# Kahl x Sharp outcomes



## jonnyllo (Aug 13, 2010)

Hi, we've got a female boa, 100% het Kahl, 66% het Motley, and a male boa, 100% het Sharp. We know if we bred them we'd get no albinos, and everything would be normal, and we think 66% het for albinoism, but we can't find anything that tells us whether Motley's dom, co-dom, or what it is. 

Obviously, we assume we wouldn't get any Motleys, but we would like to know whether it's dom, co-dom, etc, and ask if anyone knows why the boa genetics calculators we've found only list Motley, not het Motley?

Not actually thinking of breeding them, but having one of each sex did get us thinking and trying to work out genetics things. Been quite a few years since I've studied anything and I get distracted easily now in my old(ish) age!

Cheers for any help anyone can give us, and congratulations on working out my waffle. :crazy:


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## paulh (Sep 19, 2007)

Motley is a codominant mutant gene. There are supposed to be some living super motley boas, which have a gene pair made up of two motley mutant genes. But most such boas die young. Motley boas have a gene pair made up of a motley mutant gene and a normal gene. The calculators assume that everyone knows that. 

All gene pairs are either homozygous or heterozygous.

Definitions:
homozygous = the two genes in a gene pair are the same. 
heterozygous = the two genes in a gene pair are NOT the same.

A gene pair made up of a motley mutant gene and a normal gene is a heterozygous gene pair. By extension, a snake with a gene pair made up of a motley mutant gene and a normal gene is also heterozygous -- a het. 

Many herpers believe that a het must look normal. That is true for snakes with a recessive mutant gene paired with a normal gene. That is not true for snakes with a dominant mutant gene paired with a normal gene or with a codominant mutant gene paired with a normal gene.

I assume that your 100% het Kahl, 66% het Motley boa looks normal. If so, then it does not have a motley gene. It is, in reality, just a het Kahl albino boa.

The Kahl albino mutant gene and the Sharp albino mutant gene are in different gene pairs. If they are crosssed the babies all look normal. Their genotypes are
25% normal
25% het Sharp albino
25% het Kahl albino
25% het Sharp albino, het Kahl albino (double het)

I would advise against mating your two present boas. It isn't worth the time and effort to do the breeding tests needed to figure out the genotypes of the babies. That is why either a het Sharp albino or a het Kahl albino is worth more than a boa that is both a possible het Kahl albino and a possible het Sharp albino.

IMO, your best bet is to sell one of your boas. The replacement should have the same mutant gene as the boa you keep.

This link may be helpful
No frills genetics guide

Good luck.


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