# HYPOMELANISM



## yagyujubei (Jul 19, 2012)

From what I can tell, hypomelanism is a reduction in black pigment. Is there a way to identify hypo individuals other than just by observation? I have several Eastern Box Turtles which have much less black than a "normal" specimin. However, I really haven't seen any that were claimed to be hypos. I'm not sure that I can just assume I have any hypomelanistic turtles, simply because they have much less black than what would normally be found. In high color individuals, more yellow equals less black, but does that make them hypos? The hypo redfoots I have seen have no black at all. I read somewhere that clear toenails can be an indicator. Any ideas?


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## Brewster320 (Jul 19, 2012)

From my experience with other reptiles its best to test it by breeding. The only way to find out for sure is if it's a genetic trait that can be passed on whether it be a dominant, co-dominant, or recessive gene.


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## N2TORTS (Jul 19, 2012)

Not sure this should be a debate but here is my 2cents. 
Your absolutely right â€¦ â€œ Hypoâ€ is short for hypomelanistic or reduced melanin. They don't lack it completely, they just have less of it, resulting in a tortoise that's lighter than normal but still not quite as bright as an albino.
These are both simple recessive traits in many species, meaning that both parents have to carry the gene for it to appear visually. Otherwise the offspring will have the gene, but it won't be expressed so most will look more on the normal side , while you may get some lighter ones , but still not a pure hypo. Het is short for heterozygous which means the animal is a carrier for that gene. 
So if I breed a normal tortoise to a hypo tortoise, all the babies will look normal ( again you can pull some lighter than norm out of a clutch but not true hypos), but carry the hidden gene for Hypo in them. They'll be het for Hypo or Hypo Hets and these are more valuable than normalâ€™s because even though they may not look like anything special, You can still use them to produce more Hypos by breeding them to another het or a visual Hypo. This is where those punnett squares come in handy for checking your odds.
And yes another strong trait on my Herd and experience with RFâ€™s â€¦ is the the Hypo's will have clear nails compared to the darker ones usually seen. 
Iâ€™m sure the experts will chime in soon to help further explainâ€¦.

Here are "Pure Adult" Hypos ....


Female-










Male-








A Pure Hypo Baby .......












A Het Hypo Baby .......





and a regular ....:shy:







JD~


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## [email protected] (Jul 23, 2012)

Wow, the babies look incredible.


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## Laurie (Jul 23, 2012)

The pure hypo baby sure is pretty JD.


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## Julius25 (Jul 23, 2012)

thanks for the pictures =) !!!


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