Morphs - Are They Deficient...?

[G11825]

Are their any weaknesses, differences (other than color patterns) deficiencies of morphed Ball Pythons? If so what?

Thanks!

[Royal Hijinx]

There is a VERY recent thread detailing issues with some of the morphs.

Other than those, the pain job does not seem to cause any issues. Many morphs have not been around long enough to know if they have any bearing on longevity.

[mues155]

According to morphs the most popular one that comes to mind is the spider morph and its wobble.
Spiders can have a wobble, some more extreme than others.

[satomi325]

There are some genetic defects that are linked to some morphs. However, most ball pythons are all the same, just with a different paint job.
Some of these do not affect the well-being and quality of life of an animal.

Some examples of morphs that are prone to certain defects:
Spider & Woma - neurological wobble
Blue Eyed Lucy (Lesser/Lesser, Lesser/Butter, Butter/Butter) - Bug eyes
Caramel Albino - Kinks and female infertility
Super Cinnamons/ Super Black Pastels - Duck billing snouts

There are more morphs with different issues. There are threads that you can search here that list all known ones.

[aalomon]

I would like to add, with the exception of the spider gene (and possibly the woma, I honestly do not know), the defects mentioned above are trends. Not all caramel females are infertile, not all luecys have duckbills....however ALL spiders wobble.

It also seems that all desert females are infertile depending who you talk to, but theres already a huge thread (make that threads) on that Ill let you read.

[cecilbturtle]

i had two spiders for a few years that i never once saw any wobble.

is it just that i either never saw it or it wasn't as noticeable?

[John1982]

i had two spiders for a few years that i never once saw any wobble.

is it just that i either never saw it or it wasn't as noticeable?

Some are so slight that you won't notice anything unless you're looking for it but it's there all the same.

[OhhWatALoser]

There is a VERY recent thread detailing issues with some of the morphs.

yep, 5 threads down... lol

[mues155]

Just another great post that shows a little research can do you so good when deciding what morphs to get into.

[whispersinmyhead]

I love spiders but opted for a pastel because I was worried (needlessly) about the wobble. As far as I have heard it is usually slight and doesn't affect their lively hood. I just didn't want to chance it on my first but if we get another it may be a spider.

There are so many that have no documented defects that it stl makes for amazing choices in morphs. Now that we have our first I wouldn't let something like a wobble (unless really dramatic) stop me from getting morph like a spider.