Inexperienced snake breeds....

[Kaaa]

Ok i am starting my collection here soon, i currently have 2 Normal BP and i have a pair pending till paided for tomorrow. But before i start buying $400+ snakes, i would like to know more about these different Breeds, and how to Identify them easily! If you reply please post pictures so i can see what your talking about. I just don't want to be ripped off paying $400 for a snake and to find out it is just a Normal Ball Python.

I do know these snakes: Pied (ones with the blank White) but i do want to know what the HET Pied means, Albino (but not HET Albino), Stripe, Spider, axanthic, Jungle, Yellow and Orange, Carmel, Lemon Pastel.


Don't know: Hypomelanistic, What makes a Pastel look like a Pastel, and what does Heterozygous mean, in laymans terms please, Ghost, Clown,

I can tell alot of the ones with the colors, but i see ones on some website like the Piedballs that say 50% Het somethin and 50% Pied, but there are no distinched markings? like here... http://www.8ballpythons.com/piebald.htm the one on the bottom for sale, how do i tell it is a Pied, I know this is alot of questions to answer, but please someone help me i don't want to be ripped off....

Very Respectfully,
Matt

[seanmcginnin]

well het means they carry they carry that trait, so if u have a 50% het something their 50% of that trait

[darkangel]

That's alot of information. Why don't you check out the morphs & genetics forum, and use the search function, so you can see some pictures of these morphs...

By the way the traits you are talking about are visual 'morphs' not 'breeds'. They are all the same species - ball python, unless cross bred with something else.

[Evan Jamison]

By the way the traits you are talking about are visual 'morphs' not 'breeds'. They are all the same species - ball python, unless cross bred with something else.

Even though we call them morphs in the herp world, technically they could be considered breeds. Breeds are not different species (crosses are hybrids, whether natural or artificially selected), but they are animals within the same species that have been artificially selected, and usually line bred to a certain extent. For example, all dog breeds are still the same species. Certain traits in each breed were just selectively bred for over many generations.

-Evan

[RockSolid]

well het means they carry they carry that trait, so if u have a 50% het something their 50% of that trait

50% possible het means the snake has a 50% chance of carrying that gene that produces the morph.

Matt,
check out this site to help better understand the genetics of different morphs.
http://www.ballpython.ca/genetics.html
This is just somewhere for you to get started and there are many different resources available to better help you understand the genetics behind the morphs.

[Adam_Wysocki]

like here... http://www.8ballpythons.com/piebald.htm the one on the bottom for sale, how do i tell it is a Pied

Well, I'm just gessing here, but since it says "100% heterozygous piebald" it is actually not a pied ... A heterozygous animal in the case of pieds is a normal looking ball python that carries the gene needed to make pieds. When bred to another animal that carries one or two copies of the gene needed to make pieds, you should get pieds in the resulting offspring.

The key is to educate yourself ... ask questions ... read ... research ... and then ask more questions ... not something you should rush into ... better to take the time to make yourself an expert and then make decisions about how you should invest your money.

Hope this helps.

-adam

[frankykeno]

My best advice to end up happy with the het or visible morph you eventually purchase is threefold....

#1 - become an educated purchaser and snake owner, learn about the morphs you like or what it takes to produce that morph, all the basics of snake keeping, etc. - do your research and your homework first, open your wallet second.

#2 - pick the snake that just speaks to you, it might not be the current most popular morph, it might be a het that doesn't even appear anything more than a normal but carries those precious morph genetics but pick the snake that makes you go "wow, I must have that snake and I will happily clean up it's poop for the next 20 years just to get to own it".

#3 - shop the breeders, don't fall for the latest slick willy and his/her "BIG WEEKEND SPECIAL!" stuff - learn who is reputable and who isn't, who will work with newcomers, who breeds what you want, who you've been referred to and assured is a trustworthy breeder (especially important with hets) - basically a breeder, small or large, who has a passion for ball pythons and not just an eye for the bottom line buck and who will be with you before, during and long after the purchase.

I figure if you do all 3, you can't go wrong.