Ball Pythons through Major League Reptiles eyes

[majorleaguereptiles]

I hope everyone can put their emotions aside for this post and read it with an open mind and open heart for their love of these animals. I'm not trying to rewrite the book. I just want people for a moment to step into my world on how I see ball pythons.

The biggest difference I see between myself and really anyone I've ever known, is that while most people look at ball pythons for markers that they feel are genetic, I look for markers that are NOT genetic.

In 3 years I've gone through over 100,000 imported ball pythons. I've spent weeks looking at each one closely. Taking in everything I could. Deformities, spinal kinks, hard bellies, bug eyes, small heads, weight, skin, how these correlated with one other and their appearance. How did the pattern look with these deformities? What was the cause? They were incubated in their natural environment, how could they look like that? What is the pattern doing during development? Did it stop? Did it go too far? Why? Is this genetic? Is it not genetic?

I've studied every mutation that has proven genetic that I could find, and I've studied them HARD. Even more, I've studied every ball python that has failed to proven genetic even HARDER. I've been able to compile data that has allowed my eyes to see ball pythons in a whole different light. At the end of the day, I really haven't expected anyone to see it the same way either. I've sat back and really tried to think if anyone has done this before. I've talked to long time experienced breeders, people involved in large amount of ball pythons, and I haven't found anyone. No one who truly took the time to evaluate appearance vs. genetics that I seem to have and thoroughly enjoyed doing. I think most would simply run through imports, looking for the best looking animal, so they could make the most money on. While I love finding beautiful imports, I've spend my time analyzing all ball pythons. I actually spend more time looking at the deformed balls, than I do on the beautiful morph that I know is going to sell to the world in 3-4 years.

In my studying, I've found that a large portion of ball pythons take on an appearance outside their genetics. It's actually quite common, and frustrating for someone looking for cool genetics. Seeing something beautiful and knowing it had a developmental issue frustrates me. However, what even frustrates me more is knowing that it could actually be a mutation that had a developmental issue and I'm not going to know. I actually proved a morph from an incubation issue animal last year. Babies were a new morph that looked nothing like the parent. Ralph did the same dinking around years ago breeding a couple labyrinth types together. We both thought it was pretty cool that we have a new morph that looks nothing like the original animal that had developmental problem appearance. Sometimes, I try to do some reverse engineering and see if there is a possibility that this "developmental issue import" is actually a morph. More times than not, I move on knowing I probably don't want to work with it knowing it didn't take on the appearance of it's genetics, and I don't want to sell it to someone who will think it is either.

In the captive bred world, I actually see great examples of morphs that have taken on an appearance outside their genetics. I keep to myself as to not dampen the breeders outlook on their beautiful hatchling. At the same time, I see amazing examples of morphs, and see that it actually does have it's genetic appearance, and often times I know it actually has another gene involved. That has been the beauty in my recent run at ball pythons. I've actually been able to obtain new genetics from other breeders in the CB world who have failed to see the difference. It's something I actually wish more people could do, because it's fun knowing you got something more for your buck right?

Seeing how every ball python has genetics that it will pass onto the offspring. So how does this all relate to the http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...e-Pieds-(Jinx) thread and what I've learned?

Well the problem is people are interpreting that het pieds can look like a normal. But, I've seen no one mentioned that maybe its the normal that can look like a het pied. Now if that confuses you, let me say it again. It's not a het pied looking like a normal, its a normal looking like a het pied. While het pieds have phenotypic expression which would make it a inc-dom mutation, so do other ball pythons that many would simply refer to as a "normal". Grasping the fact that all balls have their own genes is hard to comprehend. Sometimes, in the wild genes line up and make a super form. Two subtle (often referred to as hets) breed together and make a super that someone can actually recognize as a morph. Lets use super sentinel, super paint, neo, super speckled, nazca morph for example. Here we have 5 morph names which actually expresses the same in super form. The heterozygous form is very mute, and could be referred to as a het, but these have all been referred to as inc-dom. Why? They are newer age morphs where people have looked at them with a closer eye than they did with the Pied back in the day. There has been a huge difference in understanding ball python in a very short period of time. Another example is the arroyo/rio project I used in the pied thread. It's not that arroyos aren't visual, it's just that sometimes what someone would refer to as a normal can look like an arroyo. Now that's the point I'm trying to make.

I can show off a new yellow import, and someone might call it a pastel. Even though it proves to be not a pastel, someone recognized it as such because it was yellow. It wasn't until you really analyzed the small differences when you can tell them apart. So what I'm saying here is that even though two snakes can look the same, they are different genetically. So even though a normal takes on the appearance of a het pied, and many do, it doesn't mean a het pied is a normal. It simply means there are normals who have their own genetic expression as well.

