My new "Female" pastel

Python reguis "Pastel"- I was in St. George, UT visiting family and I visited the local pet store. I noticed they had a pastel ball python, but I didn't think much of it. As I was leaving to return home I decided that for $35.00 I should get the snake provided it was a girl. I called the store and had the employee verify it was a female. I then called a buddy and asked him to pick it up, confirm the sex, and care for it until my next visit. Looks like I need to visit the store and review their probing techniques. He is a very healthy and very ready to mate male pastel. We're not too deep into the morph game so he'll make a nice back up if the mojave male gets tired.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...2/DSC06922.jpg

Thats the good thing with a pastel, they can allways be used for some breeding project.

Is the coloring off? Looks like a Fire.

i'm not seeing pastel either, do you have any other pictures?

Sorry, but that's not a pastel. It's doubtful that a fire got by the eyes of the pickers, either.

Nice looking pickup though.

i think is a fire too post more pics to see,also its awesome!!

Either way, beautiful !!!

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Originally Posted by Shadera

Sorry, but that's not a pastel. It's doubtful that a fire got by the eyes of the pickers, either.

Nice looking pickup though.

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This was purchased at a reptile show in Texas. The owner wanted to sell it to the local petstore in S. Utah. He was claiming it was something special and wanted a boat load of money for it and a few other things. (Het for this and that...etc.) The pet store didn't offer him much money since they can't move reptiles very well there. Apparently he was desperate and went with the deal. It is definitely not a WC normal.

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

i'm not seeing pastel either, do you have any other pictures?

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Here are a few more pics. I'm new to the ball python aspect of this hobby so this just looked pastel to me. I'll have to call the store again to see what the seller was claiming it to be. The pics are off a bit due to the indoor lighting and the crappy flash on my point and shoot camera.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...2/DSC06924.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...2/DSC06925.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...2/DSC06926.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...2/DSC06920.jpg

I like how faded the head is. what color are the eyes?

Like I mentioned on your other thread, it's a nice looking normal. Is it me or are the pics somewhat blurry because everytime I look at the pics it bothers my eyes. :confused:

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Originally Posted by jben

Like I mentioned on your other thread, it's a nice looking normal. Is it me or are the pics somewhat blurry because everytime I look at the pics it bothers my eyes. :confused:

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That may be an ocular issue. These pictures are definitely not my best work, the indoor lighting and flash aren't the best on this camera, and compressing the files for posting on the forums take their toll. That said, it shouldn't be causing physical discomfort :).

I just spoke with the pet store that I purchased him from. The Utah owner was a second owner. The original owner lived in Texas and purchased him at a local expo. The 2nd owner supposedly purchased him as a pastave (possibly a ploy to get more from the store). The pet store took it with a few others on trade assuming it was a pastel and threw this one in their general BP cage. They are trying to get me in contact with the original purchaser so that I can trace its history a bit better. I'll try to get some pics with natural lighting if I get home in time tonight. Hopefully they won't be such an eyesore and they'll show the color a bit better. I doubt he's a normal, but I'll throw him with a girl this year and see what happens. Worse case scenario he's a normal and I have a nice looking ball python to take around to my local presentations. Either way I'm not too worried.

Since I've managed to keep reptiles for over 2 decades without keeping ball pythons I'm quite a bit behind on all the morphs. I've seen a few that I like and that I plan on acquiring, but is there a reference page that mentions the different morphs and the markers used to discriminate some of the similar looking phenotypes? I remember from the imports I've seen that these guys can be hyper variable in color and pattern, but I'm sure for most morphs there is some standard used that is better than he said she said.

Im no morph expert, but that doesn;t look like a pastel to me either IMO. But he is a beautiful snake either way, whatever he is. I have a female normal that has amaxing flames and blushing all the way along her, even though she is just a normal. And you bought him for $35? Im thinking probably just a really nice normal

Perhaps the faded head might indicate something interesting going on. The color does look a bit strange to me. Any chance of pics outside? :)

I know you don't want to hear it either, but he's not a pastel. It's not the lighting or the pictures. He however is really neat! If you got him for $35 the pet shop or wherever you got him from, knows that he's not a pastel.

