Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I check this site daily, and I look at almost every pic that is posted...and I've seen granites, pastels, pewters, you name it...
but you know where I see the most pattern variation?
Normals.

I see tons of people post pics of their "normals" and I have yet to see any of them that look alike.
I have 3 normals, and all 3 look different.

It just amazes me.

I find the most pattern variation in Spiders and Pieds. No two ever look the same to me, whereas a LOT of normals look almost identical.

To each their own, I guess.

Pieds definetly amaze me!!

This guy is not too bad either.

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Greg Holland
GM HERPS
www.gmherps.com
gmherps@sbcglobal.net

I have to agree with you. Normals are really underrated. Just because we did not pay as much for our snakes as we did our car (or house!) we are important too.
I LOVE looking at morphs, they are eye candy to me. But think about this... besides monetary value, what value would a morph nave, to a blind person...
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4.1 Ball pythons
1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1 albino Cranwell's horned frog
1.1 breeding Clawed frogs
1.0 black kittycat
3.1 Oscar cichlids
Also have fancy goldfish, african cichlids, and rats. And 1 Paint horse mare

Here are two pictures of my 4 year old rescued normal bp, Apep.

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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

That's cool that you rescued him.
This is one of my rescues. His former cage was so dry, he had multiple retained eyecaps on one of his eyes. I was able to get them off with soaking, but his one eye remains slightly smaller than a normal eye, to this day. He eats like a champ though!
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4.1 Ball pythons
1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1 albino Cranwell's horned frog
1.1 breeding Clawed frogs
1.0 black kittycat
3.1 Oscar cichlids
Also have fancy goldfish, african cichlids, and rats. And 1 Paint horse mare

All of our animals were rescues. In fact I think that my wife also counts me as one of her rescues...

Congrads on your rescue! Did you have any trouble with him adapting to you? I know with our cats they had MAJOR trust issues, the python just jumped right in and has never been the least bit standoffish with us or acted threatened when we get him out of the cage.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Thanks for asking!
He is still a bit skittish, but honestly he has calmed down immensely in just a few months. There is another male I rescued with him, who is still nuttier than fruitcake, but sometimes I think that some of these snakes are just permanently wired and scared!
We rescued our cat too (from the SPCA) and he attached to us immediately when we got home with him. We also sort of rescued our horse, because she would have gone to an auction if we did not buy her, and that could have led to her going for meat.
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4.1 Ball pythons
1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1 albino Cranwell's horned frog
1.1 breeding Clawed frogs
1.0 black kittycat
3.1 Oscar cichlids
Also have fancy goldfish, african cichlids, and rats. And 1 Paint horse mare

I agree. I often see threads asking us to post of favorite animal. Most people post Pastels, Piebalds, Clowns, etc. My favorite is my five year old normal. I adore this little guy. He's just so cool. =)

And while we are almost on the topic...

There are a bazillion color/pattern differences in the Normal phase Ball Pythons. This is a beautiful thing, but it really irritates me to see this exploited in the classified ads. It seems as if every Normal phase Ball Python is being marketed as the next big morph.

What about the Harlequin Ball craze lately? Has this animal ever been proven to be anything more than a really cool Normal? If enough animals are bred in this world, we are bound to see a few animals exhibiting the Harlequin traits. Does this mean anything? Don't get me wrong. These are beautiful animals. I would love to own a few. But are these animals REALLY worth the $2000 price tag? C'mon. Seriously. What has the Harlequin Ball EVER produced to earn such a high market price?

(Of course, I have been skipping a few posts lately. And my daily participation has declined. Maybe the Harlequin really is a new genetic trait that produces a solid black animal in the homozygous form. Who knows? Did I miss the post?)

The point is...until the animal is proven genetic...sell it as a nice Normal.

(I need a nap.)

Chris
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1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Chinese Milksnakes
1.0 Whitewater River Snake
0.1 Purple Phase Gorilla Frog
2.3 Sugar Newts

(...other than my Albino Sugar Newt, that is.)

Chris

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1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Chinese Milksnakes
1.0 Whitewater River Snake
0.1 Purple Phase Gorilla Frog
2.3 Sugar Newts

OK, now I gotta say it. Chris, I think you do need a nap if you think that animal in the picture you just posted above is a newt. I know I haven't been into reptiles and I know I could probably get suckered on a yellow belly if I tried to look for one. But I feel fairly sure that was a snake, and possibly (again I am new at this) I would even venture that the snake in the picture is a ball python. - I could be wrong on that part.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Don't be silly! The animal I posted is obviously a Ball Python. As the title reads: My favorite animal...OTHER than my Albino Sugar Newt. I'm crazy, but not crazy enough to mistake the two animals! (Albino Sugar Newts look NOTHING like a Ball Python.)

Chris
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1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Chinese Milksnakes
1.0 Whitewater River Snake
0.1 Purple Phase Gorilla Frog
2.3 Sugar Newts

Only possibility I can figure is if you got a grip on some REALLY good drugs Even then the color difference might be enough to bring ya to your senses.

Quig

Normals are beautiful too. The come in all shapes sizes, colors and variations, Beats a boring all white snake any day! LOL - Here are some of my favoirte normals:

Ooops (shameless aren't I)

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Tosha

"Stupid is forever, ignorance can be fixed." Don Wood

"Of course, that's only my opinion...and I believe I am God." =) Chris Bianco

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope John Paul)
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.0 Pool skimmer rescues for this season

np
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

>>np
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>>Bryan, Atlanta GA
>>
>>1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
>>1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
>>0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
>>1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
>>0-1-0 Wife
>>2-0-0 Kids
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Tosha

"Stupid is forever, ignorance can be fixed." Don Wood

"Of course, that's only my opinion...and I believe I am God." =) Chris Bianco

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope John Paul)
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.0 Pool skimmer rescues for this season

LOL, Tosha somehow I knew that angolan would wind up in there somewhere.

Quig

.
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Tosha

"Stupid is forever, ignorance can be fixed." Don Wood

"Of course, that's only my opinion...and I believe I am God." =) Chris Bianco

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope John Paul)
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.0 Pool skimmer rescues for this season

;

How are your eggs doing?
Ken
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0.5 Normal Ball Pythons (Norma, Nova, Nala, Nimeesha, Nyoka)
1.1 Argentine B/W Tegus (Draco and Drucilla)
0.1 Columbian B/W Tegu (Diablo)
1.0 Black Throat Monitor (Razor)
1.0 Desert Tortoise (Tubbs) from Tortoise Rescue
1.0 Boxer (Shadow)
0.1 Feline (CK)
1.0 Memory of my Redtail Boa (Mo) which passed away after 28 years

Thanks - eggs are doing pretty good - Mom was rearranging herself this morning so I snapped a couple of pictures of the eggs, they look as good as when she laid them.

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Tosha

"Stupid is forever, ignorance can be fixed." Don Wood

"Of course, that's only my opinion...and I believe I am God." =) Chris Bianco

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope John Paul)
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.0 Pool skimmer rescues for this season

Looks like a normal... but NOT as in BP!
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4.1 Ball pythons
1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1 albino Cranwell's horned frog
1.1 breeding Clawed frogs
1.0 black kittycat
3.1 Oscar cichlids
Also have fancy goldfish, african cichlids, and rats. And 1 Paint horse mare

Then you should check out blood pythons...HUGE variance for "normals"...everything from bland brown snake to blood red snake to yellow snake. It's crazy!