Are these possible het pied markers?

The truth is, normals that aren't het pied hatch with those markings all the time. It is not a fool proof method of telling if a snake is het pied. I've hatched normals with those rail road tracks that run the entire length of the belly from head to tail on both sides that I knew were not het pied.

There technically is no such thing as het markers for any recessive gene. There are however, certain traits that a very few recessive gene hets can show such as the railroad markers on some het pieds.

There are many 100% het pieds from well known reputable breeders that do not have these markings at all. The railroad markings are not always present on het pieds and they do not always mean that a ball python is het pied if the genetics are unknown..

So, if the snake was not sold as a het pied, and it's genetics are not known, until it is bred to a visual pied or a known 100% het pied and actually produces visual pieds, it is only a normal.

as mentioned, many normals have the het pied marker, mine included. it's not a reliable way to distinguish hets, otherwise there would be no discussion about it. additionally, if the sole reason you're considering buying it is to breed pieds or more possible hets, please reconsider. unless you have a visual piebald at home or are planning to pick one up, there's no way to tell within the first generation whether your female proves. it's unfair and not terribly responsible to expect to turn a profit on a craigslist animal, only to dump her in a year if she doesn't prove. and as for making any profit off normal offspring, I think you'll find that to be nearly impossible after the expense of breeding and incubation.

my only advice here is that if you're interested in pieds, save up $800-$1200 and get the one you want from a breeder.

best of luck.

If it is being priced as a normal (or very close)...I think it would be a fun dinker project. Especially since she sounds like she's at breeding size or pretty close. As said though...Unless she was sold as a het pied...It's only a normal.

Personally, i would see if they take 60-70 for her just because they really have NO reason to think she's a het. If it turns out to be a boy, then I wouldn't pay more than $50. If she doesn't know it's bloodline, can you garuntee that it's even a girl? Not everyone knows ho to probe or pop a snake..

Not a bad price for a good-sized normal girl. It doesn't sound like the owner is trying to pull any sort of scam. She does have markers, and the price isn't a het pied price, it's a normal price.

Pair her up with a het pied or pied male, and see what comes out.

If she IS het pied, most likely she came from a poss het pied clutch, and was sold as a normal. Many breeders don't bother labeling poss hets, because it's rare to get more for them than the price of a normal.

I just produced my first clutch of poss hets, and I'm eyeballing markers like crazy trying to figure out what to keep, lol.

I don't put much faith in het pied markers. I have a 100% het pied female from a reputable breeder and her markers are there but very weak. An aquaintance had a het pied that proved out with zero markers. I've also seen plenty of "het pied" markers on snakes that did not come from pied stock. I've seen them on WC babies.

The price is OK for a big normal female if that is what she is. If you have a pied and you want to try her, at least you'll end up with some known het pieds if she doesn't prove out.