How do you Identify a "Spector" & "Mystic"?

[Monster Dodge]

What about them depicts them as being a "Spector" & "Mystic". Like what sets them apart? To me they either look like regular pastels or high blushed Normals. I'd like to get both this year but hesitant spending that much money without knowing what to look for...

[stratus_020202]

Here is a video for the Mystic. They more resemble the mojo's than a normal. Like a mix between them I think.

I can't help you with the specter though. Sorry. Honestly, treat it the same way as a het. Do you trust the person selling it to you? And, Does he have paperwork/proof?

[Serpent_Nirvana]

I get the impression that it can be hard to tell mystics from low-grade mojaves ... There's a gentleman with an ad on the classifieds right now selling "possible mystics," because he bred mystic x mojave and couldn't confidently tell the babies apart!

I have a female mojave that looks, to me, EXACTLY like a phantom (I saw a big one in person at NERD, and honestly thought she could just have been my mojave gal ) As Stratus says, it seems like it comes down to trusting your source with these morphs ...

The only thing I've consistently noticed in pictures of specters is the neck stripe. I know I couldn't pick one out of a box of normals, but then again I don't have one, so I really can't talk

[Monster Dodge]

I see them on KS.com classifieds from some pretty reputable breeders with a good rep. But dropping almost $2K for a Mystic or Spector I feel they should know 100% or you get your money back or an equal value BP if it turns out that its not....

Thats why I wasn't sure if there was some kind of trait you could identify it with?

But yeah as long as there's some kind of guarantee with it, I wouldn't have a problem droppin the large ducketts for one.

[BAD Morphs]

If it were me and I was unsure of what I was looking for or at for that matter I would go to the source especially if I was gonna toss out 2k or more on a snake. For example: If I were going to buy a phantom/mystic I would go to either Ralph Davis for a phantom or McCain fo a mystic and specters well there are a few "founders" and ppl that I would deff trust to buy a specter from. One of them being a well known person and he is infact a member here, Albey from Albey's Too Cool Reptiles. Or again you could go to the source and go to Mark Haas. Again, thats if there wasn't a friend of yours or someone you trusted that had any of those. Granted you will most likely pay a bit more going to the source then from a smaller time breeder but your also paying for the peace of mind in knowing that your 100% getting what your paying for.

[AGoldReptiles]

If I was looking to get a spector now, other than buying from a reputable source would be find out what were the parents. If the one of the parents was a SS (Superstripe). Then each of the babies either has to be a YB or a Spector . If its not a YB it has to be a spector. Just my

[MKHerps]

Yes breeding a Super Stripe should produce YBs and specters, but I think there is still a 1 in 4 chance of producing normals. It is easy to tell the Ybs and the specters apart, but not the specters and the normals. There is a great deal of variance in the specters as well.

Matt

[AGoldReptiles]

Yes breeding a Super Stripe should produce YBs and specters, but I think there is still a 1 in 4 chance of producing normals. It is easy to tell the Ybs and the specters apart, but not the specters and the normals. There is a great deal of variance in the specters as well.

Matt

Yellowbelly and Spector are allelic. So if one of the parents is a SS the babies are either YB or Spector. No Normals.

[Matt K]

Is that true? I always was of the understanding that that was one of the strange things about the Superstripes, and the Spector gene. I'm pretty sure that even though it seems like the Superstripe is two mutations on the same allele, there's still a possibility of producing normals. You would think it would be like a Leucistic produced by a Mojave and Lesser for example. When bred to a normal, you can only produce Lessers, or Mojaves. But I thought that wasn't the case with Superstripes, even though all logic points it it being that way. Maybe we can get Albey or someone with a lot of experience with Superstripes on here to clear things up? I'm not sure either way, I just feel like I've read the above a few times in the past.

Cheers,
-Matt

[Albey]

Yes breeding a Super Stripe should produce YBs and specters, but I think there is still a 1 in 4 chance of producing normals. It is easy to tell the Ybs and the specters apart, but not the specters and the normals. There is a great deal of variance in the specters as well.

Matt

Is that true? I always was of the understanding that that was one of the strange things about the Superstripes, and the Spector gene. I'm pretty sure that even though it seems like the Superstripe is two mutations on the same allele, there's still a possibility of producing normals. You would think it would be like a Leucistic produced by a Mojave and Lesser for example. When bred to a normal, you can only produce Lessers, or Mojaves. But I thought that wasn't the case with Superstripes, even though all logic points it it being that way. Maybe we can get Albey or someone with a lot of experience with Superstripes on here to clear things up? I'm not sure either way, I just feel like I've read the above a few times in the past.

Cheers,
-Matt

When you breed a Superstripe to a Normal all of the offspring are either Specters or Yellow Belly’s, no Normals. It is the same way as breeding a BEL that was produced from a Lesser to a Mojave breeding. All of the offspring are going to be either Mojave or Lesser, no Normals. All of the Major Superstripe breeders that I have personally talked to agree on this including Mark Haas, Anthony McCain, Brian Hahn, Marc Bailey and Clint Billingsley. The confusion started a few years ago when Tom Carlton of Cypress Creek Reptiles listed Superstripe sibs on his available page from a Superstripe to Normal breeding. Either Tom was not confident in his ability to pick out Specter from Yellow Belly or he suspected retained sperm from a previous breeding.

To see how powerful a Superstripe breeding can be take a look at the following post I did here at Ball Pythons.Net. It was a nine-egg clutch from a Superstripe to Pastel Yellow Belly and I produced two Pastel Superstripes, one Pastel Ivory, two Pastel Specters, two regular Specters and two regular Yellow Belly’s. Here is the link. http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...e-Clutch-(DUW)

I hope this helps.