Ball Python Morphs: a Beginner's Guide to Genetics and Breeding (2024)

FAQs

How many grams does a female ball python need to be to breed? ›

Breeding Size

A female ball python should be at least 1200 grams before breeding, which she should reach at between 2 and 3 years of age. Males are much smaller, and should be at least 700 grams before breeding. Typically, males will reach this weight by around 8 months of age.

We usually start pairing late November and try to have the first lock on all of our females by Jan. Once we start pairing we aim for every girl to have a lock on them at least once a month until they ovulation. If not using an ultrasound we usually aim for each male to breed 4-6 females.

Lavender Albino Ball Python

The most expensive ball python in the world is always going to be whichever morph is newest and rarest. At one point, the lavender albino ball python was just such a morph. One sold for $40,000, making it the highest known price paid for a ball python to date.

This recessive mutation reduces black pigmentation on the snake's scales. There are various types of ghost pythons, but most look very similar. Ghost Ball Pythons almost always look like they're shedding, even when they are not. They can be various shades of yellow, green, brown, and gray.

The Mystic ball python is an incomplete dominant mutation that was first discovered by Anthony McCain in 2005. This mutation is fairly common, can alter both the color and pattern of the snake and is used to create numerous other combinations.

The Cinnamon Ball Python is an incomplete dominant mutation that alters both color and pattern.

Python regius

Royal pythons have bold patterns on their brown skin and, although their colour varies, it usually includes shades of yellow. The royal python is a very small species of python, which generally does not grow to more than 90 to 120 centimetres. Pythons are not poisonous.

While it is possible for two ball pythons to share the same tank, it's not recommended. There's just too much that can go wrong, and ball pythons are extremely antisocial. Putting the two snakes in the same cage can lead to diseases, stress, feeding issues, and even cannibalism.

Males reach reproductive maturity at 16 to 18 months. Both male and female ball pythons have large cloacal spurs. Breeding occurs yearly. Breeding is from mid-September through mid-November, correlating with the minor rainy season.

We leave them in for 2-3 days or shorter if we observe copulation. We try to breed every female at least once every shed cycle. Some do more but this works for us and we don't exhaust our males this way.

How long is a ball python pregnant? ›

The gestation period is about 44 to 54 days. Most ball pythons lay their eggs during the second half of the dry season, from mid-February to the beginning of April. Eggs are then hatched from mid-April to mid June. Approximately 3 weeks after ovulation, a female ball python begins to shed its skin.

I personally let most of my females incubate their own eggs, resorting to artificial incubation only for small or young females who are not as large or as heavy as I would prefer. While you do not have the same degree of control over a maternally incubated clutch, the female does instinctively know exactly what to do.

The blue-eyed leucistic ball python, also known as the 'Blue Eyed Lucy' is a very rare ball python to come across in the pet trade.

The yellow belly morph was first produced in 1999 by Amir Soleymani. He didn't technically breed the first yellow belly ball python morph. Instead, he discovered this odd snake at a show and thought it was something special. He proved the coloration to be genetic in 2001.

The genetic variations of morphs span a wide range and include a variety of colors and patterns. Ball Python morphs can be pure white and include colors like orange, pink, yellow and purple and colors and hues of nearly everything in between.