Spontaneous Pigment Loss

[Serpent_Nirvana]

OK, so another thread on here got me thinking ...

You know how ball pythons sometimes do that thing where they lose what appears to be absolutely ALL of their brown pigment, and end up going from normal to looking like the world's best axanthic in just one shed?

That happened to this girl, for example:






The brown on her head and back is what's left of her pigment, not stuck shed or a stain although it does look like one.

At any rate, conventional wisdom is that this phenomenon is due to some sort of metabolic stress, or is a random event, and is not genetic.

However, the ONLY morph ball python I have ever read or heard of this happening to is the spider ball.

Now, I'm not suggesting that it is at all a reproduceable trait, but it just got me curious.

Has anyone ever had a ball python do this? If so, what morph (if any) was it?

Also, how long did it (the decreased pigmentation) last?

[BAMReptiles]

img ball, not genetic iirc

never heard of this happening only in spiders, in fact ive only ever seen it happen in normals

pretty sure the transformation goes on for a few shed cycles after that initial color wash

just google img ball

[mainbutter]

I have also only heard of it happening in spiders and normals.. but maybe that's because I think maybe I've only seen it posted here for a single incident with a single spider.

[RegiusCo]

One of our Orange Hypo lost part of her pigmentation this spring, she is regaining her colors slowly.

[Quiet Tempest]

That looks so wild! I wonder what causes it?

[WingedWolfPsion]

The IMG (increasing melanin gene) is supposedly very complex, but is genetic. They're still working it out. It is not a simple recessive, co-dom, or dominant. (We tend to think that these are the only possibilities, but they are not).

Sometimes spontaneous pigment loss just happens.

Sometimes it is IMG. When it is IMG, look for the animal to regain pigment slowly over time, and then continue to gain more black pigment, with an overall increasing black speckling (see 'Dirty Joe'). Hence, increasing melanin.

Occasionally IMG snakes are hatched looking axanthic, then develop color and increase melanin, while other times they will shed out spontaneously at some random point in their life, and then increase melanin from there.

Ball pythons are full of surprises.

[stevepoppers]

I saw this happen to a Mojave a month or so ago. It was pretty awesome!

I know nothing more, sadly... I wonder if that Mojo has shed since? I'd have loved to have gotten an update.

[chago11]

One of our Orange Hypo lost part of her pigmentation this spring, she is regaining her colors slowly.

that looks like a blue ghost. also some butterscotch ghost turn out like that too

[loonunit]

So I'm noticing these are all females, and I seem to recall the spider was, too. Could this be partly a hormonal thing? Like the equivalent of a hormonal blue green tree python?

[iCandiBallPythons]

Someone posted a spider on here maybe a year ago that went through this ( I cant find the thread).