Genetic Defects

[Spaniard]

Some people call it a morph but IMO the Derma ball is a genetic defect also.

[littleindiangirl]

That's true, but it isn't linked to any one color or pattern gene.

[Spaniard]

I know but since we're on the genetic defects topic, I just wanted to through it out there. C'mon Connie its a slow day at work, cut me some slack!

[DLawIII]

Some people call it a morph but IMO the Derma ball is a genetic defect also.

What's the derma ball?

[DLawIII]

I appreciate the posts but most of the stuff everyone is mentioning is over my head at this point. Can everyone explain things in layman's terms.

[LadyOhh]

I appreciate the posts but most of the stuff everyone is mentioning is over my head at this point. Can everyone explain things in layman's terms.

What is it that you want to know?

[DLawIII]

What is it that you want to know?

No I'm finding this all very helpful. I guess I just wanted to know if certain morphs tended to display unusual characteristics. I guess in some cases the answer is yes.

I'm still wondering if normal ball pythons with good blood are healthier, more active, better eaters, etc.... than the morphs.

I want to possible breed down the road and I just don't know if I want to get into the morphs. It doesn't seem like ANYOne breeds just plain vanilla BPs.

On a side note. Without knowing much about wild populations of BP's I guess I usually like the idea of captive bred snakes and not wild collected. But in the case of BP's, as the generations of these new morphs keep piling up, I think the gene pool will eventually become all muddled up and wild caught will be a necessity. Just thinking out loud.. Well actually still silently.

[kthulhu]

Is it really true that when the homozygous woma is mixed with other mutations that they thrive better? I know NERD as done pearl lessers, but I have no idea if any survived and alot of people seem hush hush about it. If the pearls all die because of some neurological defect (presumably because the homo recessive knocks out the function of some neuro gene) why would adding an unrelated mutation, like a lesser, compensate for the defect?

[LadyOhh]

It doesn't seem like ANYOne breeds just plain vanilla BPs.

Vanillas are a morph

[wolfy-hound]

There are TONS of normals being bred also. The ball python in Africa is actually doing better in these years than they were doing previously. That is supposed to be due to people clearing land and planting crops that increase the rodent populations.