Best blood x ball python aproach

What would be the best approach to breed a ball python to a blood python? Would it matter if you bred a male blood to a female ball, or the other way around? Would it be safer for the ball female if she was a big proven female?

I've heard of a few people doing this, but I just want to for 1 increase my chances of successfully breeding the hybrid, and 2 keep the whole process safe for both animals that will be involved.

Also would the genetics be similar? For instance if I used a spider het albino ball female to an albino blood would I end up with spider/albino super balls? Or is all this going to be trial and error? I just don't want to jump into the whole thing without knowing a little about the cross.
Any info would be very helpful.

Thanks
Dustin

Personally I am not a big fan of hybrids but I know people that have done it successfully. They would use for instance female Ball Python shed on a Female Blood and would basically trick the male Ball into thinking it was a Ball he was mating with. Not sure if there have been different methods developed as this was like 5 years ago.

As far as the mutations go, because the chromosomes of a blood python are different than those of a ball python, it is extremely unlikely the alleles would fall on the same locus. You theoretically would end up with all being heterozygous albino from the blood python, half of which would theoretically be spider blood balls, and all would be 50% chance het albino from the ball python (you'd basically have some double heterozygous blood python albino and ball python albino). However, I am not an expert on hybrid genetics, so there could be a possibility the spider mutation may not be dominant to the blood ball hybrid phenotype. I'm not even sure if any studies have been done on how genetic mutations from one species pass on if it is hybridized with another species though, and there is likely to be a lot more variance in the hybrid than with mutations of one of the species or the other by themselves.

I have no idea how true this is, but i was told once that if you were going to do it make sure the blood is female. Since male bloods have to much sperm or something along those lines, and the female bp wouldn't be able to produce. Again i don't know how true this is, but a guy i talked to once told me this.

I would agree that using a female blood would be better since they lay 14 to 20 eggs.

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Originally Posted by dturner100

I would agree that using a female blood would be better since they lay 14 to 20 eggs.

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Yeah, in any case of hybridization I would guess it better to use a female of the species that lays more eggs considering most you will be getting will be infertile. It's also likely that it may take you years of breeding to get any fertile eggs that make it through incubation. I am somewhat curious about the effects of using a male of one species versus a female of another. It seems to me like there is a decent chance the hybrids from each pairing may turn out different from each other (I'm thinking liger vs tigon).

if you figure it out let me know how you did it. i am wanting to do the ball x blood and ball x carpet

Dont do it!

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Dont do it!

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Wow, I'm not trying to be mean, but how was that at all helpful?

Granted some people aren't big fans of hybridization, but this wasn't a thread about whether or not I should do it.

For those of you who take offense to it I'm sorry, but I'm no pioneer here. Also I'm not trying to make a market with it here. I'm just trying something I find very interesting.

And for it being wrong, it's not. It's only wrong for the people who run a bigger breeding facility than us hobbyists, and they thing that our little hybrids are going to create a competitive market. That's not my interest. As far as this topic here goes, I'm a hobbyist, and the "Don't do it" remark isn't at all helpful.

I wouldn't do it. If you are seriously considering doing it, contact Kevin McCurley (Of N.E.R.D.) or Steve Roussis (of Roussis Reptiles). Kevin wrote about the hybrid in his book, and Steve produced it.

Its just breeding two different species together that are from 2 completely different continents.....

The whole hybrid talk on whether or not to do it is a discussion for another day, like you said.

I will say that the market for hybrids is very very small, so be prepared to house and feed the babies for the rest of their lives.

Sorry to have hijacked your thread.

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Originally Posted by dturner100

And for it being wrong, it's not.

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Its just breeding two different species together that are from 2 completely different continents.....

The whole hybrid talk on whether or not to do it is a discussion for another day, like you said.

I will say that the market for hybrids is very very small, so be prepared to house and feed the babies for the rest of their lives.

Sorry to have hijacked your thread.

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This is if he even gets one. I have no problem with people trying to make hybrids like this if they want to. The chances of them being fertile are relatively slim, and even so, they will likely only produce extremely few viable eggs.

I have more a problem with people crossing locales or subspecies of the same genus or species reselling them as breeders. These animals are nearly always fertile, and when you get too many of them on the market it gets harder to figure which locale or subspecies animals are pure or if they've been "muddied up" by the more common locale/subspecies. I see a lot of this in boas with people crossing mutations into the different locales/subspecies, and don't care much for it at all, especially considering the rarity in the wild of some of the locales... I won't knock anyone for doing it (apart from a statement of my disagreement with them) and won't call anyone out, but I won't be buying any of the animals from them either.

Anyway, back on track... Dustin, best of luck if you do choose to attempt the bloodball. Definitely see what Kevin McCurley and Steve Roussis have to say. I'm certain any information they can provide would be very valuable to you in your efforts.

what information you do find, go ahead and repost it here... I for one find the ball/carpet hybrid GORGEOUS and would love to have one.

If I am not mistaken NERD also created a ballxblood hybrid called a bat eater
Actually a lot of people have done it. Just do a search on google ball python x blood python you will come up with a few pics. They look stunning but personally I am against it. I don't agree with mixing species. If you are going to do it I would def contact BHB and NERD.

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Originally Posted by TessadasExotics

If I am not mistaken NERD also created a ballxblood hybrid called a bat eater
Actually a lot of people have done it. Just do a search on google ball python x blood python you will come up with a few pics. They look stunning but personally I am against it. I don't agree with mixing species. If you are going to do it I would def contact BHB and NERD.

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Bateater is burm x retic. Many people have done it.

Yea I was wrong about the bat eater. I don't know why I was thinking that. It was the Wall I was thinking about WomaxBall

Another unhelpful comment, but you asked a question many people have strong opinions about. Be prepared to get some replies you weren't looking for(you did put this in BP breeding section). The best approach in my opinion is to just not do it at all. I just don't see the point.

True people will have strong opinions about it, but it wasn't a thread on whether or not we all agree with hybridization.

I do apologize if I came off rude on my post stating such, but it's just a thread on the techniques of doing so. Not the morality of doing so.

Also as mentioned in a few posts there's an extremely small chance that I'd get any offspring at all more less create a huge market for hybrids that you may have to contend with.

As well to the guy that mentioned that I'd need space to house the offspring because of the small market: Thank you for the advice, but yes I'm well prepared to house 8 times the amount of snakes that I currently have.

Thanks for all the input everybody whether I agreed with it or not it's all helpful.

While we are at it, lets just start making some Big-Foots. Anybody got a Chimp or Gorilla sitting around?

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Originally Posted by Turbo Serpent

While we are at it, lets just start making some Big-Foots. Anybody got a Chimp or Gorilla sitting around?

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You can do that?;):rofl: