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Category Archives: Breeding

Common Challenges and Difficulties When Breeding Ball Pythons

  By Tom | October 8, 2023 - 3:18 am |
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While breeding ball pythons can be a rewarding experience, breeders may encounter several challenges or difficulties along the way. Here are some common issues that breeders may face during the breeding process: Overall, breeding ball pythons can be a challenging yet rewarding endeavor. It requires knowledge, experience, and a dedication to the well-being of the animals. By being prepared for the potential challenges and continuously learning and adapting their practices, breeders can increase their chances of success and contribute positively … Continue reading →

Meet Bobo the Clown

  By Tom | July 8, 2021 - 2:20 pm | , ,
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Clown Cinnamon Firefly Ball Python

We picked up Bobo the Clown earlier this year, and are amazed with him. We love him so much we immortalized him in our new Northwest Reptiles sticker! Bobo is a Clown Fire Cinnamon Pastel, AKA Clown Cinnamon Firefly, or even Clown Fire Pewter. No matter what you want to call him there is no mistaking that he is utterly stunning! He’s also as friendly as he is beautiful. He’s about 500 grams, so it’s time to start seeing if … Continue reading →

Ball Python Twins!

  By Tom | June 9, 2021 - 1:26 am | ,
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This ball python egg has twins in it. It’s not the first time I’ve had twins in an egg. I had them once before several years ago, but didn’t realize it until they were already out. This is the first time for me to catch them on camera. Both are smaller than a normal Ball Python hatchling, because they have to share the space of a single egg. Normally a hatchling is around 70 grams in size. The smallest of … Continue reading →

So you wanna be a ball python breeder…?

  By Tom | August 13, 2020 - 1:53 pm |
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Have you lost your mind? No? Okay. Let’s talk ball python breeding, then. This page will go over the basics of breeding, setting up an incubator, your egg tub, and everything in between. It is by no means a comprehensive “this is the only way to breed” file; it is simply a way to help someone who is new to breeding get their feet wet. There’s tons of ways to do it right, after all. The Necessities 32 to 41 … Continue reading →

Ball Python Genetic Behaviors and Morph Breeding Oddities

  By Tom | August 11, 2020 - 11:25 am |
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The Wobble Affected Genes: Spider Champagne Hidden Gene Woma Woma Super Sable Power Ball (Super Spotnose) The wobble is a neurological issue exhibited by several different morphs (see above) and is characterized by periodic equilibrium loss – in other words: these snakes sometimes ‘shake’ their heads, corkscrew, and/or sometimes turn upside down when they ought not to, and it’s not uncommon for them to lay in weird positions. This particular neurological issue is NOT lessened by ‘outcrossing breeding’ (many other … Continue reading →

X-Ray of Gravid Ball Python

  By Tom | August 11, 2015 - 1:10 am | , ,
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  Shaun had one of his gravid ball pythons x-rayed the other day. I’m not sure of the circumstance, but the photo is very nice to have. Here she is, with 6 very obvious eggs. Click the photo to pull up an enlarged version. My first inclination was that x-rays are not safe, especially to a gravid (pregnant) animal, but then again, the minimal amount amount of x-rays used in today’s x-ray setups isn’t dangerous unless you are exposed regularly … Continue reading →

Newly Hatched – June 26th, 2015

  By Tom | June 26, 2015 - 2:20 pm |
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Newly Hatched – June 26th, 2015

This clutch is all out today, except for one little mystic who is still hanging from his/her egg by it’s umbilicus.  I’m going to fix him(her?) up shortly, and take a video doing so. This is NWR’s second clutch of the season, and my first.  The pairing was a female Mojave to a male Mystic Potion. We have in this photo: 0.1 (0 males, 1 female) Super Mojave 1.1  Mystic Potions 1.1 Mojaves (bottom left) 1.2 Mystics (top row) We … Continue reading →

New clutch, with more Cafe possibilities

  By Tom | June 15, 2015 - 10:22 am | ,
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  This will be another exciting clutch.  The female is a Bumble Bee, and the male is our very own Barista combination.  The Barista, is a combination of the Cafe, and the Mojave. I caught her as she was just starting to lay her eggs.  It’s not going to be a big clutch, but exciting just the same. This is the first time we’ve put the Cafe with a spider gene, and while we have made Cafe-Mojave’s and Cafe-Pastel’s in … Continue reading →

Mojave and Mystic Ball Pythons, Telling the Difference.

  By Tom | May 27, 2015 - 3:48 pm |
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In most breeding projects you’ll likely get clutches containing mixtures of different morphs. When shooting for Mystic Potions, it’s likely you will get clutches with both Mystics and Mojaves in them. We had troubles telling some of them apart our first year breeding them both, so we thought this could help others. How do you tell them apart? Sometimes it’s difficult from the top side. This photo shows a belly shot of both the Mojave and Mystic morphs, to make … Continue reading →

Genetics 102: Dominant genes and the Punnet square.

  By Tom | November 14, 2014 - 8:26 pm |
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We covered recessive genes and what a Punnet square is, in Genetics 101: Recessive genes. If we want to use the Punnet square on dominant genes, it’s very similar. For right now, we are not going to make any distinction between dominant, co-domiant, or incomplete dominant. We will touch on the differences at the end of this article. Let’s start with a dominant trait, like Mojave in Ball pythons — Which happens to be a co-dominant trait as well. The … Continue reading →