Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last month I picked up an awesome looking little male who's parents are a Pastel and a Yellow Ghost (NERD line) so that would make him Het Ghost I guess. Now I never intended on getting into ghosts but he had such awesome dark colors to him (I love those dark snakes) I had to have him, I know I've shared him before, but here he is again.

Anyway, I don't see a lot of these guys for sale maybe it's just the time of season? My questions are what can I breed him to? Are all the ghost lines compatible, does it have to be a yellow ghost and does it have to be another from the NERD line? When the time comes, what is the going rate for a female? I figured somewhere down the line I may try to cross him with my clowns once I get them up to size (can you even get ghost clowns)? Thanks!

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Tosha

8.10.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and currently un-named)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
7.9.5 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
0.0.1 Frog rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.2 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer

That would be a major selling point and would increase the price of the snake substantially. Were you casually told, mom or dad was a ghost? Did you pay extra?

To attempt to answer your questions: It's my understanding that not all lines of hypo are compatible. Also, just like Pastels, there can be different degrees of looks. If this snake is het for hypo, find out which type and try to match it.
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Jay A. Martin

As I was not sure about the genetics involved in the ghost I couldn't remember if het was the appropriate term (but I know he's not het for pastel). After checking the paperwork, it does say 100% het for NERD Yellow Ghost and I did get him from a reputable breeder (Wyatt @ TW). But like I said wasn't really truly interested in the whole "Ghost thing" I fell in love with his color and busy pattern. But I guess if he's only compatible to other NERD yellow ghosts I may have to look around for something to breed him to. Thanks.
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Tosha

8.10.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and currently un-named)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
7.9.5 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
0.0.1 Frog rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.2 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer

At any rate, he should be compatible with just about any yellow ghost line, I would think.
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Jay A. Martin

Kevin doesn't have a Yelow Ghost line Im almost 100% sure. When I was shopping for ghosts I remember Kevin telling me they dont work with Yellow Ghost. They have Orange and Green ghost. So I feel it will be really hard to find a NERD line Yellow Ghost.
Lee

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Jay A. Martin

OK here it is in a nut shell. After talking with Kevin on the phone the Yellow Ghost balls are actually decendants of the green ghost. I am going to get a little more detail on this but when two green ghost are bred together the result is a yellow looking ghost. But all of the Ghost that we breed are infact NERD bloodlines and the one that Tosha has ( by the way he looks great, I miss him already ) is a 100% het yellow ( green ) ghost. Tosha, please feel free to call me 469-363-0635.

Here is the parents during copulation.

Here is another one of our adult female NERD Ghost.

Thanks,
Wyatt

TW Intl Inc.
Dallas, Tx

Wyatt,
The Nerd Orange ghost line is a descendent from the Green Ghost wich is the original ghost. Kevin selectly bred the green ghost line into an orange ghost line from select orange bps. Thats why you dont see very many original green ghost anymore, they are not as attractive as the yellows and oranges. Im not arguing with you it could be true if the green ghost crossed to each other they could get the yellowish tint. Or the circumstances could be that a nerd line ghost could have been compatiable with a Yellow ghost line and the yellow was dominant over the green or orange. I just have never heard of Nerd having a Yellow Ghost maybe Kevin would be the best to shed light on all of this on this one. I would defiantly contact Kevin and find out before i bought an orange ghost or green ghost from him and see if he will guarantee compatibility.
Lee

Lee,
I understand what you are saying and yes, they are all compatible. I have contacted Kevin and have spoken with him in several occasions about this and I will guarantee that the het Tosha has is 100% NERD bloodlines and is compatible with any NERD Ghost ( green or orange ). OF course the original paperwork does help !!! I will see if Kevin can help you understand a little better about these genes. Please feel free to call me at 469-363-0635 if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Wyatt

In light of what Wyatt said, it seems you need to find a green or orange ghost and NOT a yellow. Your best bet is to contact Kev (or Wyatt) and find out exactly what is compatible. Ghosts are beautiful, so if you go that route, make sure you produce some by selecting a compatible type.
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Jay A. Martin

The going price for 100% het piebald males is still higher than $150 so perhaps there was some confusion with your males (could they be POSSIBLE hets?).

I've seen reports that somewhere around 70-80% of het piebalds show the marker trait of a white belly in the last 1/3 of the snake. The white should be close to 3 scales across and lined by thick black fairly straight edges.

However, not all hets have that mark (apparently 20-30% don't) and some normals might have something like it. If you are serious about breeding for piebald you might want to invest a few hundred more in a 100% chance het male directly from a reliable source with paperwork. If either of the males you have now does have the mark and you pick up a normal female you could hope to produce some daughters with the mark to breed back and potentially eventually produce piebalds in the next generation.

Your Subject line said Ghost Comp.....but the Message is about Pieds.....looks like someone copied and posted the wrong message. LOL

Jason

I hate it when that happens. And I had a good ghost post too!

Basically I've not yet heard of a documented case of two proven genetic ghost lines not being compatible. Perhaps I just haven't heard back from the right people. The few cases of incompatibility I have heard of involved at least one unproven imported line that might not have even been a genetic ghost. The exception is the original VPI namesake for the ball python "ghost" which I understand didn't even look much like what we recognize as ghost now days and might not even still be around.

I'm leaning toward thinking that all proven genetic lines of what we now call ghosts might be the exact same mutation (and hence compatible) with the differences in appearance caused by other genes in each line just like different lines of normals look different. The report of NERD starting out with a green ghost and breeding that line to be orange ghost seems to go along with this theory.

Did You Get Your Animal Directly From Nerd ? If So It Wouldnt Be A Het Yellow Hypo Because They Dont Work With Yellows . . I Would look Into The Exact Background Of That Animal And Where It Originated And Like Jay Said Match Him With The Same Line Het Hypo Female Which Will Probably Cost You Anywheres From $600 To $900. P.S I Love CLOWNS You Said You May Use The Het Hypo To Cross With Your Clowns Which Would Be A Great Cross , Could You Post Some Pics Of The CLOWNS For All Of Us !!! Looking Forward To Seeing Them .

Yes, please post pics of your Clowns. They are one of my favorites. Clown Pastles will be unreal. Clown Ghosts will be even better and I would not be surprzed if they posted for 40,000.00 plus when they first come out.

Kevin

WOW I stepped away from the computer for a couple of hours and come back to this! Yikes, talk about a roller coaster! I guess I'll have to contact Kevin and find out what my guy is compatible with or just breed him to his daughters and see what happens. Honestly the Ghost thing is not a big deal I love him no matter what he is or isn't. How could I not, the color on him just POPS! Much more exciting than some plain ol' white snake (IMHO).

As for my clown project it is still in the Het x Het phase I'm hoping my girl will be up to breeding size next season and will give me a male clown to work with from there. Will definatly post picts once I got them!

Thanks everyone for your advise!
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Tosha

8.10.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and currently un-named)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
7.9.5 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
0.0.1 Frog rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.2 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer