New BP not sure about the coloring

[joleen]

We got another female BP last weekend she is about 3 feet long and is around 3 years old she is beautiful and doesn't seem to have any problems, she was purchased from a breeder as well (we took in a female bp that was purchased from petco and you can tell the difference). We are looking into maybe breeding her with our male later on, he is a het albino but we are not sure what she is. We are still trying to learn everything we can so I was wondering if anyone could identify if she is just normal or something else? she is a lot more grayish than him and has kind of a white/yellow "halo" around her spots that are not as bold on the male.

[Kaorte]

A nice normal

[JLC]

Looks like a lovely normal. Ball pythons have a huge degree of variance in their "normal" appearance, so no two will ever look just alike. Some will be brighter or darker, browner or "golder", have more or less blushing, more or less spots, more or less white highlights, and any number of other visual differences.

If you got her from a reputable breeder, and she had been an actual morph, they would have made sure you were aware of what she was.

[joleen]

well I did not personally get her from the breeder but the guy that gave her purchased it for his son, I doubt he kept all the paperwork like we did lol

So is it still ok to let them breed together? there is a chance that half of them will be hets right? if this is the case is it safe to breed an offspring to a perant later on? our plan is to breed to get funds to purchase another morph

[BHReptiles]

So is it still ok to let them breed together? there is a chance that half of them will be hets right? if this is the case is it safe to breed an offspring to a perant later on? our plan is to breed to get funds to purchase another morph

All the babies will be 50% het for albino. You won't be able to know which ones are het for albino without breeding. You can either sell all the normals (usually $15-$20 for males and $30-$40 for females) or you can hold back all the females and sell the males. Then you can raise the females and breed the dad to them to see if you can get some visual albinos.

Het albinos don't cost very much so I would suggest that you buy a 100% het albino female from a reputable breeder. Then raise her up and breed her to your het albino male. That way, you have a shot at albinos!

[joleen]

Thats an idea too but it is more for the experience than the profit maybe later on when we know what we are doing we can invest in it a little more

[joleen]

Heres another wuestion, so my male is 100% het albino what are the chances of getting albinos if I get another 100% het albino I will get some normal and some albino?

[Capray]

I believe you will get albinos and normal het albinos with that pairing, correct me if I'm wrong.

[SaintTawny]

Normal het albino x Normal het albino would produce on average 25% albinos, 50% normals het albino, and 25% normals. Since there is no way to tell with 100% certainty which normals are het and which aren't from that pairing, the normals are said to be 66% possible het albino, since 2 out of 3 normals from that pairing on average will be het for albino.

Truly, if you want to breed just for the experience, it would still be a better idea to shell out $100 for a spider, pinstripe, or pastel male. Many dominant and co-dominant morphs that have been around for a while are getting to be very cheap, and a male would be even cheaper, but it would give you 50% chance per egg to get that morph instead of having a clutch of normals all possibly het albinos which may be more difficult to find homes for. And of course you should always be prepared for the possibility of having to keep some or all of the babies that you produce for an extended length of time if you are unable to sell or rehome them.