Dulled Pastel?

My boy just shed, he's a Pastel 66% Het Clown. I'm actually not positive he's a male, his tail is thinner past his vent than my normal het albino male and doesn't seem to have the male parts when popped. I'm not very experienced with popping but it works on my normal and I don't get the same results with my Pastel, but anyway that's not the point.
I was wondering if he was browned out? I've seen alot of posts around saying "that's a browned out pastel" "not good for breeding" etc.. and I just want to check and see if my boy is good or not
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps831554b5.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...psfead52da.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps860de477.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...pscb06768a.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps94c1a63a.jpg
bad lighting in this one:
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps561816be.jpg

I personally think you have one Hell of a nice looking Pastel my friend! good luck

He still looks good now but he is still a juvie right? From those first pictures your boy looks pretty good tho its that last picture that could make someone think he's browning out horribly.

Its really only 'bad browning' when the animal is already turning brown and its still a juvie or hatchling size, that usually means its going to be pretty bad and dull colored when its an adult.
Pastels are generally going to brown as they age regardless, its just the better and brighter they look as a hatchling the more likely they will hold those colors into adulthood.

What they said ^^. Also, a browned pastel is shyed away from for breeding by some because they only want the brightest yellows and blushings in the babies. You do what you want and they'll still look great, especially if paired with another bright colored snake.

Thanks guys :D He's a little over a year old, the last picture is horrible, in shed, bad lighting and on my granite counter tops and he blends right in with them. He's beautiful in person I think. I can't wait to breed him.

I'm not real good with the genetics and pairings but there's a Repticon in April and I was hoping to get him sexed to pick him up a lady or if I find out he's a girl I'd like to pick him up a handsome boy haha

Any suggestions? I can't really afford a het clown at the moment so something that'd be nice with his pastel would be great

I think "he" looks quite nice. If it turns out to be a she you may want to grow her up and save for a het clown male to prove her out. If not I think there are a lot of things that combine very nicely with pastel, pretty much anything you could think of really (though I'm quite partial to pastel x fire), or even another nice pastel and go for the super.

Considering the poor pictures, no offense, I think that could very well be a very nice pastel. He looks orangeish in a few, but with the whole picture dark and blurry, it's impossible to tell for sure.

He's got some sweet blush spots on his back. Even with the pictures, I'm gonna call him a solid B+ pastel. I've seen better yes, but I've also seen much, much worse.

Tail size can't tell you a thing when sexing a ball python. If you are unsure about popping, get an experienced vet or breeder to probe for you. If he turns out to be a she, nothing wrong with that. She'll take a little longer to breed, but she should make some nice babies.

Gale

Nice pastel and not at all dull from what I can see. BTW, judging by the brightness and crazy patterning i would say that he/she has a bettr than 66% chance of being het clown. Get the sex checked then get a clown het (or visual) of the opposite and hope for some pastel clowns :O)

It looks kinda browned out already for the size of it. And those oranges on it will brown out too. I've seen way worse, but i've seen nicer too. I'd say its pretty average looking.

I agree with PigZilla, you have a great looking "boy"! As others have said most "browning out" doesn't occur for a couple years but he looks bright to me even with your photos being on the dark side. I think he's great looking. :gj:

I agree with the B+ rating. If the pics aren't well lighted, he looks a bit browner. My girls both turned pretty dark before lightening a bit more, and right now, one is about four years old and the other is one/twoish and they are both looking pretty fabulous. I would just caution you to make sure you pair him/her with a pretty partner and generally, two decent adults OR one B+ parent and an A+ parent will make AMAZING babies. Remember that the quality of both parents counts. A really fantastic male bred to a blah female may not produce much to remark at, or may make a couple nice babies in a so-so clutch. I try to encourage breeders to one-up the snakes they already have by holding out for a fantastic mate, even if the snake they already have is really good! Also, if you can, get some good pics of him with a nice camera out in the sun on a good day. i think we'll be impressed ;)