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cont.
Allure of the Albino
 The first albino rosy boa was
discovered in the Whitewater Canyon during 1993. As far as it can
determined, the person was hiking through the washes and surrounding
area searching for desert tortoises when he found this "strange
white and yellow snake". This person had knowledge of other
herpetologists and hobbyists and eventually transferred the boa to Keith
Carlson. This albino rosy was an adult male that subsequently was
bred to several normal (wild type) females. Several heterozygous
offspring were produced the same year.
Randy Wright
describes for us the second albino Whitewater rosy boa discovered and
the subsequent herpetoculture of the albino rosy boa:
"As a rosy boa enthusiast for over thirty years, I often fantasized
over the ultimate rosy, the albino. Little did I know that
my long awaited dream would become reality in April 1995. One late
evening a few miles north of Palm Springs, in the vicinity of Whitewater
Canyon, my partner was hiking with his flashlight. Suddenly his
path lit up a spectacular sight, and a dream come true.
Immediately it was appreciated that his eyes were cast upon an
extraordinary find. This was a young snake approximately 24 inches
in length, and more importantly, an albino rosy boa. My founding
albino rosy boa stock originated from this young female.
Fortunately this was not the first albino collected from the Whitewater
area. Two years earlier, we had purchased one of the young adult
heterozygous males from a breeder [Keith Carlson] in Texas. In the
spring of 1996, we bred the albino female to our newly acquired
heterozygous male. In mid-September she produced six offspring,
only one neonate was an albino. To our disappointment, it was a
female. However, in 1997 our experience was more rewarding.
Our albino female produced seven offspring; five of the neonates were
albino, and three were males. Once again, in 1998 she produced
seven offspring, five of which were albino. In 1999 we bred the
1997 male Albino Rosy Boas back to the mother albino and once again,
seven was the lucky number. All offspring were albinos. The
year 2001 has been a productive year for my breeding colony.
Several neonate albinos and heterozygous Whitewater Rosy Boas will
become available."
Currently there is much
discussion over the purity of this albino locality, its true albino
status, and brightness of coloration. The discovery of a third
albino rosy boa - the Limburg Coastal from Vail Lake, and three Albino
Borrego Rosy Boas collected in 2003-2004 from apparently the same
litter, has and will continue to fuel interest in Albino Rosy
Boas. Several rosy boa breeders are crossing the albino rosys to
so called anerythristic rosy boas to create an eventual "snow"
rosy boa. One actual snow rosy boas appears to have been produced
in 2003. END
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