Aztec Boa Constrictors
An Aztec boa carries a bold, high-contrast saddle pattern that grows stronger with every shed. Two copies make the Super Aztec, which carries a documented risk of poor coordination and infertility.
About the Aztec gene
Aztec is a boa constrictor gene that boosts contrast and adds grey, yellow, red and pink pigment to an otherwise plain saddle pattern. Keepers buy it for the look: a visual Aztec stands out from a normal boa at a glance and gains contrast with every shed. Two copies make the Super form, which carries a documented risk to its coordination and fertility.
Appearance
A visual Aztec has an irregular, connected saddle pattern, a laddertail, and a side pattern like a stepped pyramid pointing up toward the spine. The dorsal stripe runs down the back like a smear of wet paint, streaked rather than clean-edged. Pigment is the cue to look for: an Aztec carries more grey, yellow, red and pink than a normal boa, the pattern gains contrast with each shed, and the red and pink tones build further as the animal matures.
Genetics
Aztec is incomplete dominant and sits in no allelic complex with any other boa gene. One copy gives a visual Aztec; two copies give Super Aztec, which intensifies the same pattern rather than producing a different look. Aztec goes into combinations such as Hytec (Aztec plus Hypo). Herp Hobby Shop Reptile Breeding Center, run by Bob and Andrew Potts, first produced Aztec from an original male bought from a school teacher who had kept it as a classroom pet.
Known issues
Super Aztec, the two-copy form, carries a documented risk of poor coordination and infertility, and Super Aztecs are generally weak. The concern is documented for the Super form, not for the single-copy Aztec.