Hypo/Ghost questions

[frankykeno]

Well starting to think ahead to next year's purchase and Mike's getting really interested in hypo's (thanks to Adam's raving about them LOL).

So of course I've done a ton of research online and saved a LOT of links and have come up with my usual tons of questions for you all (apologies as always for my unendingly inquisitive mind).

First off, is it proper to call them Hypos or Ghosts....seems to be they are called both on different sites.

Secondly, there seems to be Green, Orange, Yellow, Butterscotch, Blonde and White (Desert) Hypo's. Have I missed any? Or are some of those names just different names for the same morph?

Next and very confusing to me. Are some lines or colors of hypo's not able to breed "true" with other lines/colors? Seems I read on the NERD site about that and the breeding only produced normals instead of the desired recessive trait being expressed.

I have seen Hypo's referred to as a must have, "foundation" type morph (much as pastels are and one of the reasons we are purchasing our pastel from Adam). Is this because the hypo crosses so well into other morphs, for example the Hypo Mojave, the Pastel Ghost, etc.?

Is it correct to say that the breeding of a Hypo into another morph lightens or "blurs" the color/pattern somewhat?

Do all hypo's have a clear shed and is this an identifier for this morph?

What in heck is a "True Ghost"?????

If you had to choose only one hypo to start with...which one would you choose? I know this is partly based on what each person would find personally appealing but I'm thinking more from the investing for future breeding projects down the road thing.

As always, thanks and apologies for my book length posts You can all gang up and beat me with a frozen rat if you feel you must but please remember this is all Mike's fault for buying me my first ball python for Mother's Day! LOL



~~Jo~~

[kavmon]

hypos are cool, they brighten up any morph! there are alot of hypo lines out there. yes, hypos shed clear no pattern. do some research and find out which one you like best and then pick a good breeder. i personally like the yellow ones, they seem brighter to me than most orange/butterscotch lines. i know adam has some het hypo babies and he has some green ghosts that he may breed this season. joe compel has some awesome hypos and alot of knowledge with this morph.


vaughn

[willy2.0]

adam would certainly be the man to contribute to this thread. but here are a few statements from my own research that i believe to be true:


people commonly refer to this trait as "ghost" due to its faded almost "ghost" like appearance. the term hypomelanisitc would be defined, in simplest terms as a reduced amount of "dark" or "black" pigment. hypo, meaning less than normal...and melanistic, referring to the dark brown or black pigment, or simply melanin.

because some normal animals do show a reduced amount of melanin, one of the defining characteristics of a ghost is that it DOES shed clear, while the normal critters will display a pattern.

a true ghost is normally referred to by most as a hypo axanthic, if'n i have my facts in order. i have to state tho...i have yet to see one.

and you are correct in your statement that some hypo traits are not compatible with others as kevin stated in his website. as far as the desert ghost, i believe tracy barker had one or two animals that displayed the desert ghost appearance that proved not to be an inheritable trait. although there may be others that have that i am not aware of. if you discover a line that has proven to be inheritable i'd love to hear about. i think they're awesome!

i've spent a small fortune on balls this season and the hypo i acquired from joe c. is perhaps one my favorites :-)

[HelicopterPilot]

Hypo's are pretty cool. I think you should get one as an investment becuase I personally think they are part of the Platty Puzzle. And if it is true that the hypos are part of teh platty puzzle then the price will eventually go up.

[kavmon]

can you explain the hypo/platty puzzle idea?


vaughn

[HelicopterPilot]

can you explain the hypo/platty puzzle idea?


vaughn

Well the original platty is very "hypo" very light shaded and faded on the sides. So far none of the offspring have been able to looks like the orig. platty. That is why they are called Lessers becuase they are I dunno lesser of a platty

The Platty hasn't been produced by Lesser x Lesser. (what RDR got was a Lueistic which is equally cool) . I think the original platty somehow has somekind of a hypo trait. I am not sure ,but no one knows yet and Ralph is pretty close to finding out what makes a platty

[kavmon]

i think ralph got plattys by breeding lesserxnormal sibling. i can see where you think that, but if hypos are in the mix i think someone would have picked up on this by now. hypos shed clear with no pattern and have a unique look.


vaughn

[HelicopterPilot]

wait ralph got platties ! I got to check this out! To RDR away!

edit: I checked it out and he had some babies from Platty Daddy x "Normal" (it is a sibling of a lesser clutch) and he got some that look very close to the dad.

