Please meet Flower! *Cute pics*

I was not planning on adding any reptiles...anytime soon. This weekend I was helping a good friend run a booth at a reptile show, and she mentioned a special snake who needed a home. Flower is a Peppermint corn snake, which is still a fairly rare and valuable morph. Unfortunately, she may also carry a gene that would pass a neurological disorder called stargazing to some of her offspring. My friend needed to find her a home where she could be assured that her owner would not breed her, but that gets complicated with expensive morphs....It's hard to trust that a stranger purchasing a valuable animal at a low price won't breed it even though it may carry unhealthy genes. Some breeders will cull (kill) offspring that are known to carry the stargazing gene(It seems cruel, but some people argue that it is the only way to be 100% sure they aren't bred), but obviously that's not the preferred solution.

When she offered Flower to me for free, I was floored. Peppermints are rare and beautiful, my friend was the first breeder to produce them ever, and I am honored to be trusted with her keeping. She is about three weeks old and very easy to handle. I spent all day today at the reptile show looking at her and holding her and just adoring her. Without further ado....here is my little Flower!

She is a fast mover, and hard to photograph, but I got four in-focus ones out of about thirty pictures.

"Oh, well, hello you!"
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...permint012.jpg

"What is this fuzzy stuff?"
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...permint016.jpg

"Maybe the white wall will show off my color better?"
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...permint017.jpg

"Here's my best smile!"
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...permint019.jpg

I also picked up a chameleon at the show!
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...permint021.jpg

Here is a picture of an adult peppermint! Flower will look similar, though the amount of pink varies. This snake and Flower are both quite pale, so I think she will be quite similar! (This picture is from Nanci of http://snickersnakes.com/ )
http://www.cccorns.com/forum/attachm...9&d=1323023397

Aww, she's adorable! Congratulations! She could not have found a better home! Can you explain what "stargazing" is and why it is bad? She is so pretty, I bet she could be a good therapy snake, as who could be afraid of something so cute and pink? ;)

Oh, and you should tell her breeder about Pet of the Day - I bet Flower's mommy is gorgeous, too!

Stargazing is a neurological disorder that causes really unsteady, uncontrolled movement in corn snakes. It gets worse when the snakes are excited. They struggle to right themselves when put on their back, and they bob and weave like crazy. It is not necessarily a death sentence, but it's definitely not something that people want in their collection.

Here is a video of some stargazers from specialcorns.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bZgTWoLPuc

The reason people DO keep them is to test other snakes for the gene. Since there is no DNA test for the gene, the only way to know if a snake carries it is to breed it to a snake that definitely has the gene. That's how Flower came to be...the breeder was testing her mother for stargazing by breedig her to a male that definitely carries it. Since none of the 17 babies were stargazers, the mother is almost certainly clear of the gene. Most of the babies were low-end morphs that could be marked down as "pet only - no breeding" without concern....but there was one Peppermint and one Shatter...which is even more unusual than the peppermint! My friend is keeping the Shatter for herself, and I got miss Flower!

Miss Flower really is a girly-girl snake. And I mean that in the best way! :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Litterati

Miss Flower really is a girly-girl snake. And I mean that in the best way! :D

---

She is, isn't she? Very dainty and pink, with a sweet smile!!