In Kevin's book, the introduction describes how he got into ball pythons. He describes the Barkers being interested in yellow ball pythons (called jungles then, the ones probably mentioned initially being the jungle pastel mutation that did not prove to be inheritable).
He then says he started noticing unusual ball pythons, and picking them out from dealers. He found his first ghost this way, and went on to snag a few more from dealers.
He eventually produced his first ghost...and no one cared! He couldn't sell one for his initial price, and so he kept them. It was around this time that the albino ball was getting a lot of attention, so no one cared about his "little pale accomplishment".
He then produced the first Caramel Albino and some Pastels (called in the book Pastel Jungle). It wasn't until Graziani produced some Pastels of his own in the first generation that Kevin realized that Pastels could be co-dominant, thus having a 'super' form.
Finally people started noticing ball pythons, and the cost of them skyrocketed, creating the bubble most people are lamenting over today.
The rest is history!
I think the combos such as bumblebees, etc, arose because, well...who wouldn't want to try and see if they mix? Cornsnakes have such a variety of colors and combinations that it could hardly hurt to see if ball pythons could be similar!
~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
