What morph is mine?

Hi guys, thanks for such an informative forum! I'd like to confirm the breed of my snake. I think it's either axanthic or ghost? One picture of her is my profile picture. Another one is below :) any comments and tips for identifying would be great! http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10...4b0164d8a1.jpg


Cheers,
Sam

baby, thats a Lesser morph! congrats!


http://bluesnek.tumblr.com/image/129981176246

I've got a Butter morph.they are close cousins <3

I would need to see good full body shots to help you any.not seeing lesser tho.

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I'm at work now! I will get a full body shot when I'm back. Thanks a lot zipper and frosty. I'm not sure what a lesser morph is and why that warrants a congratulations hahaha[emoji23] I will search the forum for more info :)


Cheers,
Sam

Oh btw Zippermouth I can't seem to see your picture :(


Cheers,
Sam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zippermouth

baby, thats a Lesser morph! congrats!


http://bluesnek.tumblr.com/image/129981176246

I've got a Butter morph.they are close cousins <3

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Couldn't get your photo to post so I just added the link.


SamuelWitwicky need better photos but there is no butter/lesser in your snake :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Sure when I get home I'll take pictures of her.

Btw, every night I let her out to roam my room. And every morning I search for her to put her back into the box before I leave. Is that considered unhealthy for the snake?


Cheers,
Sam

Not just unhealthy but plain stupid.
So many things to go wrong.

In what sense?


Cheers,
Sam

Lets start with you not finding it.....
Getting out of your room.
Eating something it shouldnt.
Your room is not the vast plains of Africa.
You chose to care for an animal and keep it.

Nuff said.

Oh I see. I actually factored everything into the picture, except for the part about it eating something it shouldn't. Thanks for the insight. Didn't cross my mind.


Cheers,
Sam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SamuelWitwicky

Oh I see. I actually factored everything into the picture, except for the part about it eating something it shouldn't. Thanks for the insight. Didn't cross my mind.


Cheers,
Sam

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What are you using to control the temperature and humidity of your room?

I'm still in the midst of setting up the cage. I've got a 40"x20"X11" container and have put a box for it to hide. Still building a cage :) the area I live in is constantly humid and hot because I stay near the equator.


Cheers,
Sam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frostysBP

I would need to see good full body shots to help you any.not seeing lesser tho.

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Hey I have the pictures now

Head:
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10...0a859d9405.jpg

Body:
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10...46b1e0a124.jpg

Belly:
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10...652859bdb7.jpg

Other distinguishing marks:
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10...934069bc5e.jpg

One more in case:
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10...e893f01fb9.jpg

Please let me know if the pictures aren't good enough! I followed the directions posted in the stickies


Cheers,
Sam

Nice pics! I'm no good to help figure out the genes, but I love her pattern! Pretty girl. :)

What did they tell you it was when you bought it?
Het maybe but there isn't any type of hypo in there (blacks are too dark) and I don't think I am seeing any axanthic either.

I don't think its a normal but it is until proven otherwise.

It was given to me because the previous owner couldn't keep it. So if it's a het, the black should be lighter ie grey? Also when you guys say het you mean hypno or ghost?

And thanks Aercadia!


Cheers,
Sam

Hypo (short for hypomelanistic, meaning "lacking black pigmentation") and Ghost are synonymous, used interchangeably. :) A Hypo/Ghost BP will look "washed out" because of the faded black color.

Axanthic is a similar trait, but instead of fading out the black pigmentation, it reduces the red/yellow pigmentation. An Axanthic BP will look black & white as a baby, though some will become more brown with age.

Hypo/Ghost, and Axanthic, are both recessive traits, meaning you need two copies (homozygous, meaning 2-of-the-same) of the gene to get the visual effect. If an animal has only one copy (heterozygous, usually shortened to Het, meaning not-the-same) of the gene, it will not display.

Your girl's pigmentation is not washed out (so she's not a visual Hypo/Ghost), and she isn't black & white (so she isn't a visual Axanthic), but it is possible that she could carry ONE copy of either gene (Het for Hypo/Ghost, or Het for Axanthic) and you wouldn't be able to tell, just by looking at her.

