Some of the jargon you might come across
Amel – Short for amelanistic, which is a genetic term to describe a snake missing the black and brown pigmentation (melanin)
Anery – genetic term referring to a reptile without any red colouration. Short for anerythristic
Arboreal – Lives in trees. A arboreal species spends the majority of it’s time off the ground in the trees. Climbing species.
Cloaca – more scientific name for the vent (half moon shaped opening for digestive waste disposal and sexual organs).
FK – short for Fresh Killed. Refers to feeding a recently despatched rodent to a snake
F/T – abbreviation of frozen/thawed. a mouse/rat stored frozen then defrosted and warmed offered as food
Gravid – Snake speak for pregnancy or carrying eggs
Hatchling – a newly hatched reptile, equivalent of a baby.
Hemipenes – dual sex organs. Common in male snakes and lizards.
Sloughing – another name for shedding.
Het – heterozygous. A genetic term meaning that reptile carries a recessive gene for a morph. A het can appear completely normal, yet still pass on the gene for a certain morph to it’s offspring
