Atkinson Albino Ajo

Atkinson Albino Ajo (Natural)

 

The Atkinson Albino was discovered by Jim Atkinson on September 12, 2018.  This is Jim's description of the discovery: "The actual circumstances of the find were pretty mundane. We (my wife and I) went out hoping to find a nice tiger rattlesnake to photograph. Drove several passes up in the canyon (Alley Road in Ajo). Only saw one juvie black-tailed rattlesnake and a few tarantulas as it was a hot evening (mid 90s in there). Wasn't expecting a boa. Just as the moon was setting at about 8:45, I spotted a small, pale snake making its way toward the road shoulder and initially thought it to be a gopher snake based on size and color. Got out and went over to it, at that point realizing it was a boa but a very different boa than all of the others I've seen here. Initially assumed it was a hypo."   This albino Ajo looks to be a juvenile.  Another Ajo albino was reported to have been born in a captive bred litter by Randy Limburg in 2017.  In 2020 Jim Atkinson successfully produced a litter with the Ajo Albino female and a male wildtype collected from the same area. In 2023 Jim successfully bred a male offspring from the litter back to the female Albino. Four offspring were produced. Unfortunately, all were underdeveloped and deceased. However 2 of the 4 clearly exhibited the Ajo Albino's coloration indicating a responsible recessive gene.