Just wondering.

One of my bps used to have a pink belly. The breeders that I got him from breed for morphs and they kept him until he was 1 making sure that he wasnt going to turn into anything. They said that hes always had a pink belly but everytime he sheds it seems to get more and more of a pale pink. Im just wondering if anyone has any clue whats up with that.

Thanks :),
-Jamie

I've noticed this is alot of my snakes as well....although I cannot explain exactly why it happens.

I know that my BP's belly turns a pinkish tint before he sheds.

if its a constant pink then it could be a birth defect. and if its fading, perhaps it fades just like birth marks do on humans. just a thought. if it isnt always pink, its probably just preshed. before they even go blue their bellies get pink. sometimes more pink then others.

All of mine get a pink belly about a week before they go in the blue to shed. One of them ALWAYS turns this insane pink, I am always afraid his belly is getting burned; but that's just how he is. I personally have never heard of it always being like that; but ball pythons are weird, and it could quite possibly be a genetic link to something. The only way to tell is to prove it out. :)

Jennifer

Its definitely not a genetic morph or anything.....I have observed this in several different species, not only in ball pythons. Its just a thing that happens before they shed, just like their eyes turning blue.

jamie siad that it was always pink. i doubt the snake was constantly in shed. so it very well could be a genetic thing.

Peanut retains a pinkish tint AFTER shed, and it slowly fades away till' the next shed.

Seymour (my roomie's new bp) has a yellow belly. His sibling that was with him at the show did as well, but Seymour had cleaner belly lines. I've been reading that it may be a dominant trait and/or a visible sign of being het for something (snow, blizzard, or leucy, I forget which). I think the dominant trait is more likely because he was cbb as a poss pied het and I think the breeder would have discovered by now if he had a whitesnake line running in his collection. He did have a clutch sib who was 95%+ white piebald, though.

Hmmm. Well I dont know. It might be just a birth defect like DavidBeard said. Oh well no big deal. I was just a little curious :).

-Jamie