The only way to know would be to find out from the breeder who produced the animal, what genes were in both parents - that will give you a good idea of what genes are in your snake - visual, or hiding. :)

If you don't have access to the breeder, you could try "proving out" the animal by breeding your snake to another snake with the recessive gene you think it carries. Ex: if you believe your snake carries the Hypo gene, breed it to a visual Hypo. If your snake carries the gene, it will pass it to some of the babies, resulting in a clutch of mixed visuals - some will look normal, some will be visual Hypo - that will prove that your animal carries a hidden gene. :) If none of the babies come out with a visual for the recessive, then your snake isn't hiding anything.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SamuelWitwicky

It was given to me because the previous owner couldn't keep it. So if it's a het, the black should be lighter ie grey? Also when you guys say het you mean hypno or ghost?

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NO, none of the above.
If it was hypo the black should be lighter.

Het meaning only 1/2 of the recessive gene so the visual is normal. For a recessive to show it needs to carry both copies of the gene.

@Aercadia thanks a lot :) that was very informative and I really appreciate it.


Cheers,
Sam

Im going to say mojave... not enough experience with mojave to say so but it would explain the brightness of the dorsal pattern.

Tbh, I thought my snake looked exactly like the snake in the "help US help YOU" thread under the stickies haha


Cheers,
Sam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aercadia

Nice pics! I'm no good to help figure out the genes, but I love her pattern! Pretty girl. :)

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Hey Aercadia, if I correctly understand this post by JLC,
(http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=144613) a hypo morph's shed skin is translucent without any patterns. My BP's shed skin is the same. Can this be one of the confirming factors? I'm attaching one more picture with natural light. Hope it helps

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10...31ec37a4bb.jpg


Cheers,
Sam

WOW, her true colors are something else in natural light!! With this picture, I'd be leaning more towards Axanthic (lacking red/yellow pigment) - she is lovely! Her black and browns are still too dark for me to positively identify it as a Hypo, but you're reading that thread correctly - although we look at a Hypo snake and can clearly say "yep, that snake has some faded black and other colors on it", the shed skin is completely devoid of pigment.

I think I recall reading a post a few weeks/months back (wat r time) about someone's snake giving colorless shed, although the animal didn't present visually as a Hypo... I don't think I'll be able to find it, but maybe someone else recalls and can chime in! I don't have enough personal experience to confirm whether this is a guaranteed way to determine the gene (Homo or Het), or whether it's an anomaly.

As for the pattern, I am going to agree with BCS - under this light, I'm leaning towards Mojave, or a Mojave mix. :) She really is lovely!

@Aercadia thanks for your kind words :) she's really lovely. Thank you for patiently explaining to me whatever you know too! Yeah I figured a picture in natural light would be good. Hopefully experts can shed some light!


Cheers,
Sam

What made you decide to pick two recessives that do not match your snake?

Here is a list for you to look over to try and match a photo to: http://www.worldofballpythons.com/morphs/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

What made you decide to pick two recessives that do not match your snake?

Here is a list for you to look over to try and match a photo to: http://www.worldofballpythons.com/morphs/

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If you're talking to me, I said earlier that I THINK it looks similar + I THOUGHT it was hypo because the post I mentioned, said that there a hypo snake has to have a translucent shed skin.


Cheers,
Sam

Not sure what it is to be honest, but not axanthic, has too much yellow along the spine and has browned out along the sides much more than I would expect from the size. Belly has no distinguishing marks/coloration that I can tell. Main head pigmentation is normal. I would otherwise just guess a slightly funky normal.

Thanks for your input Wolfe!


Cheers,
Sam

Yeah, I'm definitely not sure about what's making the sheds come out colorless - she's obviously got some nice dark color to her... if you decide to breed her later on down the road, I don't think you'd be remiss in trying to prove her out with a Ghost boy, just to see if there is a Het gene in there. :) I can't think of any other explanation. Next time she sheds, post a pic in the forum and we'll see if anyone else weighs in!

I poked around on WOBP and didn't really see anything that matched her look 100%, but every animal is just a little bit different. I'm sticking with the Mojave+ theory. The alien patterns, the brighter dorsal spots, and the bright eye stripes that almost meet at the nose are all markers for Mojave. What the + is, I'm not sure... but I can't help thinking there's something else in the mix. Mojaves usually get lighter on down the sides towards the belly, but your girl doesn't so much. Maybe genetic Granite? Wolfe's right, there's too much yellow for Axanthic, so I'm just not sure. But at the very least, she's beautiful, and it sounds like she's got a nice temperament. :) So there's that!

I'm not seeing mojave. My guess would be normal. Same question that's already been asked... what was she sold to you as?

