Can you have too many genes

I was looking through some calculated breeding a for a few different pairs and is it possible to have too many genes slammed into 1 snake? For instance I looked up pairing an inferno to my pastel lesser and I had a 1/64 chances to get lots of different things due to all the genes present in both snakes. Does this make telling the difference in the clutch impossible? Do you think you should stick with more limited gene animals to get a specific look? Just curious to hear some thoughts on the topic

No personal experience, but I read a few years ago that most ball pythons with more than 5 or 6 genes can just end up looking confusing and motley. Which is why breeders aren't already breeding adults with like ten genes and you don't see it often.

The more genes sometimes the harder it gets but it can also be difficult even with a few genes depending on what you are pairing, that's why having a good eye and asking for second opinion from knowledgeable people working with said genes is very important.

Also important is to under sell an animal rather than over sell it.

Sell what you are sure at 100% and if someone gets a surprise of an additional gene they will be happy, if you do the opposite, not so much ;)



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Originally Posted by redshepherd

No personal experience, but I read a few years ago that most ball pythons with more than 5 or 6 genes can just end up looking confusing and motley. Which is why breeders aren't already breeding adults with like ten genes and you don't see it often.

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I generally agree with this idea, bc frankly the snakes usually do end up looking muddy and washed out, but I have to say Kevin McCurley up at NERD really knows how to make some incredible looking 6+ gene animals. Just check out his 2016 BP Hatchling videos and you can see some of the incredible stuff he's producing, even if he loses track of what it is after the 5th or 6th gene LOL!

But yeah point is sometimes adding too many genes can take away from the look of an animal, but if you do it right things can come out looking spectacular. I'm certain the Evil Morph God doesn't believe in such a thing as having too many genes haha

I figured it would have to get very hard to tell what's what at some point. And totally agree Deborah about not over selling genes. Just what you said. It's better to have a nice surprise with some added genes instead of not having something you thought was in there. Thanks for the responses so far

As already mentioned..... Most of the 5+ I have seen are not good looking animals.
Why breed ugly?
Why make it hard to tell whats what too?

I would pay more for a nice clean 2 or 3 gene animal.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

As already mentioned..... Most of the 5+ I have seen are not good looking animals.
Why breed ugly?
Why make it hard to tell whats what too?

I would pay more for a nice clean 2 or 3 gene animal.

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Boy I thought I was alone. lol Really good question. I have zero breeding experience when it comes to ball pythons, but there does seem to be a more is better mentality. I watch vids and people show these 4 and 5 gene animals that look very plain and washed out and say things like OMG what an AMAZING ANIMAL and I'm thinking to myself mmmmm I don't get it. I think it's more important what an animal is than what it looks like to some people. I can understand that to a certain extent. Those animals don't happen overnight so there has to be an awful lot of pride and satisfaction going on there. I def have my preferences but I might feel different if the snakes I just mentioned were the result of a really long multi year breeding project that I worked really hard to prove out. To me, it just doesn't any better than simple banana combos. And regular old Pied. I love em. To each his own though. Someone will buy them.

I think when people look at a washed out muddy looking 6+ gene animal and call it 'amazing' they are really not talking about that particular color pattern, what they find amazing is the potential when breeding. The parents may look muddy and washed out but the babies they can produce could be simply amazing with dozens of really cool morphs all coming out of the same muddy looking snake.

In reality it's not about the number of genes, it's about the right combination. There are some like pastel + fire + orange dream + yellowbelly that personally I can't really tell them apart very well, but when you mix all four you get the most amazing yellow snake you'll ever see!

I like to stick with genes that are very obvious even when mixed in with multiple other genes, like albino and pied. Enchi and Calico are pretty easy to spot, the same with pinstripe and spider.

I'm not sure I completely trust the ID of snakes with 5+ genes. Even if they were wrong it would take you 10+ years to prove them out LOL.

Thanks everyone for all your thoughts on the matter. I've seen some +4 gene animals that are very nice looking. I like the infernos but for the most part 2-3 genes look much better. I've seen some ppl that want as many genes as possible and was curious if that was the majority of the breeders out there. I see it's probably not the case

I prefer a high quality 2-3 gene combo over a "not sure what's in this" combo anyday haha