The Desert Ball

[Albey]

Recently there was a post asking about the pricing on Stan Chiras’s Desert Ball. I am sure a lot of people here on the Forum are not familiar with this killer new Morph so here is a little information on them. I am also including some pictures of the one I own, some of Stan’s crosses, and one of a great looking Desert Enchi (Tiger Ball) that Peter Kahl produced. Here is a picture of my Desert just to get things started. I obtained it from Stan at the Daytona show this year.



The Desert is a relatively new morph of Ball Python that presently has two lines. Both Stan Chiras and Peter Kahl have proven them and are presently working with them. This is the history of them as told to me by Stan.

Around 2001 Stan Chiras purchased his original Desert male as a yearling import. At the time of purchase it was assumed to be a Desert Ghost. When imported it was about 350 grams but grew quickly and bred the following year. It was bred to a Normal Female and the offspring were expected to be Normal looking Het Desert Ghost. Much to his surprise two of the babies looked just like the Father. Around this same time Peter Kahl imported a like animal that he also thought was a Desert Ghost. His Desert did the same thing as Stan’s. Stan and Peter compared their animals and determined that they were the same thing. Instead of being a Simple Recessive trait it appears to be Co-Dom. That should be proven this year, as both Stan and Peter will be breeding Desert-to-Desert trying to produce a Super. Hopefully it will not produce a White Snake. LOL

Next up we have some more pictures of my Desert. I love this snake.








Here are a few pictures of some of the crosses that have been done so far. I didn’t take these pictures, they are courtesy of Stan Chiras.

This one is of a Desert/Spider.


Here is another one of the Desert/Spider.


This little piece of Eye Candy is a Desert/Enchi also known as a Tiger Ball. I apologize for the picture being slightly out of focus but Stan likes to spend his money on great looking carpet not cameras. LOL


This one is of a Desert/Pastel.


Here is another shot of the Desert/Pastel above. I love this one; it has a very different look. I do not know what kind of Pastel he used in this cross but I am sure each different Pastel will add it’s own flavor to the mix.


This last one is of another Desert/Enchi (Tiger Ball).

(The photo above is of a Peter Kahl animal courtesy of Exotics By Nature) This photo I have to make no apologies for. Celia Chien takes some of the best photos out there. I have heard that her taste in carpet is not as refined as Stan’s but no one is perfect. LOL

I can’t wait to see what new cross are produced this year and I really hope there is going to be a killer looking Super.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and I think you will agree with me that this is a very exciting new Morph.

[Patrick Long]

i am at a loss of words

so amazing as to where this hobby is gone, and will continue to go

[Mikkla]

How much are they? I take two!

I would be worth the trip from Sweden just to see one of that combos!

[BChambers]

Albey-those are ALL awesome, particularly the "Tiger" and "desert Pastel".

But I have a question. How did you guys mistake them for Desert Ghost initially? To me at least, they don't look a thing like them.....

[Albey]

Albey-those are ALL awesome, particularly the "Tiger" and "desert Pastel".

But I have a question. How did you guys mistake them for Desert Ghost initially? To me at least, they don't look a thing like them.....

First off I wish I could lay claim to having had something to do with these but I just purchased one. LOL These two pictures were just taken tonight of the Female I purchased from Stan.




She is presently at 500 grams and you can see the pattern on her looks very much like the pattern on a Desert Ghost. Take into consideration that the photos that were sent from Africa of the original animals to Stan and Peter would have been nowhere as clear as these and you can see where the confusion could have been.

[jknudson]

For the smokin' combos they produce the Desert themselves look relatively "normal"... Its VERY cool what subtle morphs like this can unlock! Best of luck with her Albey!

[Mikkla]

How much is it?

[Albey]

For the smokin' combos they produce the Desert themselves look relatively "normal"... Its VERY cool what subtle morphs like this can unlock! Best of luck with her Albey!

Hi Jason,
When I think of relatively “normal” and “subtle morphs” I think of Fires and Vanillas. Just looking at the first five pictures you can see there is nothing subtle or normal about the Desert. They just scream intensity. Even my nicest Pastel’s are no match for the coloration on her. The second set of pictures where I tried to show the pattern that made Stan and Peter think they were Desert Ghost; I purposefully over exposed the pictures to emphasize the pattern. It didn’t hurt that she is getting ready to go into blue to emphasize the ghost appearance. That washed out her coloration even more. No doubt about it, these guys rock.

PS By the way, this is not a promotion for Desert Ball sales. My Female is only 500 grams and even if I used JASBALLS breeding schedule I would have to wait at least another two months to breed her. LOL Just funning with you John, You know I love ya.

[DanielA989]

very nice!

[starmom]

Albey, these are great pictures!
Are you saying that the desert is a WC, originally and not a morph? Wow! I guess they haven't really hit 'the market' yet, given that there are just the two lines right now. They don't look hypomelanistic in the pictures you posted; do they look that way 'in real life'?
Cool herp. Thanks for the education!