Aercadia thanks for your help :) it's ok the morph isn't important. I just thought it would be an easy tell for experts like yourself haha. But since it's hard to tell then I shan't waste anymore time trying to figure out what morph she is until I breed her. She definitely has a good temperament haha.

Trogdorpheus, she was given to me from a friend as I mentioned, he's equally clueless too.

When you do breed, I would trick to pattern morphs, or subtle color morphs that have known/obvious results when mixed with a lot of other genes. Avoid Pastel, Fire and Vanilla, they would just cloud the results more. Calico or Yellow Belly would be a good options if you wanted to play with color morphs. Or Mojave. Spider, pinstripe, enchi, leopard all have pretty well established combinations with color morphs, so breed her to one of those to help clarify specifically. If she passes on the color to the clutch, then you at least know it's a genetic trait, not a fluke, and having multiple babies that have the color, and mixed with other well known genes might make it obvious.

Alright thanks a lot Wolfe!

I honestly wouldnt even think of breeding until you can provide the correct husbandry and get the snake into a cage...

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Now now relax. I wasn't planning on breeding

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SamuelWitwicky

But since it's hard to tell then I shan't waste anymore time trying to figure out what morph she is until I breed her.

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:confusd:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SamuelWitwicky

Aercadia thanks for your help :) it's ok the morph isn't important. I just thought it would be an easy tell for experts like yourself haha. But since it's hard to tell then I shan't waste anymore time trying to figure out what morph she is until I breed her. She definitely has a good temperament haha.

Trogdorpheus, she was given to me from a friend as I mentioned, he's equally clueless too.

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You just said it??? And leting a snake roam your room...for real? I dont know how you could sleep at 78 degree ambiant temp and were do you keep the 90 degree hot spot???.. not trying to be an rude but that is very irsponsable and unsafe.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

:confusd:

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Confused as to why you're confused. I didn't say I'll breed her immediately. I just said I won't waste any more time finding out what morph she is until I breed her. During which time I could always focus properly on getting the husbandry and caging right

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frostysBP

You just said it??? And leting a snake roam your room...for real? I dont know how you could sleep at 78 degree ambiant temp and were do you keep the 90 degree hot spot???.. not trying to be an rude but that is very irsponsable and unsafe.

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I didn't??? You misunderstood??? Hahaha read above please???

I didnt misunderstand I read it just like you wrote it .."im not going to worry until I breed her"....so you were thinking of breeding her right????. Needless to say the snake needs a cage and proper husbandry ASAP

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Er no??? I just stated it as a matter of fact??? Doesn't mean I had the intention of breeding her??? I already did say it's not important???

Agreed with your last sentence. What do you think I'm doing. I can't build the cage overnight. Relax. It will be done hahaha geez

Think I read the same thing.
Either way I know what you posted, doesnt matter to me.

"Close to the Equator" still includes various climates. Furthermore, your house is a dangerous place for her. She can get herself stuck in all kinds of places, and even if you find her, you might not be able to safely extract her.
I don't care if there is a big termite mound in your back yard, she should not be roaming.

She is a pet, not a wild animal.

Lots of care sheets on the net. Just look some up.
Good luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by distaff

"Close to the Equator" still includes various climates. Furthermore, your house is a dangerous place for her. She can get herself stuck in all kinds of places, and even if you find her, you might not be able to safely extract her.
I don't care if there is a big termite mound in your back yard, she should not be roaming.

She is a pet, not a wild animal.

Lots of care sheets on the net. Just look some up.
Good luck.

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Got it! Thanks for the advice everyone! I have taken note of it all. :) @Aercadia, @WolfeManRob, @PitOnTheProwl, and @frostysBP

Hey guys, I've set up the enclosure a Long time ago just didn't have time to post to get opinions. Let me know what you think? Bought the snake cave and mount from exoterra. Basking spot is on the mount

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...e326ffe788.jpg

She also just shed in one piece so that's also a good sign that my humidity is alright. I'll upload a picture of the shedded skin later because right now I'm drying it in the sun. For now this is her new skin!

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...486ec34a90.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...2d877a1fa0.jpg

I'm confused by that pic. Is the display shelf with cars and stuff inside the enclosure with the snake?

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That's the upper shelf, her enclosure is in the bottom half [emoji28]

The dimensions to the bottoms half enclosure is
L x W x H : 100 x 56 x 30cm.

I'm putting her shed skin here because I heard it might provide some clues to her morph

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...4e53933406.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...fb587c398b.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...e49d2e271b.jpg

looks pretty like a mojave to me