Square tails are they genetic??

[Jendee]

another fun debate...how do you think square tails work genetically?? We have seen some jungle square tails and albino square tails that to me scream square tail but are a bit different then the originals. So whats your take?

[Jendee]

opps that was supposed to be a poll, cant seem to fix it lol

[citysnakes]

how bout some pics?

[Jendee]

ok let me find some

[Jendee]

Ok here is a picture of some of the orginal sqts (obviously shows how they got there names)

here is a pic of some recent sqt litters
albino sqts

jungle sqts

my sqt


now what I don't get is alot of the bigger boa breeders say they are not genetic, some people say they are, some people say they are just selective breeding Ive also heard someone mention poly-genetic?? hummm this is one of the few boa morphs that is still a question??

[infernalis]

Everything from size to temperament is genetic.. repeatable or not.

Genes are the blueprint that makes up all living things.

One cannot argue scientific facts.

"Mutations" are genes gone wrong, but still undeniably genetic.

The only way it could not be genetic, is if the snake was born one way and later altered, either intentionally or by accident.

[blindfireak40]

One theory that may account for the square-tailed phenotype outside of genetics is incubation temperature. I'm not sure if this is current, but I remember hearing piebald balls are actually a result of low incubation temperatures.

Could be (read: I probably am lol) wrong, but certain factors DEFINITELY result in different expressions of genes in certain situations, so could it not be so in this case as well?

[TeaNinja]

the albino is pretty ^^

[Damion930]

If its not genetic that would mean specific conditions would need to be present during incubation to cause such a specific abnormalitie I know piebald was thought to be do to incubation but has ben found to be genetic my vote is that its genetic lol

[Jendee]

huh they dont have eggs, does that change things??

[Damion930]

Oh lol I know they don't lay eggs lol but they are in a sence internally incubated or gestated and if certain conditions aren't kept some even dietary abnormalitys can happen but to reproduce them you would have to know the specific condition for example calcium deficiency has been shown to produce crooked spines kinks and twists and during genetic development certain amino acids are released at specific times causing different results in matching codes wich is still genetic specific because its the genetics that say when this is supposed to happen but can also be effected by environmental factors I think the sqt is to specific to be anything but genetic lol enough rambling from me lol

[citysnakes]

Originally Posted by blindfireak40

I'm not sure if this is current, but I remember hearing piebald balls are actually a result of low incubation temperatures.

the piebald mutation is considered a recessive one and will be expressed in offspring with two copies of the gene.


as for the "is this genetic" thing: the term "genetic" in snake lingo is used to refer to whether a trait is heritable or not. obviously everything is influenced by genes but when the question, "is this genetic" is asked, it usually means "will this trait be passed on from this animal to its offspring".

in this case i dont know if square tail is a heritable trait or not but even if it is a polygenic one then selectively breeding for square tail will increase your odds at producing it.