Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all...
Can anyone describe to me what does the following mean or what am I to understand about these terms.

Axanthic

Xanthic
how do these terms relate to the morphs we see in the market now.

and where does "normal" fit in.

Axanthic = lacks yellow pigment. There is at least one mutant gene that prevents formation of yellow pigment.

Xanthic = yellower than normal. I think there are high yellows, but as far as I know they are produced by selection rather than a single mutant gene. I wouldn't call any ball python mutant gene "xanthic". Most ball pythons that appear yellower than normal actually have a reduction in the black pigment, which in normal snakes tends to obscure the yellow.

Normal is the most common appearance found in the wild. It's the standard of comparison. Most ball pythons found in the wild have some yellow pigment, so one that doesn't have any yellow pigment is considered unusual. When applied to a gene, "normal" is the version of that particular gene that is required to produce the normal appearance.

Hope this helps.

Paul Hollander

People also sometimes call the simple recessive Caramel mutation in ball pythons Xanthic. You also sometimes hear it called Caramel Albino or even T Albino although it sounds like the tests haven't been done to be sure which ball mutations do or do not have tyrosinase.