Specter VS. Normal

[JD Constriction]

I've been getting a handful of emails asking how to tell the specters from normals so I thought I'd put up a comparison photo showing mostly the coloration difference and some of the striping. (They didn't want to cooperate for belly shots or better stripping pics )

I think they are alot like the other subtile morphs (e.g. yellowbelly, het reds, fires, vanillas, etc) where if you see enough of them it definitely helps and seeing them in person for sure.

I'm no expert as this is my first year hatching them but to me the do look as different as say yellowbellies do. It's the het reds and vanillas I have a hard time figuring out

Hope this helps!

[snakesRkewl]

Nice comparison shot, thanks


Jerry

[chago11]

it still looks like a light colored normal. im just going to have to breed all my normal girls to my pastel yb lol

[h00blah]

i'm still confused
which is which

[JD Constriction]

Oh Sorry. The one on the right is the Specter.

Like some of the other subtle morphs the only way for sure way you can know if a normal you have in your collection is a gene carrier is to breed it and see.

The big question I asked myself when I got a specter male was if I was going to be able to tell the specters from the normals. And atleast to me in person comparing two animals like the two above it seems doable

Thanks for looking!

i'm still confused
which is which

[98bcobra]

Yea Specter is a very hard morph to pick up on if you don't know what your looking for. I found a post on another forums one day that help a ton. Someone did a step by step hunters guide now I have no problem. It without a doubt the one on the right.

[rabernet]

I was talking to Ben Siegel this weekend, and he said that it's very hard for some people to tell the difference, and unfortunately - a lot of animals sold as specters are not proving out because of that. He used the Specter as an example during our discussion at the Repticon show.

We were actually discussing his het Sentinels and what was it that someone saw about them to go "I think I'll pair them up and see what I get", because let me tell you - there's nothing distinctive about them to me - and Ben even said - he wouldn't want to sell one as a het unless it came from a visible.

That's how we moved to discussing specter/whirlwinds and how difficult they are to tell as well.

If you put that light baby in with a bunch of other light babies - I don't see anything in particular that would distinguish it from them, unless there's something subtle that we're not seeing in the picture.

[coldthumb]

Nice pic JD...Thanks!

I was talking to Ben Siegel this weekend, and he said that it's very hard for some people to tell the difference, and unfortunately - a lot of animals sold as specters are not proving out because of that. He used the Specter as an example during our discussion at the Repticon show.

We were actually discussing his het Sentinels and what was it that someone saw about them to go "I think I'll pair them up and see what I get", because let me tell you - there's nothing distinctive about them to me - and Ben even said - he wouldn't want to sell one as a het unless it came from a visible.

That's how we moved to discussing specter/whirlwinds and how difficult they are to tell as well.

If you put that light baby in with a bunch of other light babies - I don't see anything in particular that would distinguish it from them, unless there's something subtle that we're not seeing in the picture.

Robin,..The reason i had put two "Paints" together is that they were obvious to me..Which is just one of the reasons we can't say that the Paint and the Sentinel are exactly the same.

On another note..How many years did Amir know exactly what a yellowbelly was,while countless numbers of folks still had trouble with it?

[rabernet]

Nice pic JD...Thanks!




Robin,..The reason i had put two "Paints" together is that they were obvious to me..Which is just one of the reasons we can't say that the Paint and the Sentinel are exactly the same.

On another note..How many years did Amir know exactly what a yellowbelly was,while countless numbers of folks still had trouble with it?

I understand that - which is why I'm asking what other things I'm not seeing on the Specter that make it a Specter. If that animal was grouped with other similarly colored normals - what distinguishing features would allow someone who is trying to pick the Specter out able to do so?

[JD Constriction]

I'll try

Specter:
Mostly complete stripe
Lighter coloration
Less "eyes" in the Alien heads in the side pattern (varies from few to none at the last 1/4 to up to the last 3/4)
Belly pattern for the first ~3/4 is clean with the last 1/4 having some light pattern marks.

I realize this might seem a little vague but I think if you are looking at a clutch as a whole this isn't as difficult a task as people might think. I actually had family members who don't really know snakes look at the clutch and seperate it into piles and they did it right each time. You can see my clutch thread here that might help:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?t=120801

If you are a person who can pick out fires, vanillas, specials, het reds, discos, het sentinals, paints, or yellowbellies out of a clutch then these are cake!

Now using these indicators to see if a normal you have is anything other than a normal? I'd say the only way to do that would be to breed it and see. Just like a "normal" maybe being any one of the subtle morphs listed above.


Just like any of the above morphs, when looking to buy and in doubt about it, buy from a breeder you trust.

Hope that helps

I understand that - which is why I'm asking what other things I'm not seeing on the Specter that make it a Specter. If that animal was grouped with other similarly colored normals - what distinguishing features would allow someone who is trying to pick the Specter out able to do so?