so I decided to take some pictures of my balls for you guys... (Pic Heavy-ish)

[Bluebonnet Herp]

I meant my snakes, obviously.

This is Boots, my dinker female. I've had her since my birthday last year, and she's been the best pet I've ever had, and the ball python that is starting it all. (Don't be confused when I say pet- I don't separate pets from breeders and being a naturalist, I won't deny even the normal male a chance to breed at least once unless it threatens their safety. I'm sure they enjoy copulation as much as we do; who am I to deny them that natural pleasure?) She's an awesome snake, and I can't tell if she's blind or super nice, but (almost) nothing will make her flinch. With the exception of a boneheaded feeding accident, she's never bitten me either. One of those exceptionally tempered ball pythons, I suppose, and definitely ambassador material. Righty-o then; the pics!

I'm not exactly a photographer.


There's no mistaking Boots for another ball python. Maybe she's a wicked cool Harlequin? I wouldn't know. (By the way, look closely at her eye-stripes in the first and second pics- they're assymetric! )


Her signature squiggle.


Her entire belly is like this.


Uncooperative snake is uncooperative.


She's pretty purdy.


My other snake, another female who was named by my dad, is Julius. I got her earlier this year sometime in March or April. (I feel terrible I forgot something important like this.) I was at Petco making a supplies trip for Boots to get a bigger water bowl, and like we all do, I decided to check out the ball pythons. Aside from frowning at a neglected normal and just admiring the healthy brown normals for what they are, this one suddenly stood out from the rest with an unusually yellow-orange side color. It was definitely a great excuse to buy her. I honestly don't expect Julius to be any sort of morph, and even then I was expecting her to grow out of it. Half a year later, I'm still waiting. Lol

I'll admit, even though this is a cell phone and an ameteur, these pictures are actually quite good, if I don't say so myself.


Chillin' with her roommate. Or balling up, craplessly scared in a strange environment of which a limbed giant set her down next to another being of the same race. Whichever perspective makes you happier.


The flame markings of which I think stereotypes the pythons.


It wasn't until recently that I discovered that most ball pythons actually have markings on their bellies. Must've been my luck. You can actually see the orange-yellow colors that made her pop out among her cell mates in the commercial pet store.


Neat head-stamp.


I didn't post this in the "is this a morph" section, mainly because this is rather a formal introduction of my royal pythons, and I wouldn't think any less of my pythons if they are the normals they were labeled as. (They were bought at PetSmart and PETCO each, respectively.) That said, that doesn't mean I wouldn't appreciate any thoughts or guesses. Anyway, I thought it was time you all got to know that I do actually have balls!

[rocknhorse76]

Nice balls! LOL

[MootWorm]

Nice cellphone pics! Boots looks a little vanilla-ish to me. But I'm crap with morphs, so don't listen to me lol. Great looking girls though!!!

[Bluebonnet Herp]

Morph-wise, I do believe Julius is a normal. Just a really, really pretty normal. Like, the pretty-normal-stamp-of-approval normal. Normals, or rather, 'wild-types', (normal is just such an ugly word lol) are probably the prettiest morph of any snake, or one of them anyway, imo. My favorite snake/animal is just the wild-type reticulated python- nothing short of it. Best corn snake morph? I'm stuck between wild-type, albino, and butter.
Anyway, I love how Julius, aside from being a pretty color, has a full dorsal pattern all the way down her back. In essence, it's a full motley pattern. Definitely a normal I could use to influence morph projects OR just line breed for more high quality normals. (And full motley-backed/heavy pattern. I don't see why people just ditch these and go for reduced pattern or shtuff like that.)
As far as Boots goes, I look forward to experimenting with her pattern. It doesn't seem far-fetched that it would be genetic, either single allele (as in dom./codom./rec. morphs) or polygenetic. With a aberrant pattern and long stripe like that, I, personally, see quite the potential!

[Abigail]

Those are from your cell phone? They look great! Love your balls, hehe! (I mean your snakes, of course...)

[SnowShredder]

I won't deny even the normal male a chance to breed at least once unless it threatens their safety. I'm sure they enjoy copulation as much as we do; who am I to deny them that natural pleasure?)

I just want to point out that for MANY animals, it is neither pleasurable nor enjoyable. For many (especially females) it is quite painful. But it's a harddrive instinct that can't be helped. I'm not saying this is the situation for ball pythons whatsoever.....but mr naturalist have you ever heard that male cats have barbed penises? Or that a male dog grows a knot so large that they are "stuck" together no matter if it hurts or they want to get away? Don't breed JUST to breed. That to me is disgusting and your thoughts are an idealization people create to make it okay

[Bluebonnet Herp]

I just want to point out that for MANY animals, it is neither pleasurable nor enjoyable. For many (especially females) it is quite painful. But it's a harddrive instinct that can't be helped. I'm not saying this is the situation for ball pythons whatsoever.....but mr naturalist have you ever heard that male cats have barbed penises? Or that a male dog grows a knot so large that they are "stuck" together no matter if it hurts or they want to get away? Don't breed JUST to breed. That to me is disgusting and your thoughts are an idealization people create to make it okay

I'm not against spay or neutering. (in any vertebrate) Safety isn't about just dying either, and excessive pain or damage is a consideration one should think about when going over the safety of breeding an animal. That said, ball pythons, as far as we know, don't have barbed penises. And although I have yet to breed ball pythons, I haven't heard of a female thrashing away from a male. (For all I know, it may have happened before and I would like to hear about it.)
Also, breeding is a natural part of life and is as much instinct as eating is. I find that animals should be allowed to exhibit natural behaviors, provided it isn't detrimental. If a snake is prone to being egg-bound, it should be spayed, thus not only preventing the passing of weak reproductive genes into the population, but also it won't kill the animal in the process.