Palmetto Corn Snakes
A Palmetto corn snake is white with scattered red, orange and grey flecks. It hatches pink and whitens as the flecks sharpen, so look closely at the head before you buy one to breed from because some hatch with enlarged eyes they never grow out of.
About the Palmetto gene
The Palmetto gene turns a corn snake white and scatters grey, orange and red across its body as single scales or small patches, in different amounts on every animal. One wild-caught snake is the source of the whole line. The gene is now paired with others including scaleless, ultramel, amel and more.
Appearance
The body of an adult Palmetto is mostly white with flecks of grey, orange and red. While some individuals have large patches of colour, others only have a small sprinkling. One large patch of colour, a lightly flecked look, or a clean white appearance are all possible for the head, which lacks the usual corn snake markings. The tail matches the body. A dark pupil is set in eyes that are slate grey or blue, and these eyes sometimes have red or orange flecks. Hatchlings look little like the adults they become and are pink with very faint spots. As they grow, they whiten while the flecks become more intense and spread during each shed. A Het Palmetto looks hypo-like, with less black and more brightness than a wild-type animal. It does not pass for a normal corn.
Genetics
Palmetto is incomplete dominant but some older write-ups call it recessive and you will still see it listed as "co-dom". A single copy results in a hypo-looking animal sold as Het Palmetto while two copies give the white, flecked Palmetto itself. This is also sold as Palm Leucistic. It is not known to be allelic with any other corn snake gene. Combinations on the market include Scaleless Palmetto, Ultramel Palmetto and Amel Palmetto. In 2012, the first visual Palmettos hatched. Don Soderberg of South Mountain Reptiles proved the gene out from a South Carolina male caught wild in 2008.
Known issues
Some Palmettos hatch with bug eyes, which is the term used in the hobby for enlarged eyes like those found in several leucistic morphs. Even though the head grows and the eyes may look more in proportion, a snake does not grow out of them. The standing advice is not to breed animals that show them. If you are buying a Palmetto for a breeding project, ask the seller for a clear photo of the eyes and head.