History
Tiger Carpets are a morph that have been
floating around in small number in the United States for at least 20 years. In 2004, I was
contacted by a gentleman who was very confident that he was
working with Tigers in the late 1970's. However, the earliest photo
on record was taken in the late 1980's. It has been verified that
my original Tigers are direct descendents of the animals advertised as
"Tiger Carpet Pythons" in a 1997 issue of The Vivarium magazine (shown at right).
It is also fairly certain that the animal shown in that ad is a direct
descendent of the animal photographed in the late 1980's.
It has been said that Tigers originated in the U.S., but I believe they were
probably imported into the U.S. several decades ago. I say this
because we have no real account of them being produced spontaneously
and also because I've seen a number of very similar animals in Australian collections,
which appeared to be the same mutation.
Until just recently, python color and pattern
mutations (morphs) didn't get a lot of thought or attention from
hobbyists, especially carpet python morphs. Due to the fact that most carpets are native to Australia, where the export of fauna is
strictly prohibited, no one really expected many (if any) carpet python morphs to show up
outside of Australia. However, with advent of the
Jaguar and several subsequent
mutations that have burst onto the scene within the past few years, carpet
morphs are garnering more and more attention from hobbyists. With that
being the case, it's no wonder the Tiger has finally become popular
with breeders and collectors.
What
makes it a Tiger?
The Tiger varies from other striped or "tri-stripe" carpets in several
ways, but the color and relatively wide
dorsal striping is what really seems to set it apart from the rest.
Tigers typically exhibit a gorgeous cream-white to yellow coloration as
they mature, which is not typically seen in tri-stripe stripe carpets.
Some adults tend to turn almost white in color, which I personally think
is very attractive. The dorsal stripe also seems to be much wider than it
is on tri-stripes, with some specimens having completely striped sides.
Generally speaking, the name "Tiger" is reserved for carpets from a
particular bloodline.
Similar Striped Carpets
Over the last few years,
several carpets have been found to have a similarly striped pattern that's
inherited in much the same way.
None of these snakes really seem to have the nice color
that Tigers can have, but I believe the actual striping is the same
genetically, making it compatible with the Tiger.
Genetics
For simplicity's sake, consider the Tiger a co-dominant mutation. However, the
striping is extremely variable much like the saddles on the
Jaguar carpet are variable.
The main reason the stripe varies on Tiger offspring is because it can be
influenced by the non-tiger parent. Some hobbyists automatically
assume that every snake carrying the Tiger gene must have a perfect dorsal
stripe, but this is not the case. Sometimes the pattern of the
non-Tiger parent works against the striping in Tiger offspring, similar to
the way we see an occasional banded Jaguar. However, when two
animals carrying the gene are bred together, I believe a number of
visibly striped Tigers will be produced.
I
believe that breeding Tiger to Tiger produces offspring with increased or
more complete striping. My 2002 male Tiger was produced by breeding
a male Tiger to a female Tiger. His dorsal stripe is broken in
places, but the striping is generally very uniform, even along the sides.
In the future, we may hear hobbyists start referring to these animals as
"Super Tigers".
Founding Stock
Below are pictures of my original Tiger pair, produced in 2002 by
Jason Baylin. These animals are direct descendants from the Tiger
pictured in the James' advertisement seen the The Living Vivarium (1997).
2002 Male
2002
Female
This female unfortunately
died from reproductive complications in 2005.
2005 Female
These pictures were taken at about 12 months of age.
2004 Female
Pictured at approximately 18 months of age
Breeding Status
I produced three Tiger clutches in 2006 by pairing my original James
Line Tiger male with three very different females. Take a look at
the pairings below and note how the offspring are exhibiting physical
characteristics from both parents.
Below are samplings of various Tiger clutches
produced here in 2006.
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2006 Tiger x
Red Phase Coastal |
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Sire
2002 Baylin Tiger
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Dam
Red-Phase Coastal
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Resulting Offspring
This particular pairing was one that
surprised me. Due to the high contrast of the Tiger, I didn't
expect quite as much "red" color in the offspring. I assumed I'd
get snakes with nice red coloration or I'd get snakes with nice
striping, but not so much red. Fortunately, the Tigers
produced in this small clutch have both the striping and the nice
red color. As they mature, I expect the dark portion of the
pattern to be very faded with just a thin black outline. If
I'm correct, this will not only make for a very clean colored Tiger,
but also give the impression of thin black pinstripes on a clean
yellow-tan and grey snake. There were only eight good eggs
(the female became egg-bound) and I got four red-phase Tigers and a
more normally colored one. I
will be keeping back all of the red Tigers as future breeders.
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2006 Tiger x
High Contrast Queensland |
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Sire
2002 Baylin Tiger
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Dam
Dave Prada's
High-Contrast Queensland
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Resulting Offspring
This was a joint
project with Dave Prada of Komodo Reptiles. I
bought a hatchling "High Contrast Queensland" from Dave in
2004 and was so impressed with her, that I purchased his entire clutch the
following year. After seeing how some of the 2005 offspring were
turning out, I finally convinced Dave to send the adult female to
me so that I could put her with my Tiger male (produced by
Jason Baylin). The female is a smaller mcdowelli and her
color is just phenomenal...super clean pattern and color...and
she's approximately 8 years old!
The dam is approximately 8 years old and has produced
eggs for several years in a row. Her color is still extremely
clean, but it doesn't have the intensity that her offspring exhibit.
To give you an idea of what kind of color to expect, pictured at
right is a photo of a yearling male High Contrast Queensland,
produced in 2005 by Dave Prada's original pair.
I have no doubt that these will be the the
most intensely
colored pure Queensland Tigers ever produced to date.
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2006 Tiger x
Diamond-Jungle |
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Sire
2002 Baylin Tiger
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Dam
Diamond x Jungle Cross
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Resulting Offspring
The idea
here was obviously to intensify the yellow, but to also ad some
yellow tipping to the black part of the pattern. The Diamond
pattern of the female seems to have influenced the sides of some
of the Tigers in this clutch, as some have small blotches and dots
going down their sides, which I think are very attractive in
combination with a nice dorsal stripe. I will be holding
back a number of the Tigers from this clutch, as I plan to breed
them to each other and also to Diamond x Jungle Jaguars.
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