09/26/2026
Same clutch. Same genetics. Four VERY different-looking bullsnakes.
These are four different animals, with three photos of each snake. All four are from the same clutch and are Red Hannum/Stillwater Hypos.
This clutch is a perfect example of why you can’t identify bullsnake genetics by looking for one exact “morph picture.”
Hannum and Stillwater influence the hypo phenotype, but they don’t make every animal look identical. In these snakes you can see everything from heavy black/yellow contrast, to rust and red saddles, to bronze, gray and purple-toned coloration.
The Stillwater influence can show through as brighter yellow/cream coloration, reduced melanin with retained black, and strong contrast. The Hannum side can produce the gray, blue-gray and purple blushing through the saddles and individual scales that has become associated with that line.
Then add the red/erythristic influence, which is line-bred and variable rather than a simple on/off recessive trait. Each sibling inherits a different mix of those color modifiers. That’s why one sibling can mature yellow, black and orange, another rusty red, another bronze/purple, and another blazing orange-red while they still share the same underlying project genetics.
That’s the part I love about this clutch: the variation isn’t evidence that they’re different genetics. The variation is showing us how differently the same genetics can express.
Even a single animal can look dramatically different from head to tail. The head may be orange, the neck heavily patterned, the middle of the body washed in reds or gray-purple, and the tail can retain bold black and yellow.
Four siblings. One clutch. Same Red Hannum/Stillwater Hypo project. Four completely different expressions.
Genotype tells you what the animal inherited. Phenotype tells you how that particular animal expressed it. They’re related, but they aren’t the same thing.
