Morph descriptions

Is there a place/book/whatever that describes what the different morphs are? Plus their genetics? I'm looking at snakes and seeing all these names and thinking that I cannot for the life of me figure out what is being described and how A is different from B. It's very confusing. I have looked, but can't seem to find the info on descriptions of the morphs. Thanks in advance.

this forum is the right place, ask very specific questions and get very specific answers :)

but then, much of it is easy to do with pictures but hard to do with words. lets say you want to describe the enchi head stamp, and how it is different from what spider or pastel or clown do to the top of the head, thats really difficult. use a few images and it is really obvious.

?

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/forum...-Python-Morphs

I'm suprised that no one has recommended Kevin McCurley's new book yet!

The Ultimate Ball Python: Morph Maker Guide - http://shop.newenglandreptile.com/ho...ll-python.html

Oh, my, that's exactly what I was looking for. It's beautiful! Can't afford it now, but maybe one of these days. Thanks.

http://www.worldofballpythons.com/morphs/

I am not complaining. No one owes anyone anything on the internet. It takes time and effort to share knowledge that they have worked to acquire, and I'm not entitled to that in any way. The reason I asked is because recently I asked a simple question about albinos, and there was little response. As I said in the OP, I can't necessarily see what I'm even looking for, especially when one morph works off another.

Wonderfu! Thank you!

Stick around for a while and u get better at distinguishing stuff. And alot of it actually isnt your fault since many many morphs are very subtle and look normal but can do powerful things in combos or have a sexy looking super form. Are you at least familliar with the 3 kinds of morphs (recessive, dominant, codominant)?

Guess what. I just went ahead and bought it! I figured that since I do not have unlimited resources to buy snakes, nor do I want to, it would be a good investment to find out what it is I really want to have and what I can just have photos of.

Ha - I love it! Even though I feel partially responsible for being an enabler... :oops:

Thank you. I have figured out those basics, finally! I didn't get the co-dominant business. I actually did some cornsnake breeding back 15 years ago, but it seems that this is much more complicated. I don't remember ever running into co-dominant, but I wasn't that deeply into it. Somehow the information seemed a bit more available, and the options more limited.

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Originally Posted by Zoomama1

Thank you. I have figured out those basics, finally! I didn't get the co-dominant business. I actually did some cornsnake breeding back 15 years ago, but it seems that this is much more complicated. I don't remember ever running into co-dominant, but I wasn't that deeply into it. Somehow the information seemed a bit more available, and the options more limited.

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actually its supposed to be called "incomplete dominant". somehow everyone in BP breeding calls it codominant. but codominant is actually something completely different. keep that in mind when you open a biology textbook.

basically incomplete dominant means that there is a super form, and that you can get two different appearances with just one morph. for example, you can have single-gene regular pastel or mojave, but there also is the super form that has two copies of the same morph, which gives you a super pastel or super mojave.

and co-dominant is when you have two dominant genes, and when you get both in one animal it looks different compared to an animal that only has one, or the other. so you need two genes for that, and then these genes are dominant on their own, but co-dominant to each other. we dont really use that concept in BP breeding, or at least dont talk about it. in the context of BPs, it simply means incomplete dominant.

It takes time. Get the WOBP app for your phone to have a quick reference too.
As already mentioned, some morphs are also someone just wanting to make a name for themselves, then there are those that really pop in a combo.

Great explanation, thank you.

I'm gunna brush the dust off this post...

A couple of weeks ago... I was as confused as the OP...

sure enough...not 2 weeks later...I'm catchin on!

So much of the gene talk is still over my head, but all that requires is more time and study...

Books are a great resource! Irreplaceable!

But for my money (times money right?) you can't beat a good forum!

the ability to ask a direct question and get a direct answer is great!
Not to mention there's more info here than in 1000 books, it's ever updated, never dated, and is also an excellent outlet for like mind people to get together... No matter how many miles divide us!
Lets face it...your neighbor is never gunna like snakes! Mine never have...

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Originally Posted by Pythonfriend

actually its supposed to be called "incomplete dominant". somehow everyone in BP breeding calls it codominant. but codominant is actually something completely different. keep that in mind when you open a biology textbook. ....

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I've looked in a number of genetics books and come up with three different definitions for codominance vs. incomplete dominance. And none of them has a 100% match with any other. In the simplest definition, the two terms are synonyms. The National Institute of Health's Genetics Home Reference (on line) does not even include incomplete dominance in the inheritance types. And codominant has 10 characters while incomplete dominant has 19 characters, making codominant easier to type. So that's the one I use.

Two genes (A and a) make three gene pairs (AA, Aa, and aa).

In codominance/incomplete dominance/semidominance/partial dominance/whatever, a snake with an AA gene pair can be distinguished from both a snake with an Aa gene pair and a snake with an aa gene pair. That means there are no 66% or 50% probability hets. You can pull out a handful of babies out of a bin and deal every one into an AA cage, an Aa cage, or an aa cage. And prices can be set accordingly. Doesn't that sound easier for a breeder than working with dominant and recessive genes?

The WOB app on my phone gives me a basic read out.