Glossary
Reptile genetics and husbandry terms in plain English. Try them out in the genetics calculator.
A
- Allelic (Complex)Genetics & morphs
- Genes that are different versions of the same gene spot, so an animal can carry at most two of them. Mojave, Lesser and Butter form the BEL complex in ball pythons.
B
- Basking spotHusbandry
- The hottest area under a heat lamp where diurnal reptiles warm up.
- BioactiveHusbandry
- An enclosure with live plants and clean-up crew insects (isopods, springtails) that break down waste.
- BrumationHusbandry
- A winter slowdown in reptiles, similar to hibernation: less eating and activity for weeks or months.
C
- CB / CH / WCBreeding
- Captive bred, captive hatched (eggs collected from the wild) and wild caught. CB animals are generally healthier and better adjusted.
- ClutchBreeding
- A set of eggs laid together by one female.
- Co-dominant (Incomplete dominant)Genetics & morphs
- A gene that shows with one copy and looks different with two (the super form). Pastel is co-dominant; Super Pastel has two copies.
D
- DominantGenetics & morphs
- A gene that shows with one copy, where two copies look the same as one.
- DustingHusbandry
- Coating feeder insects with calcium or vitamin powder.
- Dysecdysis (Stuck shed)Health
- An incomplete or difficult shed, often from low humidity.
E
- Ecdysis (Shedding)Health
- Shedding of the skin. Snakes usually shed in one piece; lizards in patches.
F
- F/T (Frozen-thawed)Husbandry
- Frozen rodents thawed before feeding; safer than live prey.
G
- Gut-loadingHusbandry
- Feeding insects a nutritious diet before they are fed to a reptile.
H
- Het (Heterozygous)Genetics & morphs
- Carries one copy of a recessive gene without showing it. A "het Clown" looks normal but passes Clown on to about half its babies.
- HoldbackBreeding
- An animal a breeder keeps from a clutch instead of selling it, usually for future breeding.
I
- ImpactionHealth
- A blockage of the gut, often from swallowed substrate or oversized food.
L
- Line-bred (Polygenic)Genetics & morphs
- A trait shaped by many genes and selective breeding, like Tangerine leopard geckos. Its odds can't be calculated.
- LocalityGenetics & morphs
- Animals descended from a specific wild population, kept pure rather than mixed with other populations.
- LockBreeding
- When two snakes are mating; a lock can last from minutes to many hours.
M
- MBD (Metabolic bone disease)Health
- Weak, deformed bones from lack of calcium, vitamin D3 or UVB. Preventable with proper lighting and supplements.
- MorphGenetics & morphs
- A colour or pattern variety produced by one or more genes, such as Pastel or Clown in ball pythons.
N
- Normal (Wild type)Genetics & morphs
- An animal with no known morph genes; it looks like the species does in the wild.
P
- PairingBreeding
- Putting a male and female together to breed.
- ParthenogenesisBreeding
- Reproduction without a male; documented in several snakes and lizards.
- Pinky, fuzzy, hopperHusbandry
- Feeder rodent sizes, from newborn (pinky) to just-furred (fuzzy) to young and active (hopper).
- PipBreeding
- When a hatchling first cuts through its eggshell. Babies often stay in the egg for a day or two after pipping.
- Possible het (Poss het, 50% / 66% het)Genetics & morphs
- An animal that might be het. "66% poss het" means there's a two-in-three chance it carries the gene, typically a normal-looking baby from two hets.
R
- RecessiveGenetics & morphs
- A gene that only shows with two copies. Breed two hets and about 25% of babies are visual.
- RegurgitationHealth
- Bringing up a meal, often due to handling too soon, wrong temperatures, stress or illness.
- Retained eye capsHealth
- Eye scales left behind after a snake's shed.
- RI (Respiratory infection)Health
- A lung infection, often linked to temperatures or humidity being wrong; signs include wheezing and mouth breathing.
S
- SlugBreeding
- An infertile egg; usually small, yellowish and soft.
- SubstrateHusbandry
- The bedding on the enclosure floor, such as soil, bark, paper or sand.
- SuperGenetics & morphs
- The two-copy form of a co-dominant gene, such as Super Pastel or Ivory (super Yellow Belly). Some supers are lethal or have health issues.
T
- Thermal gradientHusbandry
- A warm end and a cool end in one enclosure so the animal can regulate its own body temperature.
- TSD (Temperature-dependent sex determination)Breeding
- In many lizards and turtles, incubation temperature decides whether babies are male or female.
U
- UVBHusbandry
- Ultraviolet light that lets many reptiles make vitamin D3 and use calcium. Essential for most diurnal lizards and turtles.
V
- VisualGenetics & morphs
- An animal that shows a trait, as opposed to one that only carries it.
W
- WobbleGenetics & morphs
- A neurological head-tracking problem linked to some genes, such as Spider in ball pythons.