Hybrid pythons

Hey!

I was wondering what the general consensus is on hybrid python species. I personally find them so beautiful, but questionably unnatural (although so are dogs I guess).

What types are there
I've heard of burmballs (burmese x ball), bateaters (burm x retic), carpalls (carpet x ball)

Can literally any python breed with any python? And with boas?

It's a whole new bizzare world 😂

Different dog breeds are all one species - the analogue with snakes would be pairing various BP morphs.


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There are also superballs (ball pythons x blood python)
Boas have amazon tree x emerald tree and yellow anaconda x rainbow boa

I *think* the snakes have to be in the same genus to be crossed (but I could be wrong there)

With the exception of carpondros (GTP x carpet python) I don't really like any of the hybrids.

Crossing a semi-arboreal or arboreal with a terrestrial (or mostly terrestrial) species like balls makes me wonder if they retain more of their arboreal nature or not? Do they still retain their arboreal instinct, but they don't have the body for it anymore? Do only some babies get an arboreal instinct, and some don't?

Anyway, I like carpondros! I think there's nothing wrong with crossing arboreal to semi-arboreal/arboreal, or terrestrial to terrestrial. It's not "natural", but neither is breeding ball python morphs. It's all within the pet population, and doesn't affect the wild population in any way. So if the animal is healthy and thriving, and responsible owners care for them, who cares?

Ballticulated Python (Ball x Retic)

;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

With the exception of carpondros (GTP x carpet python) I don't really like any of the hybrids.

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Not even my Milk X King ??

;)

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@ Zinc- I stand corrected :). I was mostly thinking pythons. Some of the king/milk/corn combos are insane. Yours is a perfect example. Very nice! ;)

To each their own.

Personally , I'm not a fan.

I don't think it is the same then breeding "morphs" at all. All morphs come from snakes that were collected in the wild. They are color mutations, much like Albino. They are naturally occurring. We just exploit and expand those traits. Sometimes, selective breeding doesn't just re-create certain colors, but also defective genes that come along with certain ones. But that is a different kind of ethics discussion.

Some of the hybrids being bred come from completely different areas. There is no chance at all that they would "naturally" occur. Look at Blood Pythons and Ball Pythons. Blood pythons come from southeast Asia region, Ball Pythons are found in sub-saharan Africa. Each of them have quite different husbandry needs.
As is, there are to many snakes that aren't kept properly. Why muddy the pool with snakes that one has NO clue which way they should be kept ?? And going by "looks more this or that" will not help you. There is no way of knowing exactly how much DNA of each is in each individual hatchling. Its not the basic "50/50" or "25/75". That is not the way genetics work.
So it will all be "trial and error".
So why ?? Just because it looks cool ? Sometimes the phrase "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" comes to mind.

Also, once you breed those hybrids to other snakes, you can end up with hatchlings that look like one particular species, but they truly aren't. And if they get mixed into the gene pool, you may never know what you may have.

So no, I'm not a fan.

But I respect that others may be. We all like different things and have different opinions ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zina10

To each their own.

Personally , I'm not a fan.

I don't think it is the same then breeding "morphs" at all. All morphs come from snakes that were collected in the wild. They are color mutations, much like Albino. They are naturally occurring. We just exploit and expand those traits. Sometimes, selective breeding doesn't just re-create certain colors, but also defective genes that come along with certain ones. But that is a different kind of ethics discussion.

Some of the hybrids being bred come from completely different areas. There is no chance at all that they would "naturally" occur. Look at Blood Pythons and Ball Pythons. Blood pythons come from southeast Asia region, Ball Pythons are found in sub-saharan Africa. Each of them have quite different husbandry needs.
As is, there are to many snakes that aren't kept properly. Why muddy the pool with snakes that one has NO clue which way they should be kept ?? And going by "looks more this or that" will not help you. There is no way of knowing exactly how much DNA of each is in each individual hatchling. Its not the basic "50/50" or "25/75". That is not the way genetics work.
So it will all be "trial and error".
So why ?? Just because it looks cool ? Sometimes the phrase "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" comes to mind.

Also, once you breed those hybrids to other snakes, you can end up with hatchlings that look like one particular species, but they truly aren't. And if they get mixed into the gene pool, you may never know what you may have.

So no, I'm not a fan.

But I respect that others may be. We all like different things and have different opinions ;)

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Very well put :gj: