New CBB Baby Sulfurs...and Hets?
Here At Prehistoric Pets we have been lucky to be involved in so many different breeding
projects within our twenty-four years of business. Jay has always had a real interest in
monitor lizards, especially water monitors, for their size and absolute stunning
coloration. He had imported a few different water monitors, one of those water monitors
ended up being a "Sulfur" water monitor. Sulfur water monitors have wide, fully
connected high yellow cross-bands over a black background, rather than the standard
spotted appearance of normal water monitors. They're arguably one of the most visually
stunning monitors out there. Jay decided to breed his Sulfur water monitor a normal
water monitor just to see what the babies would end up looking like. Water monitors
aren't typically a easy species to breed, so this project took a little time. After two
years of trying to breed the Sulfur to the normal water monitor, he finally got a clutch
of eggs! Waiting very patiently for this special clutch of eggs to hatch, since they
incubate for 5 months or more, he wondered what the Sulfur influence would do to the
normal pattern on the babies. The eggs hatched finally, and the results were quite a
surprise- all the babies look to be normal hatchlings, no Sulfur monitors, or half/half
looking babies at all. This being a little disappointing, Jay decided to keep back some
hatchlings to grow them up, to see if there was something genetic going on here, much
like an Albino python bred to a normal makes all normal babies, called "Hets." The common
think to this point was that the Sulfur coloration on water monitors comes from
different localities. So Jay wanted to test out his theory. After growing up his clutch
of "Het Sulfur" water monitors, he was finally ready to try breeding again. So he
decided to breed the females to another, unrelated Sulfur water monitor. Last year, he
finally got his clutch of eggs to prove if this coloration is a recessive gene that
could be bred predictably. So after an 11 year investment into this project, his clutch
of "Het Sulfurs" to a visual Sulfur finally hatched out. Everyone here at the shop was
ecstatic to see the first US captive bred and born Sulfur Water monitors peering up at
us from the egg! This was the first time anyone has hatched out captive bred Sulfurs,
and it proved out Jay's thoery on the genetics of this gorgeous trait, and is very
rewarding after the time and commitment put into this incredible project. With the
knowledge he has gained, who knows where Jay will take it from here!