On March 17, during St.Patrick's Day, the Virginia Living Museum has welcomed unique addition to their herpetology collection as the albino eastern rat snake named Pearl was rehomed there.

Albino snakes are born with a genetic abnormality called albinism, in which they lack pigmentation in their skin and eyes, giving them the typical white color. For example, yellow, white, and red snakes may become yellow and white only if they have albinism.

Albino Rat Snake Named Pearl Rehomed After Finding It in a Chicken Coop in Western Virginia
(Photo : Pixabay/Tapeworm)
Albino Rat Snake Named Pearl Rehomed After Finding It in a Chicken Coop in Western Virginia

Pearl Finds New Home in the Virginia Living Museum

The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources collected the adult albino rate snake from a farmer's chicken coop in western Virginia, local news outlet WTKR reported. Wildlife experts are uncertain whether Pearl was from the wild as it is extremely rare to find adult albino animals in the wild because they lack camouflage and have visual problems.

The Virginia Living Museum said that Pearl is approximately 4 to 5 years old and measures 4 feet long. They noted that this type of snake could continue to grow up to 6 feet long.

In a Twitter post on March 18, the Museum wrote: "We know that St. Patrick may not approve, but we felt like today was the perfect day to introduce the world to Pearl, an albino black rat snake! We are so lucky to add this new Ambassador Animal to our collection!"

Anyone who wants to visit Pearl on the Virginia Living Museum may do so on the Museu's upcoming Reptiles and Amphibians Weekend on March 26 and 27. Aside from Pearl, visitors may also view a wide variety of native and exotic reptiles and amphibians that will also be on display and featured live that day to showcase one of the largest collections in Virginia.

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Albino Snakes Are Not Necessarily White

Albino snakes are a product of a genetic mutation known as albinism that affects not only reptiles but also mammals and other animals, according to the All Things Nature website.

Albinism in snakes could affect various species being born without their usual pigmentation, which could be an accidental result of breeding attempts to create snakes with different colors, which could pair snakes with a genetic predisposition to produce albino offspring. Regardless, an albino snake can be easily identified by its white or light skin pigmentation and red eyes.

Moreover, an albino snake does not necessarily need to be solid white like most albino mammals. A single pigment in their skin due to albinism qualifies them as an albino since snakes are usually made up of various colors. Some albino snakes could come in yellow, cream, or light brown colors.

For instance, albino corn snakes do not have the red pigmentation but still have the red and brown color that gives them the maize patterns, hence their name. Due to their popularity, people have been breeding them and producing a decent number of albino corn snakes.

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Check out more news and information on Albinism in Science Times.