Story of the Scaleless Corn Snake
Scaleless Corn Snakes
Scaleless Corn Snakes
In 2012, we were fortunate to acquire several different color and pattern morphs of Scaleless Corn snakes from Stephane Rosselle in France.
Scaleless Scales?
Just as seedless grapes are not really devoid of seeds (they simply have small seeds), scale-less corns have some scales. For Instance, the entire bellies of most are classically or partially scaled, and random fragments of scale patterns are seen in varying degrees elsewhere on their bodies.
No two biological forms are precisely identical but add to that the color and pattern variability and the infrequent scale placements, the scaleless corn snake takes “no two alike” to a whole new level.
Regardless of how many and where scales are sparsely located, the predominant lack of scales results in a more deeply-saturated color exhibition in some Scaleless morphs.
Scaleless Eyes
It should be noted that the eyes of a scaleless corn snake are not disproportionately large per body size, but in the absence of scales around them, it creates a protruding appearance.
Vibrant Colors
Who knew that the armor (scales) of serpents actually rendered a dilution of their here-to-fore unseen pattern brilliance? Few corn snake mutations are capable of altering mutation and morph compounds as dramatically as the Scaleless mutation.
Hybrid
The originator of the Scaleless Mutants in France (Richard Dijoux) indicates on his web site that they originate from pairing an Emory’s (Great Plains) Rat Snake with a Corn Snake. Therefore, the scaleless snakes I got from Stephane are technically inter-species hybrid mutants (though via 1st- cousin species).
ALL Scaleless corn snakes in the world hobby today are Inter-species hybrids.
APRIL 26 2013, Addendum:
Thanks to a telephone inquiry today from my friend, Rodney Ream, here is a close-up of the skin of a Scaleless Extreme Okeetee. It unquestionably demonstrates the lack of scalation, except for the edges of some of the belly scales – visible at the ventral keel.
Most Scaleless corns have belly scales, which is great since the belly of a snake gets the most wear and tear.
We wish to thank all of you who helped make it possible for us to produce all the beautiful corn snake morphs we offer. Furthermore, thank you for your comments and suggestions that made up a large portion of my first book, CORN SNAKES IN CAPTIVITY.