# Retic Platinum/ Ivories/ Ultras & Lucys - the last word?



## st3o

So guys,

here I am to try and find some answers, hoping all you retic breeders can chime in. im aiming this post at the lucys.

I've read on here that the platinum gene acts like a het albino for the visual ''super'' platinum. be it ivory, ultras or lucy - kind of like how Bobs albinos work. 

however has there been any more developments regarding this or is it still quite loose in terms of certainty? 

reason I ask is that I've heard stories be it on here or around the retic community of lucys been made from platy to platy? how does that tie into it being compared to the het albino x het albino genetically?

now, ive also heard on other hand that lucys are more likely to pop out by breeding two already white snakes so lets say ivory to ivory. it apparently increases the chances of a lucy. so...... how does that tie into it not being compared to the albino genetically, is it the already whitish canvas of the ivory which increases the chance of a lucy?

or, is it just pot luck what comes out when breeding a platy to a platy?

I'm intrigued to know your thoughts and experiences.

(oh and I know the lemon glows do make lucys when breeding 2 hets together - im just talking about the platinum)

thanks in advance


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## paulh

About all of my information about this question comes from the Prehistoric Pets web site, PrehistoricPets > Leucistic/ Ivory/ Ultras and PrehistoricPets > Platinum. And from my interpretation of that information. I have never bred any retic python. If this post is wrong in any way, please correct me.

There are three different genes -- leucistic, ultra ivory, and normal. These can make six possible gene pairs.
Gene pair 1 = 2 normal genes. Appearance = normal.
Gene pair 2 = leucistic gene and normal gene. Appearance = platinum.
Gene pair 3 = ultra ivory gene and normal gene. Appearance = platinum.
Gene pair 4 = 2 ultra ivory genes. Appearance = ultra ivory
Gene pair 5 = 2 leucistic genes. Appearance = leucistic
Gene pair 6 = leucistic gene and ultra ivory gene. Appearance = ivory

From this chart, if one mates two platinums (each with a gene pair made of a leucistic gene and a normal gene), then some of their babies would have two leucistic genes and be leucistic retics.


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## paulh

Let's assign the name platinum 1 to a snake with a gene pair made up of a leucistic gene and a normal gene. And let's assign the name platinum 2 to a snake with a gene pair made up of an ultra ivory gene and a normal gene. 

Platinum 1 is equivalent to het white albino, and platinum 2 is equivalent to het purple albino. Ivory is equivalent to having a gene pair made up of a white albino gene and a purple albino gene.

There are three possible platinum x platinum matings. These are platinum 1 x platinum 1, platinum 1 x platinum 2, and platinum 2 x platinum 2. Only the platinum 1 x platinum 1 mating can produce leucistic babies. The other two matings cannot.

On the other hand, all ivory x ivory matings can produce leucistic babies. In other words, you WILL get leucistics from an ivory x ivory mating. You MAY get leucistics from a platinum x platinum mating, because that happens only if the parents are both platinum 1.

Clear as mud?


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## KnattyDreadHead

Paul has it pretty much bang on the nail there. My only input is if you are interested in producing Lucy retics, why not just go with the lemonglow? I've yet to see a Lucy born from a platinum pairing fully grown, even half grown for that matter as they are apparently born with a digestion problem. I say apparently as I've never bred Lucy's so can't speak from experience. Peter Rice's lemonglow produced leucistics are putting on size nicely now at this stage. Like I said I haven't bred Lucy retics, just going by what I've seen personally. 
Tom


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## st3o

cheers guys,

ok so the key here is the parentage of the platinum? To make the lucy then two platinum's would need to have had a parent of which was a lucy?

im not sure any lucys in this country have bread yet to create a platinum het lucy? however is this where the lemon glow comes into play? could that just be a platy that has been bred down from a lucy? so that would always pass on the lucy gene to its offspring.

so they do act like a clark albino? I presume when you mention the ivory that is has the same characteristics as the lavender? 

could you explain what would be expected from an ultra ivory bred to a platy in terms of ivory, ultra, lucy? 

all this is sinking in but its not quite sticking. 

cheers.


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## paulh

1. I helps to think about breeding problems in terms of gene pairs. Each parent gives one gene from each gene pair to the baby. A lucy baby has two leucistic genes in its gene pair. That means that each parent has at least one leucistic gene in that gene pair. Below is the list of 6 possible gene pairs. The three in red have at least one leucistic gene. A male with any one of the three gene pairs could be the father of a lucy. And a female with any one of the three could be the mother.

Gene pair 1 = 2 normal genes. Appearance = normal.
Gene pair 2 = leucistic gene and normal gene. Appearance = platinum.
Gene pair 3 = ultra ivory gene and normal gene. Appearance = platinum.
Gene pair 4 = 2 ultra ivory genes. Appearance = ultra ivory
Gene pair 5 = 2 leucistic genes. Appearance = leucistic
Gene pair 6 = leucistic gene and ultra ivory gene. Appearance = ivory

2. I have not figured out how lemon glow works.

3. As I understand it, a lavender albino retic has a gene pair made up of a purple albino gene and a white albino gene. So, yes, lavender albino and ivory would have the same sort of breeding results.

4. Remember, there are two different gene pairs that produce a platinum retic. The two types of platinum retic just look alike.

Platinum 1 gene pair = leucistic gene and normal gene. Appearance = platinum.
Platinum 2 gene pair = ultra ivory gene and normal gene. Appearance = platinum.

platinum 1 x ultra ivory -->
1/2 ivory
1/2 platinum 2
The platinum 1 snake produces two types of sperm (or egg) -- one with a leucistic gene and the second with a normal gene. The ultra ivory snake produces only one type of egg (or sperm) -- with an ultra ivory gene.

A retic with a leucistic gene paired with an ultra ivory gene is an ivory.
A retic with a normal gene paired with an ultra ivory gene is a platinum 2.

platinum 2 x ultra ivory -->
1/2 ultra ivory
1/2 platinum 2
The platinum 2 snake produces two types of sperm (or egg) -- one with an ultra ivory gene and the second with a normal gene. The ultra ivory snake produces only one type of egg (or sperm) -- with an ultra ivory gene.

A retic with an ultra ivory gene paired with an ultra ivory gene is an ultra ivory.
A retic with a normal gene paired with an ultra ivory gene is a platinum 2.

These two crosses can be diagrammed with a Punnett square. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punnett_square


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## st3o

ah ok, this is sinking in now. thanks for explaining that I appreciate the time you took to explain it for me.

I thinks that's why the lemons are so special because they carry half of the lucy gene pair. So a lemon glow is just simply a platy het lucy, but with a different name to differentiate......

very good - so for this thread I think I pretty much got my answer.

thank you both for your input.

cheers.


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