I don't think it's a "can of worms" .... You had a valid question which on a message board will inevitable stir a discussion. That's what we're here for, right?

Forrest - It's not so much that ball pythons are "seasonal" breeders ... they can be bred at any point during the year ... but, they will only breed once a year ... if that.

Ken - No, there have been no wide spread health associated problems when breeding ball python morphs. Real breeders that are breeding these snakes for passion and money use every opportunity to outcross their bloodlines as much as possible. But, snakes being lower ordered organisms, their genetics are not as complicated as higher ordered animals (like mammals) and not as susceptible to defect and health problems. If you look at corn snakes (which have been bred in captivity for what seems like forever), some strains have been inbred for as many as 13 generations with no ill side-effects .... ball python breeding is in it's mere infancy comparably with only a handful of captive bred generations.

-adam