21 Ball Python Morphs with Problems!

Comments · 227

• TO

  @toddstrange9184 · 6 years ago

  Seeing a snake crawling on it's back sounds terrifying

  73

• JA

  @jadesstars · 5 years ago

  I personally think no pattern or morph is more important then any severe issues that we could be preventing. There are soooo many beautiful snakes and we should know when to take a step back and retire certian morphs.

  74

• SH

  @Shannonbarnesdr1 · 6 years ago

  it  is so sad,  i think its horrible when people breed them to the point of having  health issues and such,  snakes are same as any other animal, they deserve quality of l ife and respect as well as any othr creatures

  187

• FR

  @FreedomAnderson · 6 years ago

  As someone with Spina Bifida "spinal kink" is an understatement and does not accurately describe the severity of the deformity.

  47

• DE

  @debayeuxchats5607 · 5 years ago

  While I disagree completely with continuing Spider lines, I'm very happy that people are bringing up other morphs with issues! I think the reason spider gets picked is because it's EXTREMELY popular because of how long it's been around, so it's just the biggest target, and because so many breeders don't warn people about the wobble. It's easy to see that a snake has bug eyes, or a duck bill, but it's much harder to tell a snake wobbles when it's in a deli cup at a reptile show. I wouldn't dislike it nearly as much if every spider morph seller warned customers that their baby snake may have a severe problem with eating and with moving around as it gets older.

  75

• EL

  @ellebellie316 · 5 years ago

  I just adopted two snakes one being a bumblebee being veryy affected. It’s so sad to watch her it really brings me to tears but i’m happy that now i can give her the life she deserves. It’s just sad when people say it’s cute or it never happens.

  46

• KE

  @kesshami · 4 years ago

  Watching this to determine what morph I might want or want to pass on. Getting my first ball python soon and been research constantly the last few days. This is an important topic to me as it is really important to me that the snake I get lives a good quality life.

  30

• TH

  @TheYgds · 5 years ago

  Dang! Wrote a whole long post hypothesizing about the relationship between the neurological and eye disorders to the coloration. I guessed it had to relate to some sort of transcription factor. Turns out I was right. Found a paper that goes over what little is currently known about ball python genetics. Also found a 2018 post looking for grad students to investigate the basis of ball python coloration. Hopefully someone will start publishing more in this field so a better understanding can be obtained.<br><br>One really interesting detail, turns out melanocytes (color bearing cells) develop from the neural crest, which also goes on to differentiate into neuronal tissues. Therefore, if there is something mutated in the transcription factor genes (genes that code for proteins that then regulate other genes) expressed in the neural crest, it is very likely that both the color and the neuronal function will be affected. It definitely points to the likely cause of the head wobble and eye hyper/hypotrophy. Kinks might also be somewhat linked, but to me it is a bit less obvious how. <br><br>It would be neat to get a much fuller view of the actual reasons behind the genetic defects and thereby perhaps develop methods of intervention that might be able to facilitate the breeding of healthy individuals with the desired patterns. Find ways to either decouple or ameliorate the neuronal effects from the pigmentation effects. <br><br>Here is the only paper I could find on the subject: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/abi/2016/1286510/

  13

• DU

  @Dude_its_Lyz · 6 years ago

  I&apos;ve got an Axanthic Killerbee, we call her Wonton. &nbsp;I have noticed a wobble in her that is very slight, and it only happens on feeding day when she is moments away from feeding. &nbsp;I think it varies spider to spider, and some have severe issues, and others don&apos;t. Honestly, if I hadn&apos;t known about the wobble I would have just chalked her quirk up to excitement.

  16

• MY

  @myanimalsandi4184 · 6 years ago

  I had a spider morph when I was 7 he had such severe head wobble we had to put him down cause he kept smacking his head on his hides and he couldn&apos;t really function anymore so at 7 i got the choice to put him down and i did so he didn&apos;t hurt his head anymore.....his head had scars from hitting his head so it was just better to put him down cause we couldn&apos;t really help the head wobble at that point

  31

• DO

  @douglasgriffiths3534 · 2 years ago

  I had a BEL Texas Rat Snake several years ago. &nbsp;He was great, really gentle and easy to handle. &nbsp;He had bug eyes too. &nbsp;It used to be almost the norm with these BELs. &nbsp;I see now that this has been mostly bred out of these snakes. &nbsp;I do have a Black eyed Lucy ball python now, a super Fire. &nbsp;She has normal sized beautiful black eyes with red pupils. &nbsp;She will be bred to my calico male this season. &nbsp;(Jan Griffiths).

  2

• NA

  @nataliesreptiles · 6 years ago

  Chris,<br>When I was first getting into watching reptile youtube channels, I wasn&apos;t as interested in your channel at first. <br>But now that I&apos;m thinking about dipping my toes into the ball python breeding world, I can&apos;t get enough. All your information is so great and helpful. And you present it in such a simplified up-front way. I love it. Keep up the good work, because now I&apos;m following your channel religiously.

  10