Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been thinking hard about purchasing a couple of morphs. My question is:

Do morph balls face any different health problems as opposed to norms?
For instance, cats bred for dwarfism have bone problems that the breeds they come from do not have. What about snakes?

I am wondering because I have done research and not come up with any answers. I would hate to sink a large amount of money into an animal that could potentially be doomed from the start.

Help appreciated, thank you.
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1.0 Burmese Python
1.1 Albino Burmese Pythons
1.1 Ball Pythons
1.2 Australian White's Tree Frogs
1.1 Blue Point Siamse Cats
0.1 Savannah Monitor
1.0 Iguana
1.0 Herper boyfriend

Not so much as in because it's a morph it will have greater health issues or will die sooner. But some morphs do have quirks and tendencies that go with them - ie some spiders have a head wobble that can vary from hardly noticeable to somewhat disturbing. Caramels have a tendency toward kinked spines, etc. So just do your homework on the morph before you make a purchase and you should be fine.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

to some tendencies in certain morphs. But, for the most part you will have no problems. In ball pythons it's all about what you see on the outside. If you have questions about a certain morph, we could better guide you so ask away.

Welcome to the madness that is ball pythons.
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Happy Herping,
Jody Barnes
Royal Kreationz

My snakes aren't fat, they're big boned.

Tosha touched on some of the tendencies people have noticed with various morphs. There has been speculation about certain morphs not producing a "super" form because it is fatal or causes egg death. However, this is only speculation... just because something has not been done is not proof that it can't be.

And out crossing is a very important factor in any vertebrate related breeding program. With pythons you can breed the offspring back to their sire or dam and sometimes even the second generation back to their "grandparents". Beyond that level of inbreeding I personally wouldn't recommend and at that point there would be little need to do so because by then you should have produced a number of genetically diverse individuals to select from.

As far as specific "quirks" that various breeders and keepers have noticed, here is a quick (but most likely not comprehensive) list:

Spiders: Sometimes display a tremor or head wobble. Many, if not most, individuals out grow this. Also, many people have noticed the tendency for spiders to be more "out going" personality-wise and also to be fairly hardy feeders.

Caramel: Tail and (sometimes) back kinks. Depending on the severity this may not be anything more than a cosmetic problem. If the kink is in the tail past the cloaka generally there is no problem with the snake being able to breed or pass stools. Anything above the cloaka should definitely be checked by a vet.

Piebald: Some have remarked that their Piebalds or Het. Piebalds take longer to raise to breeding size (versus other ball pythons in their collection) due to their finicky feeding response. This may just be coincidence since other people have remarked how their Pieds are great feeders.

Homozygous (Super) Black or Cinnamon Pastels: Have a tendency to produce young with more of a "duck bill" look. These individuals behave, feed, and reproduce just fine, but their face has a more squat look to it. Their "snouts" are shorter and broader. Some individuals also have a bug-eyed look to them.

All in all, beyond the kinked spines most of the "quirks" that are found in the various morphs have not proved to adversely affect the animals health. Be selective about the individual pythons you purchase, ask a million and one questions, and never complete a deal you feel even the slightest bit hesitant about. When it is all said and done and you are ready to breed be sure you have an out crossing plan factored into your breeding program and you should be fine.

The only problem that I can see about this is that before this post, there's nowhere else that I've been able to find that mentions the "quirks" of more than one morph. I usually hear just about the spider head wobble, and that's it. The rest of your list was new to me!

Tosha recommended doing one's homework before getting a morph...but with this kind of thing, what is a new buyer going to do?
Big breeders don't mention the genetic mishaps that happen with some morphs, and so small breeders tend not to mention it either, because they don't want to lose sales. If no one is mentioning it, then new people can't learn about it.

Do you see what I'm saying?

Just throwing that out there. Maybe whoever made the Hunter's Guide could also add on a list of morphs with known genetic issues?

~jenny
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"Polysyllabism in no way insures that what you're saying is actually worth being heard." - Blake (an e-friend of mine)

"I have never made but one prayer to god, a very short one: "O lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And he granted it." - Voltaire

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1.0 Burmese Python
1.1 Albino Burmese Pythons
1.1 Ball Pythons
1.2 Australian White's Tree Frogs
1.1 Blue Point Siamse Cats
0.1 Savannah Monitor
1.0 Iguana
1.0 Herper boyfriend