Saying a normal has het pied tracks, so then het pieds must be normal is incorrect when it comes down to pure genetic definition. Different mutations can take on the same phenotypic appearance, but be completely different genetically. The only difference here with HETS is that the expression is subtle and can resemble a larger majority of low expression mutations (AKA NORMALS).

I understand this is quite different than most people view ball pythons. In no way shape or form am I pressing this on anyone to view the same way. This is simply how I view ball pythons in the world. I'm different I guess. There are no normals in my book. Maybe I'm crazy, but I can tell you that I've been able to train my eyes at seeing ball pythons to a different level. When I go through ball pythons, it's not like I'm keeping 100,000 imports and saying I'm going to prove them all as different mutations and take over the world. I understand that phenotypic expression is what sells in this industry, so I select ball pythons that have a different visual appearance that is represented accurately based on their appearance, and will genetically pass it down to their offspring. That's my definition of a morph that goes into the books. Sometimes they are subtle, but I honestly believe with selective breeding, many super forms will continue to pop up in this industry for years to come that will blow people away if they look towards these subtle morphs.

I'm sure many people will continue to view ball pythons in a simple form. Pretty, ugly, dark, light, yellow, orange, busy, or reduced. I know at the end of the day, beauty sells. It's hard to convince anyone in somethings potential without seeing the beauty already. Especially in this industry, and I don't think that is going to change. I just hope people can look deeper at these ball pythons and appreciate everything they have to offer us. I think if you want to make this a business, I would urge you to look hard, and you will be able to benefit more in your future.

I've been doing this since 2007 and it is surprising how far I've come in a short period of time. When I retired from professional baseball, I transferred my passion into this field. I've been able to broaden my ability because I didn't stick to the book. I still have aspirations to work back in baseball in the front office, scouting, coaching, or player development, so I really have no idea how this business is going to end up for me. I've never counted on this to be my lifeline and I've done it because it truly has been fun. I've enjoyed what I've been able to accomplish in a short period of time. It's great to earn the respect of others who have done this for a long time, but even more frustrating to see others avoid you because you do something differently. I hope this industry stays strong for a long time. I really do. I believe it's going to come down to people appreciating the small things.

Thanks for taking the time to read feel free to comment, encourage, or argue my view. Again, its not meant to be anything other than a perspective post.

Brant

[RoseyReps]

Very interesting read and point of view. I for one, enjoyed it and the peek into how you look at all the ball pythons you go through. Well written!

[bfirecat]

A great read and very interesting write up!

[BHReptiles]

Very insightful and encouraging!

[Coopers Constrictors]

Well said, Brant.

[charlene.payne]

Very well said, and a better insight on what's going on.

[angeluscorpion]

Very well said Brant. I really like how you said that you weren't afraid to go against the grain of the norm, that's how all great things get started. Something as simple as looking hard and giving something a chance can prove monumental. Just look at us for instance, the 13 Colonies believed in a simple idea and look what became of that. I'm not saying every snake that is a little off is going to chance everything, but what if it did? If no one took the chance how would we ever know. Something that just came to mind if the orangebelly, everyone says it's just another yellowbelly and that they are the same. But only a handful of combos are listed, what if it reacts differently from yellowbelly in other morphs? We won't know until someone tries and shares the outcome. I think Brant has a great outlook on this and it's one that should be applied more often. In the words of Journey "Don't stop believing"

[RoseyReps]

Very well said Brant. I really like how you said that you weren't afraid to go against the grain of the norm, that's how all great things get started. Something as simple as looking hard and giving something a chance can prove monumental. Just look at us for instance, the 13 Colonies believed in a simple idea and look what became of that. I'm not saying every snake that is a little off is going to chance everything, but what if it did? If no one took the chance how would we ever know. Something that just came to mind if the orangebelly, everyone says it's just another yellowbelly and that they are the same. But only a handful of combos are listed, what if it reacts differently from yellowbelly in other morphs? We won't know until someone tries and shares the outcome. I think Brant has a great outlook on this and it's one that should be applied more often. In the words of Journey "Don't stop believing"

And... now I'm singing Journey...Thanks

[Royal Hijinx]

Good stuff!

Even if folks do not 100% agree with you, hopefully they will at least step back and take a better look for themselves.

[Theodore Tibbitts]

In my response to the Pied topic I referenced the possibility normals could look het pied. :-) but yeah, good write-up!