Scaleless Head Knowledge Base and Fun

[SamO]

Wow, trepidation. I know I am speaking to really knowledgeable snake keepers and herpers. So for me to say I know anything in this crowd makes me nervous. But I have what I have in my collection and I'd like to share - mostly for all the benefit I have received reading this site but also for the fun of spreading information (hopefully highly accurate) and, you know, the enjoyment of this hobby. Really, talking snakes, is just fun!

So I'd like to document my journey on the Scaleless Head road. And open this thread up to questions and contributions from you all (pronounced "all y'all", where I come from) whether or not you have Scaleless Head.

Right, so to start off, some of you have seen:

Het Albino Pastel Scaleless Head (male)


Another:
Pastel Scaleless Head Spider (male)


And my female:
Het Albino Pastel Scaleless Head


Below are some observations and interesting things I've discovered.

I have mentioned in another thread that something interesting happens when they shed. The eye caps split. I know photos right? Well I kept a shed just to shoot that pick but after it dried you couldn't see it. So I'll have to get a fresh shed. Of course, this has only happened 2 for 2 (one on each male) so I don't know if this happens everytime. Just an observation.

On other fronts SH act like any other ball python.

Anatomically they do have another difference. And I think this one is quite interesting. If I understand correctly one of the defining characteristics of pythons or ball pythons is the single scale cloaca. This is not true in Scaleless Head.

[Eric Alan]

Thanks a ton for sharing. It's exciting to be on the crest of one of the hottest waves in the BP market right now. Best of luck to you, good sir!

PS - "Spider"?

[SamO]

PS - "Spider"?

Thank you for the well wishes. Being a ball python breeder is surely different than being a software engineer, I've got a lot of growing to do.

I don't get your post script. I searched my post for misspelled words, especially "spider" but can't find anything. I'm a terrible speller, as my daughter pointed out in my log book, "Dad you spelled Scaleless, s c a l e s s". Oh brother.

[Eric Alan]

I don't get your post script. I searched my post for misspelled words, especially "spider" but can't find anything. I'm a terrible speller, as my daughter pointed out in my log book, "Dad you spelled Scaleless, s c a l e s s". Oh brother.

Ha! To be honest, I completely missed that you typed Pastel Scaleless Head Spider. Oops!

[guanagator]

I saw the super form (scaleless) in Daytona and while still shocking to look at wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be, honestly I think it looks strange in the face without the heat pits. Without ventral scales he didn't seem to move very well either however the display was acrylic without any texture on bottom so that may been a factor. Also was suprised how many people had the hets for sale. I'm very interested to see how this project plays out over the next few breeding seasons but decided it's not for me. Other photos of hets I've seen have the split ventral scales on entire body interesting yours appears to just the cloaca. Other than the obvious head scales do you notice anything else that acts like a marker? Heard various things about smaller scales overall that kinda change the look of the animal. Very interesting journey your on, will be following intently as this project is very intriguing! Thanks for sharing yours with us!

[piedlover79]

I have to admit that I'm also not a huge fan of the 'Mr. Smooth' that I saw pictures of from Daytona. Kind of like hairless cats, I can't say I go for snakes without scales. Are the scaleless heads 'het' for full scaleless? I don't really know anything about the scaleless project, but good luck!

[ajmreptiles]

The full scaleless form is the homozygous or super form of the the scaleless heads


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[ClarkT]

Looking forward to more info on them, for sure. Hope it goes well with yours.

[SamO]

Other than the obvious head scales do you notice anything else that acts like a marker? Heard various things about smaller scales...

The head scales and the cloaca. As for the smaller scales, my guys are still little, so their scales are naturally small. Compared to my similarly sized Het Sunsets, the SH have much smaller scales. But I have two Enchi Super Pastel Spiders born this year that have no relation to Scaleless Head and their scales are just as small. So I can't say yet, haven't seen enough of their life cycle to be able to answer that.

[Yodawagon]

The head scales and the cloaca. As for the smaller scales, my guys are still little, so their scales are naturally small. Compared to my similarly sized Het Sunsets, the SH have much smaller scales. But I have two Enchi Super Pastel Spiders born this year that have no relation to Scaleless Head and their scales are just as small. So I can't say yet, haven't seen enough of their life cycle to be able to answer that.

Do you just buy the most expensive snakes you can find, holy cow!