Ever since I started diving into the wonderful world of ball pythons I've been enamored by the desert gene. It seems to bring out the best of any other morph combined with it. Even alone it has a super simple, clean, and striking beauty to it.

However, as probably all of you know there is the ugly truth that females cannot lay viable eggs, slugging out or worse dying. Even if I had a male desert I don't think I could in good conscious perpetuate such a lethal characteristic. So my question is "What genes out there are most similar to the desert gene without having the drawbacks?"

The main aspects I'm focusing on are a dominant gene that will clean up and reduce patterns while really making those yellows and blacks pop. There's probably no right answer I know but any input would be much appreciated! Thank you all in advance.