Finally...

[Aercadia]

Hi Echo! Can I just clarify something here, since I keep seeing it pop up in this thread?

Now she has to be HET something

This is meant with no disrespect, no drama, and no negativity. :) I just want to get a baseline of your understanding of genetics.

Do you understand what "Het" means?

If you do not, "het" is a term that refers to an animal (in this case we are talking about Bally Pythons) which carries one copy of a gene inside its genetic code, but does not display any part of that gene, because two copies are required in order to make that gene show up. This is called a "Recessive" gene. The recessive gene you are talking about is Piebald, also called Pied.

So, it sounds like you want to breed some Pied babies! :)

In order to breed baby animals that display the Piebald gene, you will need to breed a boy and a girl that each carry a copy of the Piebald gene. If you have a visual Piebald (one that looks like a Pied), that snake has two copies of the gene, and will definitely pass one copy of the gene to each baby it helps make. Now, here is where it gets tricky.

If you have a snake that does not visually display the Pied gene, then you need to know about the genetics of PARENTS the snake in question. Was one if the snake's parents a visual Piebald? If so, you will have a snake that is Het for Piebald - if you breed it, it will give 50% of the babies one copy of the Pied gene, and 50% of the babies no copies of the Pied gene.

If you DO NOT know the genetics of the PARENTS of the snake in question, then you have no way of knowing whether the snake carries any hidden (het) genes, really. It is true, that some het genes will produce "markers", giving clues about which animals in a batch that is KNOWN to have passed on hidden gene, but markers ARE NOT 100% guarantees.

In this case, you are looking at the snake's tail - the belly is white, but the tail has markings on it. This could be a number of things. IF one of the parents of this snake was a visual Pied, and you KNOW that, then it could be an indicator that the snake carries a hidden Pied gene. If you DO NOT know for sure that one of the parents was a visual Pied, then it is actually a bit of a stretch to guess that the gene is there, based on the tail - MANY Normals display exactly the kind of belly/tail you are describing. So if you are not 100% sure of the genetics of the parents of your snake, it is better to assume that the snake is not carrying ANY hidden genes. A snake that does not visually display recessive genes, with unknown parentage, is probably a Normal.

IF you are 100% certain that your snake is Het for Piebald, the only way you can produce visual Piebald babies is to breed it to another snake that you are also 100% sure carries the Piebald gene. Remember the example above: Het for Piebald - if you breed it, it will give 50% of the babies one copy of the Pied gene, and 50% of the babies no copies of the Pied gene. That means, in order to get a visual Pied, you need another snake to pass on one copy of the gene to some of the babies, in order to get two copies into one snake.

Hope this helps clarify everything for you! :) If you decide to move on with your snakery and breeding plans, I wish you the best of luck, and hope you are prepared to deal with the rigors involved!