Ball Python Gallery

Here are some visual Ball Python morphs that we are currently working with. We are also working with Heterozygous and Double Heterozygous animals, but since they appear normal, they won't be shown.
	Pastel Hypo Het Red Axanthic is the combination of two co-dominant genes (Pastel and Het Red Axanthic) and the homozygous form of the recessive gene Orange Ghost (also known as Hypo). In 2012, we produced a pair of these and are very pleased with the result! The easiest way to distingish these from just Pastel Hypos is that Pastel Hypo Het Red Axanthics have silver eye-bands straight out of the egg and have held them so far, whereas Pastel Hypos have bright orange or yellow eye-bands. Also, these have more of a silvery hue to them and also exhibit characteristic Het Red Axanthics patterns. To our knowledge, our female is the only known female Pastel Hypo Het Red Axanthic in existence.
	Super Pastel Orange Ghost, aka SPOG is the double homozygous form of both Pastel and Orange Ghost (Hypo). Our SPOG male was hatched by Corey Woods in 2004, and was the first SPOG ever produced. This animal has great potential! The SPOG takes out all of the guess work that goes on with Pastel Ghosts and Pastel Het Ghosts. When bred to a Normal, all of the hatchlings will be Pastels het Orange Ghost (Hypo). Imagine the possibilities when bred to other morphs and combos! I love his bright coloration and the fact that he is a genetic powerhouse!
	Champagne has been deemed a dominant mutation for the time being. There are attempts in the works to produce a super form, but for now it is considered to be a dominat trait. The Champagne is a gorgeous golden snake, nearly patternless besides some dorsal striping, with solid black eyes. Champagnes are quite variable in their coloration and patterns, just like Pieds. Our Champagne is on the lighter side, has a medium amount of striping, and is also het for Hypo. There is a lot yet to be done with the Champagne gene. Though there have been a few different comos produced, there are still many cool projects to work on. Some of my favorite combos that have been produced so far are the Mimosa (Hypo Champagne), Lesser Champagne, and Pewter-pagne (Pastel Cinnamon Champagne).
	Pewter is a combination of two co-dominant mutations, Pastel and Cinnamon. Pewters can also be produced using a Black Pastel instead of a Cinnamon. These are called Black Pewters. Our Pewter is from a Cinnamon, and she is possible het for Hypo as well! Pewters are the heterozygous form of both Pastel and Cinnamon/Black Pastel, so there are also super forms of the morphs. Super Pastel Cinnamon is known as a Sterling Pastel. Super Pastel Black Pastel is known as a Silver Streak. Pastel Super Cinny/Black Pastel is know as a Silver Bullet. The double super, known as the Super Pewter, was produced in 2008 by The Boa Basement.
	Pastel Yellowbelly is a combination of two co-dominant genes, Pastel and Yellowbelly. The Yellowbelly gene intensifies the yellow coloration from the Pastel gene, as well as increasing the amount of blushing and flames, creating a stunning animal! Pastel Yellowbellies are extremely valuable to have in your collection, especially with all of the new genes that have been found to be allelic with the Yellowbelly gene. Use these to create gorgeous Super Pastel Yellowbellies and Pastel Ivories, or throw in some other genes and produce Pastel Super Stripes, Pastel Yellowbelly Fires, Pastel Highways, or any other crazy combination you can think of! There are so many possibilities with a Pastel Yellowbelly! This boy was produced here at UltimateHerps.
	Genetic Stripe, aka G-Stripe, is a recessive mutation that has a stripe running the length of its back and has minimal side pattern. Some Genetic Stripes do have breaks in their stripes, but it is not preferred. The Genetic Stripe is completely unrelated to the Super Stripe, which is a Yellowbelly Spector/Whirlwind. Some normals do exhibit striping down their body to some extent, some even have a full stripe, but they are not the same as a Genetic Stripe. Some Genetic Stripe combos are Super Pastel Genetic Stripe, Pastel Genetic Stripe, Hypo Genetic Stripe, Motley Bee (Spider Genetic Stripe), and Albino Genetic Stripe.
	Albino, aka Tyrosinase-negative (T-) Albino, is a recessive mutation and was the first Ball Python morph ever produced in captivity. Bob Clark produced the first Albino Ball Python hatched in captivity in 1992. Albinos lack all black pigment, which causes a gorgeous yellow and white snake to be produced. There are multiple "types" of T- Albinos including Faded Albinos, High Contrast Albinos, "Yellow Blush" Albinos, and regular Albinos. The homozygous Albino female at left has very little white on her compared to the majority of Albinos. The solid yellow head is interesting as well. It'll be interesting to see if her hatchlings are "different". Some Albino combos include Albino Pied, Albino Spider, Polar Ball (Albino BEL), Albino Pinstripe, and Pastel Albino.
