What makes a lesser ball python

Ghost morphs have a normal pattern but are paler in color. They are lighter tans, yellows, and even have gray flaming along the sides of the spots at the belly side. They are recognized by their dark lavender base coloration with bright orange blotches. Each of these blotches fades to a yellow color along the edge giving the illusion that the spots are glowing. Some Coral Glow morphs resemble Banana ball pythons as they can have dark specks along their body.

Also called the Puma, the Champagne morph is one of the most unique patterns of any snake in this list. They tend to be anywhere from tan to dark brown in color with a light stripe down their spine. Other than their color gradient, these snakes lack any real pattern. Because of their unique pattern they are often bred to create variations of patternless morphs. The Red gene is a basic, dominant trait that affects color alone. This Ball Python is popular with breeders because it brings out copper and red hues in other morph patterns.

It can also intensify color contrasts with darker morphs. The Lemon Blast is a clever mix of the codominant Pastel and dominant Pinstripe genes. This designer morph tends to have fine-lined, complex linear patterns of dark brown and black colors, sometimes with flecks of color scattered around the body. The base color can be bright yellow to sunset orange with a lighter, pattern less pinstripe along the spine.

The Highway pattern is an incredible designer morph created by crossing a Gravel with a Yellow Belly. Most Highways have a base color of copper-brown to gray-brown, though some can take on a more pastel yellow color. Some are solidly colored along the body and others can have small rings. Regardless of color, all Highways have a yellow, broken stripe pattern along their spine similar. Some stripes may have a dark shadow around them, emphasizing the bright pattern.

The higher the contrast in the morph, the higher the price. Dreamsicles are highly complex designer ball pythons that require generations of breeding to ultimately achieve an Albino-Lavender and Piebald mix. All three Albino, Lavender and Piebald of these genes are recessive, making the morph even harder to produce, though the coloration is well worth it to many breeders.

Each blotch is bright orange and well defined, often containing small spots of white as well, a trait not usually observed in normal Piebalds. Yellow Bellies are known for their ability to intensify the color of other morphs when bred together. They have only subtle differences from normal Ball Pythons. They have a clean, yellowish tint on their bellies and a speckled pattern bordering their scutes. Otherwise, they appear totally normal. This morph is named for their banding pattern because it mimics the Woma Python.

These snakes have brown sides that gradually lighten towards the spine. Their heads are dark with mild blushing and yellow upper lips. They also have dark bands across their bodies that become thinner towards the belly. The Phantom ball python possesses a gene that is extremely close, if not the same, as the one that causes the Mystic morph. Most of these snakes have a black base color that fades to tan as it approaches a white belly.

Their pattern has dark golden-yellow alien heads with black spots. They also have spots along their spine with some striping towards the tail. They have a light pink or lavender base color and a bright yellow blotched pattern. There is a slight fading around the blotches, highlighting them for a truly spectacular appearance. Most of the spots have dark centers that are balloon shaped. They also have solid caramel spots along their spines, and their heads appear relatively normal in color and pattern.

When compared with normal variations these snakes have more alien head shapes and have a faded light brown spotting pattern on their head with a dark background. They are truly interesting because of their drastic color changes that occur as they age. Candy balls are hatched looking albino, but quickly begin to wash out in color. They start to take on dark lavender, gray, and beige base colors while keeping the bright yellow patterning.

An interesting fact about Candies is that though they possess recessive genes, they display codominant patterns with Albino and Toffee morphs. Candy and Toffee morphs were caught from the same bush in Africa, stemming controversy about the legitimacy of their morph separation. The origin of this morph is unknown but they are a designer morph bred by combing a dominant Desert gene with a codominant Enchi gene. Tigers are a light yellow color that fades to an orange hue along the sides.

They have dark brown bands across their back with spots and shorter horizontal stripes throughout the pattern. They also have dark heads and noses with lighter portions along the sides of the face and the mouth. The Super Blast is a designer pattern produced by combing a Super Pastel snake with a Pinstripe 3 different genes.