Can you post pics of the belly? Is the belly clear?

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Originally Posted by jamesa2580

Can you post pics of the belly? Is the belly clear?

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I have a ton of normals with clear bellies. Thats not a sure sign its a pastel

Pattern says it's definitely not a pastel, not matter how messed up the colors in the pics.
It looks like a very pretty normal, but nothing more than that.

You can call it a dinker if you wish to see if something more is going on, however, until proven otherwise...It's a normal.
:)

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

I know you don't want to hear it either, but he's not a pastel. It's not the lighting or the pictures. He however is really neat! If you got him for $35 the pet shop or wherever you got him from, knows that he's not a pastel.

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Not necessarily. The pet store received him on trade and due to the location, they know better than to try and charge more than 59.99 for a ball python (the $35.00 was their Christmas special).

I'm fine with him not being a pastel. I would like to know if there are any indicators for a pastel. So far I have nothing concrete to go on. I planned on pairing it with my mojave so an exceptional normal would have done just fine. Now that I know it is a male I'd like to have an idea (with evidence to back it up) what it is. I've heard a number of opinions and they may be correct. I'm fine with that, but how would you decide whether it fell within the normal variation of this morph or if it was just a wildtype ball python with an exceptional amount of yellow bleeding through the brown? Of course breeding it to a normal or super pastel would be a nice way to test it, but I'm sure most with pastels here bought them as babies. If you were unsure of its origin, how would you tell?

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Originally Posted by A.VinczeBPs

Pattern says it's definitely not a pastel, not matter how messed up the colors in the pics.
It looks like a very pretty normal, but nothing more than that.

You can call it a dinker if you wish to see if something more is going on, however, until proven otherwise...It's a normal.
:)

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Now we're getting somewhere. Now what about the pattern tells one it is a pastel. I mentioned I'm new to the ball python morph game. I'm trying to figure this out as I go, but so far this is one of the first references to a determining character. Please elaborate.

Here are a few more photos I took this evening. The color still is duller in the photos, but the general idea is seen. One of our Argentine boas dropped her babies today so most the evening was taken cleaning up that mess (pics coming soon!). Anyway, in what daylight was left I shot these pics. Once again, I don't care if it isn't a pastel. I don't have much riding on it being so. I didn't buy it as such. It just looked to be different from the normals I've come across (in my earlier years as a pet store employee and for a short stint while wholesaling to petstores). I was a bit bummed when I found out they sexed it incorrectly. I thought I'd keep it anyway. If it is a normal, that is fine. If it isn't, I'd like to know. Please provide input (regarding the characters of a pastel) as to why it is or isn't just an exceptional normal. I was going off the faded head and the yellow bleeding through the brown. I could be wrong. I'm not too worried about it as ball pythons are side project and nothing that I plan on pursuing much further than a few preferred morphs. I'm not trying to be a jerk or doubt your opinions. I'd just like to know what is being used to determine one way or the other.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...2/DSC06974.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...2/DSC06964.jpg

Here, check out the hunters guide to pastels. Its a thread here, heres the link
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ot-...-Pastels

I wish I could find an edit button so I didn't have four posts directly next to each other. I have found some morph guides and I too am doubting him being a pastel. So looks like my pretty normal female is most likely a pretty normal male.

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Originally Posted by Courtney281

Here, check out the hunters guide to pastels. Its a thread here, heres the link
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ot-...-Pastels

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That's the one I found and was reading when you posted. Thanks.

You may find this helpful also

http://www.worldofballpythons.com//

The hunters guide is very well done, it should show everything (thank you to Courtney for posting link)
The Patterns of a pastel are simple: Less alien heads, way more orange and yellow color (way way way more), back line (The line between back color and side color, all pastels have it, even browned out ones), back blushing, and back highlights.

Yours is a pretty normal, looks like one of mine, with more color. And the color of yours actually looks like it is a pigment issue, sometimes they lose color and gain is back in splotches which gives it an uneven look and less brown coloration.

Again, dinker if you want, but until proven it's a normal.:)