Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just want to share a picture of my granite ball...

NICE!!!

Healthy looking snake ya got there with plenty "specks". I get a laugh from people that advertise a granite in the classifieds and the animal has two or three specks throughout the body. In my opinion such a small amount is not worth the extra cash to purchase.

m/f? age and weight of snake?

ToddG
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1.1 Balls - Male het/albino, Female 66% het/albino
***Fingers crossed for next season!!!***

thanks, its a late 03' female..I don't have a scale so i cant get a weight on her..sorry...i would say that she could be captive hatch..i'm not sure but a very good eater. I found her at a local pet shop...

granite is when there are little black dots speckled all over the body right?
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

My image Gallery

That is my take on it. I think this is a prime example of how people will "create" a morph or name a pattern in an attempt to further the ball craze. Let me add, "Keep the register ringing"! Personally, I feel it adds interest to the hobby and they are no doubt beautiful snakes, however; it is hard to set boundaries in order to determine a viable scale which to go by. Take a look at Veasna's ball once more. I my opinion, this is an excellent example of a granite ball python. Note the specks throughout the length of the body. I would expect to pay a little more from a breeder for this snake. Congrats if you found it at a pet store since you probably purchased the python at a resaonable rate because personally I would not pay more for a granite. Take a look at a regular burmese and a "granite" burm. BIG DIFFERENCE!!! I don't know... They are one of the few patterned morphs I can afford, so maybe I will purchase one day, LOL!!!

Check this out:

Go to the classified ads and pull up the ball python listings everyday for a week or so. Be on the look out for ads selling "black backs". Notice how many will pass as REGULAR balls. I think through selective breeding there will one day be a reliable strain of black backs that produce a solid black stripe on offspring the majority of the time. On the contrary, you will notice most specimens for sale lack a full stripe and have a broken pattern on the dorsal area. THIS IS A REGULAR BALL!!!! I feel a black back should have a FULL STRIPE and at a minimum 90% of the dorsal region should be a BLACK STRIPE! Yes, you can find black backs with a complete stripe down the back.

Ok, now look at a piebald ball python. I am sure we would all agree there is an obvious variance of pattern between a regular and a piebald. This can justify an incredible augmentation on the price tag.

Todd

I needed to get that out!

Todd
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1.1 Balls - Male het/albino, Female 66% het/albino
***Fingers crossed for next season!!!***

A granite is a normal ball python will flecks of color that breeders call by a different in order to increase the price.

And for the people who fall for it...

I've got some swamp-land in Florida I'd like to sell them.

There is an ad in the classifieds for a baby granite that lists the following granite characteristics:

1. Light head, with extra light right on or behind the jaw muscles
2. A spot on the neck stripe right behind the head (sometimes numbering up to three)
3. BLOTCHES of black speckling, not just single scales all over
4. A pattern less belly
5. An attitude and phenomenal appetite

This ad also mentions that a Rick Elvin proved them. Does anyone have any information on how some of these appear to be inherited (i.e. recessive or some kind of dominant)?

I guess if any of the lines have been proven then when you consider one you would have to ask yourself:

1. Is it the same thing as the proven lines (perhaps 1-5 above, not to sure I'd put much into 5)

2. Is it neat enough to be worth trying to breed

I picked up a little captive hatched girl that might be one. Actually, I was looking for yellow bellies but I don't have a good feel for what those look like either. Now I've got to decide if she is worth hanging on to and feeding up and breeding. More info on how to identify them and how it's inherited would help me decide.

Thanks!