Types of Albino

[Jay_Bunny]

I was just looking at NERD's site with all the pretty morphs and at the top are the albinos. How does one go about producing a faded or high contrast albino. Are they just degrees of color of the albino or are they totally different morphs with different genetics? Did that question come out right?

And how much does a faded or high contrast albino go for these days?

[FL0OD]

i have seen prices from $600 - $1200 and the color contrasts you are speaking of, from what i have seen ,are mainly a stock issue. some breeders have high contrast animals some do not. seems as though, to me, its just a genes issue not a different kind of morph. i could be wrong.

[jdmls88]

its just luck of the draw and as time goes on the "high contrast" ones fade to look like the normals. I wouldnt ever pay more for a high contrast over a regular.

[Jay_Bunny]

I am more interested in the faded ones anyway. I love the look of these animals and would love to work with them in the future so I was wanting to get some info on them and their genetics.

[MarkS]

It's not the albino gene that determines the intensity of the color, all that the albino mutation determines is the presence or absence of melanin. It's a different gene or more likely different sets of genes that determine the intensity. If you look at a pile of normal ball pythons, you'll notice a whole range of colors from high golds to dull brownish grays. Through selective breeding to the highest golds or the dullest grays, eventually you'll have an albino animal that is either faded or brighter yellow. And yes, most of the high contrast albinos will lose their bright colors as they become adults. Not all of them do however, and through selective breeding I think we will see more and more adult albinos that hold on to their bright colors. Right now though I don't think it's a sure enough thing to justify the higher prices.

[elevatethis]

I'll tell that joke I heard one time again:

What do you call a high contrast albino?

A baby.

There's certainly something to be said for line breeding but otherwise its just a issue of whether the animal comes out with a patten that lends itself to fading or holding color.

Now, I do think that combining the albino gene with other mutations can consistently produce high contrast or faded albinos.......I forgot which albino combo came out that looks like a extremely faded albino...

[Jay_Bunny]

Well I can defiantly say that I hope to produce some albinos in the future. I absolutely love them. If I want to produce faded albinos is there a certain het for that or do I just hope for one that is faded when I breed albinos or het albinos?

[elevatethis]

You want a faded albino?

Make a snow (albino x axanthic)...that's about as faded as it gets.

[Jay_Bunny]

I officially want a snow. Beautiful snakes and exactly what I was thinking about when I saw the faded albino. Definatly putting that on my "To Produce" list.