genes, we see two sub-types:
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Simple dominant genes, where the phenotype generated is the same whether it is one copy or two copies of the mutant gene present
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Incomplete-dominant, where the phenotype generated by the presence of a single copy of the mutant gene is different than the phenotype generated by the presence of two copies of the mutant gene
Some of us are of the strong opinion that the incomplete-dominant genes in the hobby segregate out into two types:
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Prominent visual heterozygous, where the single mutant gene phenotype is very clearly different from the wild-type phenotype; e.g., Butter, Enchi, BlkPastel, OD, etc
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Subtle visual heterozygous, where the single mutant gene phenotype is very close to that of the wild-type but is still noticeably and verifiably repeatable through breeding; e.g., Pied, Specter, Daddy, Axanthic, etc.
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It is that last group that you most frequently see people claiming to be able to find “markers” for. It should be noted that some of those markers, like the “train tracks” for Pied, are not absolutes and, as such, should not be taken as an absolute measure of proof that the animal is “het”. In all of the morphs that fall into that last group, it is a combination of many traits that makes for identification of “het” status
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So let’s say we’re talking about clowns? What would the het markers be? I’ve seen that it can brighten up the snake, white tail tip, something about the stripe on the back of the neck?
I think het clowns (at least in my observation) tend to be a lot brighter
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I do not work with Clown so I cannot make any statements that I would stand by. The talk is that, yes, they are a bit brighter. The white tail-tip is news to me as is the back of the neck
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I’ve heard that het Clowns are brighter, have white tail tips, and a stripe that runs under the tail. I have a Super Pastel GHI 66% het Clown that has those “markers” but I haven’t had the chance to prove him out yet. The white tail tip seems like an inaccurate way to tell, and I’m on the fence about the stripe under the tail, but I do think he is a bit brighter and cleaner compared to a normal Super Pastel GHI, so hopefully he proves out!
Here are some pictures of him, and the “markers” he has for reference.
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I’m also on the fence with that one. I’ve have a friend who paired 3 males pos. het Clown with that marker last year and they all proved out. But that could be good odds too.
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I have 100% het clowns I hatched myself I’m going to check this out. This gal is a lemonblast het clown and around 3000 grams and she is simply the brightest adult lemon blast I have personally seen.
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I just checked two 100% het clowns that I have (blade het clown and leopard butter het clown) and neither have the stripe under the tail or the white tail tip, however both are pretty bright.
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You totally stole my idea!
Both my albino and pied females have white tail tips and neither are het clown. I’ll look at my het clowns tonight and see if any have these “markers”.
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Both my Mystic and Leopard 100% het Clown do not have the white tail tip, no stripe under the tail, which is funny because my leopard has a stripe all the way down her stomach and not that area. The one thing they both have in common is a good amount of flaming along the sides. Same goes for my Spotnose Fire 66% het Clown.
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The brighter coloring can definitely show up, others I think have been coincidental as far as het clown goes.
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It’s never guaranteed unless you paired yourself or you bought the het from a reputable source. But pieds sometimes have ringers or tracks. But the animal could have those markers and not be het. I have been told clown is brighter. I have a firefly possible het clown and she is super bright. I will be proving her out this spring. She just needs about 400 more grams and my clown boy about 200 more grams
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