Wow the genetics on this are confusing.

Anyways lets get back to Hypo Ghost. I prefer to call them Hypos.

[frankykeno]

Willy she's gorgeous! Is she an orange hypo? I still don't know quite how to tell one from the other really. Joe does have some lovely ones and a few package deals so I see.

Can't wait for Adam to comment as I know he's very into hypo's (dang him for tweeking my hubby's interest in hypos....I was planning on a new couch this spring!)


~~Jo~~

[Joe_Compel]

Well starting to think ahead to next year's purchase and Mike's getting really interested in hypo's (thanks to Adam's raving about them LOL).

Thinking ahead to next year's purchases.......sounds like you have got the bp bug......bad. Adam has some great animals, I am sure you won't be disappointed.

First off, is it proper to call them Hypos or Ghosts....seems to be they are called both on different sites.

In many other reptiles species that are "morphed out" breeders work towards producing a designer morph called a ghost......it is a cross between an axanthic and a hypo or an anerythristic and a hypo. In the ball python world, keepers refer to this as the "true ghost".
The confusion started when the first hypo balls were called ghosts due to their ghostly appearance. I like to call them hypos because I know the double homozygous ghost will be produced one day (AKA - the "true ghost").

Secondly, there seems to be Green, Orange, Yellow, Butterscotch, Blonde and White (Desert) Hypo's. Have I missed any? Or are some of those names just different names for the same morph?

I have seen all of those names tacked onto hypos. The problem is that there are no "set boundaries" between the colors. When you see enough of them, you can say.....yep, that is a green hypo or that is a yellow. NERD has a line that is ORANGE. However, it isn't always that clear......sometimes what one person calls a green hypo looks like an old yellow hypo to me. I call my hypos butterscotch hypos because to me they are not quite yellow or orange but rather a blend of the two.
I have a feeling that the colors and lines will be more easily distinguished as breeders work to refine the colors.
I am sure will see new colors added to this list as there are some neat animals lurking around that may fit into the hypo category...........
Desert ghosts appear to be a different mutation than traditional hypos.

Next and very confusing to me. Are some lines or colors of hypo's not able to breed "true" with other lines/colors? Seems I read on the NERD site about that and the breeding only produced normals instead of the desired recessive trait being expressed.

At this point, it seems most are compatible and it seems that you can "mix colors". However, there have been a handful of "hypo" breedings that did not produce hypos. I know a couple of these breedings involved a parent that was a questionable hypo.......my guess is that these questionable hypos were not hypos but some new morph that has a subtle difference than a hypo.
I know Greg Graziani has a line that is not compatible with the traditional hypos.

I have seen Hypo's referred to as a must have, "foundation" type morph (much as pastels are and one of the reasons we are purchasing our pastel from Adam). Is this because the hypo crosses so well into other morphs, for example the Hypo Mojave, the Pastel Ghost, etc.?

Big time......the hypo gene has a lot to bring to the table.

Is it correct to say that the breeding of a Hypo into another morph lightens or "blurs" the color/pattern somewhat?

I wouldn't say it blurs the pattern but it has the potential to change the colors.

Do all hypo's have a clear shed and is this an identifier for this morph?

Yep.

What in heck is a "True Ghost"?????

Take a look at Willy's hypo........imagine erasing the yellow tones......that's what a true ghost might look like.
You would have to breed a hypo to an axanthic to produce double hets. Breed the double hets together and if you hit the 1 in 16 shot you could produce the true ghost.