Do some morphs hold their colors into adulthood better?

Most of the pictures I see are of hatchlings, but I know often with age, those patterns can fade or brown out, etc.

1. Are some morphs/genes more prone to this dilution effect than others? For example, bumble bee comes to mind as one that can brown out. But a pure white BEL, I'd imagine is going to stay white.

2. Breeders would tell me that of course their particular high quality genes are more resistant to this effect. And, if I could see the adult I'd tend to believe them. Is it true that some lines are better at preserving the original beauty?

I presume you're referring to Royals ... My HC Albinos seem to have stayed exactly the same over the years ...my Snow Boa is actually getting more colourful and so even more beautiful as he ages ... he's approaching 6 years old now

Enchi combos

Fire combos

Hypo combos

YB combos

Get better as they age


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Would lessers and mojaves get better?

Which ones tend to get worse, in your opinion?

Google as many examples of the morph that you're interested in getting, and add the word "adult" to your searches to help filter through all the baby pics. Deborah got you started off in the right direction with plenty of examples. As far as what looks cool, that's really up to the person looking at them.

With lessers (or butters) and mojaves, there is a loooot of variety within the single gene - especially with lessers/butters!

I'm personally not a fan of adult mojos or lessers, but some of their combos are awesome looking, even into adulthood.

I've seen lesser and fire combos that got better with age.

I would say that Axanthic, pastel and banana lead the list of ones that don't seem to age as well.

Depends on your definition of "better". Lessers tend to get paler, so if you like high contrast snakes versus bright snakes, that's not necessarily better.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bcr229

Depends on your definition of "better". Lessers tend to get paler, so if you like high contrast snakes versus bright snakes, that's not necessarily better.

---

Very all of this is in the eye of the beholder.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jplehmann

Would lessers and mojaves get better?

---

Yes and no. :rofl::rofl::rofl:
McLovin' 2011 Lesser
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...e/P1020787.jpg
McLovin' mid 2014
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...psn66ygoqo.jpg


Femi early 2011 Mojave
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...e/P1020721.jpg
Femi early 2012 (yes she is turning white)
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...e/P1030087.jpg

i will say enchi combos, yb combos, ghost combos,

on my personal experience: killerbees, enchi chocolate, black pastel yb , specter yb, black widow, het. russo and leopard spotnose get better as they age.

pastel, bumble bee, lesser, mojave, albino, banana : brown out or fade.

I personally have liked the way my Mojave and Mystic have aged. The Mojave has lightened a little, while the Mystic has stayed bold. I would add that the Congo gene helps to maintain good colors. I've seen the Congo gene keep Pastels from browning out, keep Butters brighter, and it has even helped the Fire to be better (http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...119-Congo-Fire).

Like most have said, it depends on what you think looks better. I second the suggestion to look at as many examples as possible.

Here are a couple pics of my Enchi Hypo. She is 1700 grams, proven, and over three years old. I think her colors are still very nice. I've included a few pics so you can see it isn't the background or the flash that is making her look bright. She just is bright.

[IMG]http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2a68efc9.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8fa134b0.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...ps794fd01c.jpg[/IMG]

Desert Ghosts IMO are one of the best if not the best gene that truly gets better with age!

Photo courtesy of NERD

Hatchling vs adult

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...102f38c712.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

of course desert ghost!!! nice picture

My axanthic as a baby was black and white pretty much and now as a semi-adult he's brown and black with a tiny bit of white in there. He faded his bright white color fast.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can really only speak to my experiences with pastel... They do brown out, but still look cool. As to bananas, I personally like the color change they undergo.

Lucy, couple months old (2013)
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...34c7114129.jpg

Lucy, now
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...1632bcbad0.jpg

I've got a hypo bumblebee who seems to get better with each shed, but isn't in adulthood yet.
6 month old humblebee
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...444ceacbf4.jpg

This is a no-brainer... Super lesser/butters and white wedding Spieds :rofl:!