	Het Red Axanthic is a co-dominant mutation that was first produced by Corey Woods in 2001. Since it is a co-dominant trait, the Heterozygous (Het) form is visually different from both normals and the Homozygous form (Red Axanthic). Het Red Axanthic is a very subtle morph. They have lots of blushing on their backs, which is the dark red patches of color along the spine. They also have flames, and a unique side pattern. Het Reds produced from a Homozygous Red Axanthic tend to have a more wild and aberrant pattern, while ones produced from a Het Red tend to display a more simple pattern, like the one at left. Our female Het Red is also possible Het for Orange Ghost (Hypo). Some combos of the Het Red Axanthic include the Pastel Het Red, the Cinnamon Het Red, and the Black Pastel Het Red. Don't let the normal coloration on the Het Red Axanthics turn you away from Het Reds. This is a very cool mutation that has tons of potential!
	Pastel (Pastel Jungle) is a co-dominant mutation that was first produced in 1997 by Greg Graziani of Graziani Reptiles. Since it is a co-dominant morph, the Pastel has a Super form call Super Pastel. Our Pastels are all Graziani Line. Pastels and Super Pastels are key "ingredients" in many cool combo-morphs. Some of my favorites include the SPOG (Super Pastel Orange Ghost) above, Sterling Pastel/Silver Streak, Killer Clown (Super Pastel Clown), Killer Bee (Super Pastel Spider), Pastel Lavender Albino, and the Pastel Piebald.
	Yellowbelly (Het Ivory) is a co-dominant mutation that was first produced by Dan and Colette Sutherland of The Snake Keeper in 2003. Ivory, the homozygous form of Yellowbelly, is an off-white snake with a faint yellow dorsal stripe and sometimes a grayish head. Yellowbelly, aka Het Ivory, is a very subtle trait. Yellowbellies have lots of blushing, flames, yellowish color near their belly (and sometimes on their belly), a circular head spot, and a speckled pattern running down the sides of their belly. From what I've seen, most Yellowbellies also tend to have either a brighter overall coloration, or bright scales outlining their pattern. Yellowbellies from our stock tend to produce bright yellow scales all along the dorsal pattern, as seen in the female to the left. Despite their almost normal appearance, Yellowbellies have huge potential! When bred to other subtle morphs they seem to produce some amazing combos including the Ebony (Yellowbelly x Granite) and the Super Stripe (Yellowbelly x Spector/Whirlwind)! An Ebony is an extremely dark animal with a stripe running the length of its body and specks and splotches of side pattern. The Super Stripe, completely unrelated to the Genetic Stripe, is a vivid snake with a gold stripe running the length of its body and splotches of side pattern. Isn't it interesting that both the super form of the Yellowbelly (Ivory) and two combos (Ebony and Super Stripe) all have a complete stripe? My guess is that there are many exciting Yellowbelly combos yet to be produced! Other cool Yellowbelly combos include the Bumble Belly (Pastel Spider Yellowbelly), Pastel Mojave Yellowbelly, and Hypo Yellowbelly. The female at left was produced here at UltimateHerps.
	Dinker Project #1: A dinker project is a project where you breed an otherwise normal animal that looks "different" to try and prove that it is a genetic trait. I am currently working with a female who is much darker and has a "deeper" black than my normals. She has tons of striping on her, including a stretch of over 12 inches of unbroken striping leading up to her tail. She has dark eyes, a dark head, and a diamond-ish shaped spot on her head. She also has what I call a "messy belly", lots of flames, and she has speckled/strange colors on her side. I've seen a few similar animals listed on other breeders' sites, so I'm hoping that she proves to be genetic. UPDATE: This female finally laid a clutch of eggs on March 3, 2009. Two males exhibiting the same "look" hatched from the clutch on May 29, 2009. This means that this is a genetically inheritable trait, and it appears to be either Dominant or Co-Dominant. Both males are being held back. Since it does appear to be genetic, this project has been named "BLACK DIAMOND". Learn more about this project. The original female is pictured at left with a Graziani Pastel male, who was in shed in the picture.
	Dinker Project #2 consists of a female who produced a clutch of animals that all hatched out with some very unique markings. They all had varying degrees of a bright orange stripe on their sides that ran the length of their bodies. They also have white scales outlining the bottom portion of their side pattern and lots of flames. All of the hatchlings had granite speckling to some degree. Some had a few large spots, while others had tons of little black specks on their sides. All of them also had a long stripe down the side of their neck on one side. They were all very pretty animals. Unfortunately, I had to sell the entire clutch in order to fund another project, but I still have the mother, who will hopefully produce more hatchlings like these this year. The male at left is now owned by Jake Wallace.
	Normal or "Wild Type" Ball Pythons are Normal appearing Ball Pythons. Heterozygous Ball Pythons (Hets) are normal appearing Ball Pythons that carry the genes for recessive morphs (such as Albino, Hypo, Genetic Stripe, Piebald, Clown, etc.) We have several Normal, Heterozygous, and Double Heterozygouse breeder females in our collection. These are bred to morph males to produce morphs and Hets. We'll usually produce some normal hatchlings in a clutch from crossing co-dominant morph males to our normal breeder females. The female at left is Double Het for Albino Genetic Stripe (Striped Albino) and was produced here at UltimateHerps.