The beautiful Super Blast receives lot of attention from Ball Python fans. These snakes are a hazy, bright pastel yellow color. They have thin, faded black vertical lines along the sides of a light-striped spine. Their face has dark spotting which is an odd trait considering the lighter color of the rest of the body. Acid ball pythons have a dark brown or black base color with golden brown spots resembling a broken up normal pattern. Their most interesting feature is their intricately patterned belly.

It is yellowish with a black zipper-like line along the entire snake. The dominant gene responsible for their pattern is one of very few that can overtake an Ivory gene. These snakes are born to standard Ball Python parents but display a small spot or ring of white near the end of their tail.

Blue-Eyed Leucistics are pure white with blue eyes and are extremely rare to find. So apparently they are pretty dull in look. There are other morphs that are more famous for their glorious colors and extraordinary patterns. As it has been seen that the demand for lesser ball pythons is high, most of the breeders are focusing on the breeding of lesser ball pythons. This is a reason their price has been dropped and they have become more available.

But on the other hand, butter ones are bred less and thus they can become pricey. To date, the butter and the lesser are priced at a similar range. Not all can understand or recognize morphed ball pythons. So if you have bought one ball python and are unsure of which one is morphed and which is original then check then you may need to follow this trick.

Tracking the parents is one sure-shot way of checking if the offspring is morphed. When the parents are both from the morphed community then the baby must be a morphed ball python. Also if either of the parents is morphed then there can be a chance of getting a morphed baby. The colour of the morphed ball pythons is difficult to recognize at a very young age.

Even after a year, the colour does not become much prominent to guess the ball python to be morphed or not. Only when the morphed ball pythons are fully grown, can they be recognized by the pattern or colour of their body. Though amateur breeders or sometimes professional breeders breed new morphs, which are not regular or recognized morphs, those would not be considered as true morphs.

Only the listed morphs are scientifically recognized as morphed ball python variety. There are a few very interesting varieties of lesser ball pythons like cinnamon lesser pinstripe pastel yellow belly, blackhead ghi lesser red gene, lesser bee, black pastel lesser Huffman, lesser pastel spot nose trick, banana lesser pastel pinstripe spider, enchi leopard lesser pastel pinstripe, banana ball butter lesser, banana cinnamon lesser pastel etc.

The different variations that come from the breeding of lesser ball pythons are extremely satisfying, so if you think of keeping any of this as a pet, and not for breeding purpose, that is totally fine and understandable. The smooth and glossy texture and pale yet sober colouration make them one of the most beautiful morphed ball pythons. Anna is certified, professional Veterinary Doctor. She have been a practicing Veterinarian for more than 2 years.

Their brown and yellow coloring is often more radiant than the classic ball python morph. Check out how the morphs can vary in color. Some show off more luminous and bright colors, while others appear softer with lighter browns and creams. Take a look at these interesting morphs:. When you take a moment to consider the incredible variety of ball python morphs, two things become apparent. Firstly, these snakes make incredible pets.

With their calm nature and friendly demeanor, a ball python morph is arguably one of the most popular species to keep as pets. Secondly, being easy to breed, these snakes can produce insanely beautiful offspring. Each snake can hold completely unique coloring and fascinating patterns. A 30 or gallon tank is usually adequate for a full-grown ball python. Spot clean your tank as often as necessary and do a complete removal and deep clean once every month.

This includes removing the substrate and all accessories to disinfect them and start fresh. Make sure you have at least one cage hide inside for them to crawl into and feel safe throughout the day. Most people use overhead lighting and keep them on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours. The temperature and humidity are some of the most critical conditions for you to focus on when caring for a lesser ball python.

Never guess when controlling the temperature. Instead, buy a thermometer so that you always know exactly how warm it is inside. Underage heating pads are becoming more and more popular among snake owners, but there is a wide range for you to choose from. Keep a close eye on the humidity levels when the heating pad is on. If you want the cage to look better and feel more like home for your snake, use cypress mulch or orchid bark. These are both great at controlling humidity levels. Feeding Your Lesser Ball Python Lesser ball pythons are strict carnivores, and you should feed them one appropriately sized rodent each week.

Rat pups or small mice are both good options to feed to your ball python. Do not handle your lesser ball python for at least 24 hours after you feed them, or they might regurgitate their food. Always observe the feeding because if you leave them alone, then they could injure your snake.