[Cornsnakesalive]

When I think of Lavas, I think of a bright orange snake that rival most Sunglows, so when I saw a few Red Lavas this year, I had to hold them back. The original Lava was dark red, so it will be interesting to see if two very different lines of Lavas can be produced. All previous Lavas that have been produced were orange, until 2006. It seems as if I may have accidentally recovered the original phenotype of Lava in my project quests. There might be an on/off gene in play or just good old selective breeding. I can definitely see the possibility of a hidden het gene matching up that can easily be linked back to Old Man Lava.

The first three photos are of a Lava from the wild line, and the last two are of one of the Red Lavas. They are on the brick red side and almost could be mistaken for a dark Okeetee until you look close. I have some very dark Amels that remind me of these. Is there a “dark” gene in Corns?