Sub-Saharan ball python help!

[Kylegep]

I have a source that can get wild caught sub Saharan females that are gravid. My question is how do these genes work? Is it all babies would be SS? Also the one he kept had 13 eggs so it sounds like they are true. Any info would help. Thanks!!

[ClarkT]

They should/would have all laid their eggs in the wild by now...so if you were to get a gravid one, it would likely be November-January.

I picked one up last November, too, and I wonder about the genetics, too. What do you mean: "SS"?

Mine laid 10, with 3 being slugs, and 1 died within a week of being laid. I have 4.2 babies, and I'm hoping to see that they grow quickly compared to others. I don't know if the size passes to each baby, or if it's more like a codom type gene. They are definitely great eaters, though.

In any case, I look forward to having a 7' - 8' ball python! The mother is 6'.

[stoaob3]

SS= sub Saharan... I too am definitely interested about the genetics

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[Kylegep]

SS= sub Saharan... I too am definitely interested about the genetics

Sent from my ADR6410LRA using Tapatalk 2

Correct!
I would think if you breed a normal size ball to a SS then it would only be 50% SS.

[Pythonfriend]

genetically they are just a sample of the wild population of normals that is out there in ghana, benin, and so on.

fresh genes from the large natural gene pool of many millions of individuals. Thats how it works genetically. Typically just a normal.

They are good to fight inbreeding, sometimes you get improved size and health sometimes you dont. If you breed one of these to lets say a bee or whatever, offspring will have 50% Ghana genetics, or sub-saharan or however you call it. and if you breed these to something else, you can still say the offspring contains 25% fresh african genetics, and so on. And thats pretty much the point of it all, give the local gene pool that may be heavily affected by decades of breeding in captivity an infusion against inbreeding and for better health. But then it also happens automatically because tens of thousands of normal hatchlings are exported for the pet shops.

More interesting are the ones coming from africa that look like they have something going on genetically, like a possible morph. The dinkers out of africa, unproven stuff thats possibly a new morph and possibly nothing.

[TessadasExotics]

Ball pythons do not get 6 or 7 feet. 4 to 5 feet. Any ball python can have a 13 or even 17 egg clutches. Sub Saharan is the wrong term as all ball pythons come from rhe saub sahara. The suposed "giants" are from the Volta range in Ghana. We are of a mind that they are no different than any other ball pythons. The region that they come from is less farmed for balls partly because of the difficult terrain. We have a few girls that are over 4000g and even one who is over 5000g.

[kitedemon]

I own a 'sub Saharan' although TessadasExotics is 100% correct they are all 'subs'. I think you are simplifying the genetics mine has been breed many times and she does not have very many off spring that show the overly large head size. It leads me to believe the trait is recessive certainly not dominate.

[ClarkT]

I own a "Subsaharan", too. I didn't name them, but that's what they're being referred to as. I originally thought they were called Volta giants or Volta WC. Subsaharan is just the name designated... just like a certain yellow/black ball python got the name "pastel", even though it didn't necessarily consist of only pastel type colors.

My "Subsaharan" is every bit of 6' long, too. I hope she grows longer. Time will tell.

[RandyRemington]

Many years ago (back when the "big" show was at Orlando) a friend of mine attended a BBQ at Tom Crutchfields and claimed he had an 8ft "burm sized" ball python at the time. Don't know where it came from or what happened to it.

[kitedemon]

Mine is not 6 foot but she is very close 5'8 maybe 9" she is 3850 gm as of last shed last week.