This photo has got me really thinking about the exact function of the pastel gene. I used to think it "added yellow". But in the case of this snake, it has no yellow, the pastel didn't add anything. It made the snake lighter (at least that's my impression comparing your photo to the ones of Axanthic Pin babies I googled).

I'm now wondering, does the pastel gene function by taking away some (but not all) of the darker coloring that normally masks the yellow that exists in the snake to allow the yellow to show through better?

Like the yellow on albinos is so pretty because the albino gene removed all of the dark colors leaving behind only the whites and yellows that would be there normally, it doesn't actually add yellow, just takes away the stuff that covered it up.

Does the pastel gene function like that? Taking away some of the stuff that covers up yellow? In which case the pastel gene in the case of an axanthic would be taking away stuff as well which would be the reason your snake looks lighter and cleaner, and wouldn't look more yellow because no yellow to begin with?

Makes me rethink the whole use of the pastel gene and how it affects morphs if the gene functions by "taking away" some dark as opposed to "adding" yellow which is what I'd been thinking it did prior to puzzling over this Axanthic/Pastel snake and trying to figure out how the two genes were working with each other.

If my theory is correct, does it take away a whole color (one of the components that makes up brown) or does it just function to lighten a color, like a hypo kind of thing?

If my theory is totally wrong, could someone explain to me how the pastel gene does function?
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Have you been hugged by your snake today?

Ball Pythons
1.1 100% het Caramel Albinos (Edward & Bella)
0.1 66% ph Caramel Albino (Rosalie)
0.1 Caramel Albino (Bellatrix)
0.1 High Contrast Albino (Princess Buttercup)
1.0 Butterscotch Ghost (Nick)
1.0 Honey Bee (Aragog)
0.1 Pastel Orange Ghost (Nagini)
0.1 Spider 66% ph Ghost(Nymphadora)
1.1 Mojaves (Lucius & Renesme)
0.1 Pastel Lesser (Narcissa)
0.1 Pinstripe (Arwen)
1.0 Pewter (Salazar)
0.1 Bumble Bee (Alice)
0.1 Lemonblast (Luna)
0.1 Blond Pastel (Katie)
1.0 Bell Pastel (Jasper)
0.1 African Dinker (Esme)
0.0.9 Eggs in the incubator (Edward x Bella)
0.0.3 Eggs in the incubator (Jasper x Esme)

Corns
1.1 het Amel, Anery, Charcoal, Bloodred (Romeo & Juliet)
1.0 Blizzard het Bloodred poss het Anery Lav (Tumnus)
0.1 Fire het Anery (Ginny)
0.1 Anery Lav (Lucy)
0.1 Plasma (Victoria)
0.1 Opal (Jewel)
0.0.23 Eggs in the incubator (Romeo x Juliet)
0.0.18 Eggs in the incubator (Tumnus x Lucy)

Hogs
1.0 Albino Western (Hogwarts)
0.1 het Albino Western (Hufflepuff)
0.1 Tri Color (Molly)

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