Genetics

Many cornsnake morphs are based on simple genetic traits. This chapter is meant to familiarize the reader with the way these morphs come about, how they are reproduced, and a few important terms used to describe them.

For a more in-depth genetics primer, the author has an online genetics tutorial and additional practice problems/answers located at: http://cornguide.com

Introduction:

Don't panic. Genetics seems intimidating at first, but don't forget that counting to a hundred seemed impossible before you learned how to do it. The people who could do it seemed way smarter than you at the time. But then you learned the names and symbols of 0 through 9, a few rules, and practiced a bit. It was frustrating, and sometimes you were convinced you'd never get it. But then, suddenly, it all fell into place and you could count to a million any time you wanted to! The same applies to genetics: a few definitions, a few rules, a bit of practice, and before you know it you'll be comfortable enough to tackle even the biggest genetics problems on your own.

People who can solve genetics problems are not geniuses, they're just practiced. If you can count to a hundred, you too can learn genetics, as long as you're willing to keep going through some frustrating times, and practice practice practice.

Step 1: The building blocks

The genetic code of a cornsnake is made of a string of genes, like the above string of symbols. Each symbol represents one gene.

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