Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Other than lack of yellow pigmentation on them, what are other characteristics for the Axanthic ball pythons?
I have an adult female that the more I look at her the more I think she looks like some axanthic that I been seeing around.
What do you guys think?
I bought her as an adult and I pay the price of a normal, I am tempted to buy a proven male axanthic or at least a het axanthic to breed her this season wishing to have Axanthic babies, do you guys think is worth the expense?
I am only able to post one picture but i will post 2 more pictures for comparation.

Alfonso

Here is another picture with 2 more normals.

Alfonso

One more picture.

Alfonso

Axanthics do tend to brown out as they mature.
Compare your pictures with this one from Ralph Davis site. I do see many similarities.

Maybe someone else could give a better answer, but my guess is you're female is definitely a... maybe.
Buy a het axanthic male, breed her and find out. Het axanthic males aren't too costly. The biggest problem you'd have is that the axanthic lines are not compatible with with each other. For example, a VPI Axanthic X SK Axanthic would give you all normals. Even if she is axanthic, you'd have no way of knowing what line she was (VPI, Joliff, SK). Unless you were somehow able to track down the previous owner for info.
-----
1.0 Pastel Ball
1.1 Het VPI Axanthic Balls
1.1 Het Albino Balls
0.0.2 Red Tail Boas
1.0 Albino Nelsons Milksnake
1.1 Room mates
2.2 Dogs
0.1 Cat

Dude she does look like an axanthic BUT if you bought her as a normal chances are shes a normal. Now with that being said I would buy a het of one of the 3 lines and work it out like that. Im doing the same thing with a axanthic looking female that a friend of mine picked up as a hatchling from an importer friend of his a few years back. I bred her 2 years ago to a VPI male and she laid 5 slugs last season she laid 4 eggs (1 died during incubation) and 2.1 normal looking animals hatched so Im going to try my jolliff male I produced on her next season. But whether or not if your females an axanthic shes nice looking.
-----
Damian Macioce
www.strongholdreptiles.com

With there being the different axanthic lines and them not being compatible I wouldn't even mess with a het male. I'd breed her with a morph and then breed one of the babies back to her. Then if she's an axanthic you'd have a shot at producing a double visual morph. Then you could start trying to mess with the different lines to see which, if any, she is. You could waste 3 or 4 years trying different het males just to find out that she's a different line than any of them. Just my thoughts. Nice looking snake by the way.

Derek

Derek has the best idea yet. He is right, you could waste lots of time and money only to find out that it is not compatible with any of the common lines. There are other unproven axathics out there and they may be valid new lines, and yours could be one of them. Try her on a normal or other morph, and breed her back to one of her sons.

By the way, Derek, you have a great name!

Derek
CFR

Here is what I would do, pick a morph male that you have, or pick one up, and breed him to your female. Take the best looking Morph male from that breeding, and breed it back to the female, and see if you can prove her out.

If you buy an Axanthic male, and do not get any Axanthics when you breed it to your female, it could be a line that is not compatible with yours. You would count the breeding as a failure, but you might have double hets for both, and never know it.

Take a Spider male, and breed him to your female, and then breed back a male Spider from that breeding, to your female....

Dave