Help a newbie out pretty please!

Wasn't sure if this should go in morphs or pics, so feel free to move it if need be.
Ok, so I'm looking to bring home a hatchling female lesser in August. My concern, is Lesser's lighten with age. I have no idea by how much. I'm worried that I will end up picking one that stays darker than I'd like for future (possible) breeding, and my personal taste. I'm really liking the lighter, brighter adult lessers with reduced pattern. (Busy's are pretty too, but I'm leaning towards cleaner pattern right now) Pattern wise, I know what I want, and I know I won't have a problem deciding. The color is what keeps me scouring the internet. How much do they lighten? I would love to have some of you post some hatchling -> adult pics of the same lesser's. So I can get an idea of what color I should shoot for in a hatchling. All the ones I've seen for sale seem so dark compared to the gorgeous adults I've seen here. So, if any of you happen to have some baby pics and adult pics of your beautiful snakes (pattern doesn't matter!) I would be forever in your debt! Thank you either way, you guys & gals have already been helpful beyond dreams! :gj:

Google images is your friend

Most lessers will lighten significantly with age; I don't think I've seen any really dark lesser adults (that I can recall). So if you're looking for a light lesser I wouldn't worry: just find a baby with the pattern you like and if it's already really light I'd take that as a plus. Sorry no personal pics of any lessers but my bf has one and so far he is lightening up really well and started as a darker deep golden baby.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iCandiBallPythons

Google images is your friend

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Thanks for the reply, but sadly I cannot seem to track down many pictures of hatchling to adults. (of the same snake) I can find plenty of hatchling pictures, and adult pictures, but I really wanted to see how the specific snake changes over time.

Daybreaker;
Yea, I guess I'm just over thinking it. I have seen pics of less than ideal lesser adults that just look...meh. Oh well, no reward without risk :) Thank you for the reply! I appreciate your time and effort.

Go find the Lesser hatchling that strikes your fancy, and I bet you a dollar to a doughnut that it will grow into an adult that suits you.

Ask to see the parents of the chosen lesser. Thats the best and closest thing you can do when buying a baby.

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I have a butter, which is basically the same as a lesser. We have only had her 4 months though. I can post a pic from a few months old, but she's not grown yet. So I don't know if that would help you. Rob has a nice looking lesser, but I haven't seen him around as much lately. Maybe he could post some.

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Indeed, that would be the best bet. I'm hoping to pick one up at the daytona expo though, so I doubt the breeders will be carrying photo's of the parents with them ( I can hope though!). I think Slim is right, when I find my girl, I'm sure I'll be happy with her no matter her adult color. I'm just over worrying myself at this point :rolleyes: New mom worries....oye.

Edit: I always love to see pics of butters/lessers :) The more the merrier. I can't get enough of them :D Feel free to show off your butter!

I think how they look as babies really hints at what they'll look like as an adult. When I went to get mine, I was looking for the type of lesser you like: bright and with a reduced pattern. But when I saw this little girl, I fell head over heels in love. She was a darkish, high contrast baby, and as she grew she did brighten a bit. But she's still very much a high contrast lesser, as opposed to one of those that are really pale and washed out.

Here's a pic of her a month or so after I got her. She's around 80 grams here:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/azshara5.jpg

And here's the most recent picture I have. She's just under 2000 grams. Sorry it's a group shot, but she's obviously the one in the middle:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4...vmno1_1280.jpg

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's great to go in knowing what you're looking for, but don't be afraid to get the animal that really strikes you the most. Hope that helps!

She is beautiful! Making a decision at the show is going to be torture. .lol I want them all!

I'm right there with you. I love lessers but want one that will stay light that's why I chose to get a pastel lesser instead. All of them stay light!

I can offer a little help.

Look for a fairly light baby to start with. You want one with good contrast between the alien heads and the body. If it has heavy blushing, so much the better. One key is the alien heads themselves. The lighter the color of the alien heads, generally the lighter the snake will be as an adult.

He are pictures of my husbands lesser as a baby, and at around 800 grams.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...s/IMAG0161.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...kes/Romeo2.jpg

Can you see how his baby colors translate into his adult ?

Gale

I also like the clean pattern lessers, here's a few pics on a few I have. I breed 2 females that have no dots at all this year. but they were breed to my male clown. good luck in finding the one that catches your eye! don


this is my male lesser pastel, I also have a female that looks like a twin to this one

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...tel_lesser.jpg


this is a female lesser that just ovulated

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file..._ovulating.jpg

this is a lesser female when she was still pretty young

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...e_lesser_1.jpg



thanks for looking, hope you liked the pics, don

Ok, here is my butter 4 months ago. I will try to post a pic in the morning of her now. I don't have a ton of pics of her, as she does have a bit of an attitude, lol
http://img.tapatalk.com/aefdc118-3c51-6e7f.jpg

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So many beautiful snakes! Thank you all so much! Gale, thank you for the tips! I see what you mean about the alien head coloration. Don, that female ovulating is exactly what I'm looking for! She is gorgeous! I would love tto get a pastel lesser, but my current plan is a female lesser, then in a year a male pastel lesser or enchi lesser. Want to start with a single gene girl. (Also don't want to sticker shock my hubby first off lol) drdoolittle, can't wait to see your butter in the am! You all have been so helpful :D

Sorry for the delay. She had to eat and wasn't being very photogenic , but here she is with a crappy cell pic.

http://img.tapatalk.com/aefdd2ba-1919-3ee3.jpg
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