Keyholes – the balloon-shaped spots on the side that typically have a dark central spot.

Flaming – lighter coloration bordering the sides of keyholes and alien heads around their base.

Designer morph – when a breeder selectively breeds two or more basic morphs to create a pattern that has an almost 0% chance of occurring naturally.Blushing – the faded color gradient present in the base color of many snakes.Basic morph – Base morphs are naturally mutated snakes that occurred in the wild or have a high likelihood of having originated there.Alien Heads – distorted heart-shaped blotches containing two symmetrical dark spots, like a pair of eyes.Recessive – recessive alleles are “hidden genes” that only show up when they are paired with another recessive trait.īelow is a list of key terms you should get to know before exploring our list of Ball Python Morphs:.Dominant – dominant alleles hide the effects of the second allele and “dominate” the pattern or coloration.This allows a unique combination of visible traits. Codominance – occurs when the offspring inherits two alleles (alternative forms of a gene) that have incomplete dominance.Breeders look to exploit these three genes to produce different morphs: That is why genes can be dominant, recessive, or codominant. The genes that make up ball python morphs are passed on through inheritance – just like with humans. They use selective breeding to produce especially vivid and interesting color variations. Morphs are bred by specialized snake breeders who try to isolate mutations found naturally in the wild. Fire Ivory (Fire Super Yellow Belly)īall Python Morphs are Ball Python snakes that have been selectively bred for a specific color or pattern appearance. Females breed in the wild at weights as low as 800 g though 1200 g or more in weight is most common in captivity, breeders generally wait until they are no less than 1500 g (3.3 lb). Males breed at 600 g or more, but in captivity are often not bred until they are 800 g (1.7 lb), although, in captivity, some males have been known to begin breeding at 300–400 g. Age is only one factor in determining reproductive maturity and ability to breed weight is the second factor.

Reproductive maturity is reached at 11-18 months for males and 20-36 months for females. Parental care of the eggs ends once they hatch, and the female leaves the offspring to fend for themselves. Eggs are incubated by the female under the ground (via a shivering motion), and hatch after 55 to 60 days. Females lay 3 to 11 large, leathery eggs (4 to 6 are most common). They usually breed from mid-September through mid-November. Ball pythons are polygynandrous (promiscuous) which means that both males and females mate with multiple partners.

Machacha ball python