Pattern or color?

Pastel Orange Ghost

I have been thinking about this since I started taking photos recently...

Which is more appealing?

Patterns or colors?

Of course the answer for me would be both, since I have a fondness for everything... but in general, I'm rather curious. 

Back in the day, when I first started, the big thing was Pastels. That, of course, was color... 

And then, it became all about Spiders... And that would be pattern. 

And then it was all about the Bumblebees.

i.e. both!

So let us review some of the base morphs and where I categorize them:

Colors = Pastel, Ghost, Fire, Sable, Mojave, Albino, Axanthic, Caramel Albino

Pattern = Spider, Woma, Pinstripe, Calico, Clown, Genetic Stripe, Het Red Axanthic

Spinner

Now of course you don't have to agree 100% with my categories, and as you can see, I didn't go into all of the possible morphs, but that is what I came up with. Did I miss some you guys can think of? 

I was not trying to come up with all of the combination ones, ala Lesser or Butter, which in my opinion is both a pattern and a color morph, but more a color morph than a pattern... so I left it out.

Anyway, back to the story at hand. Which of those groups is more appealing to you?

I'm intrigued and would love some feedback. 

So chew on that, and get back to me, my friends.

And have a fantastic day!

Yellow

 I've noticed in the Ball Python Morphs that Yellow is the color to be. The brighter the better. 

Yellow is a great color, really. 

Did you know that in Chinese, my last name (Wong) means Yellow? 

So next time you see me, you can be like "Yo, Yellow!"

And I would be proud of that. 

Yellow is a great color. 

Especially in Ball Python Morphs. 

Pastels are the perfect example. 

They combine with so many things to make so many other things! All of them YELLOW(er)!

And Butters, Lessers and Mojaves.. All have shades of yellow.

Take this fine specimen of a male. 

Butter Enchi. Both yellow morphs, combined to make a super awesome yellower morph. People think it is stunning, and I do agree.

A Super Pastel is pretty darn yellow. So is a Super Pastel Lesser! This guy exudes Yellow. 

I absolutely love these guys. 

And most people do too. 

Shades of Butter Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Canary Yellow... All in contrast with oranges, purples, greys and blacks. THAT, my friends, is what Ball Python morphs are all about. 

Colors and Contrast. 

Maybe we will do an expose on Colors... I like it. 

The Ball Python Color Rainbow.

I will get on that. 

Have a fantastic day, my friends.

Collection Update

At the show, I had a blog reader come up to me and ask me a question that I really wondered about after everything was said and done.

He said "Heather, you show off all these cool morphs, but your collection page isn't anywhere near what you show off!"

And I said "You are RIGHT!"

Let me explain.

I am not good with my web page. I am versed in HTML, but I have to say, some of the coding evades my knowledge, so I am not the one to update my stuff.

This is not to say that I do not have full intentions to update it.

I really do.

But at this point, it has yet to be done.

SO, with that being said, I will write out a list.

This is what I have in the collection as of today!

Normal

Pastel

Enchi

Mojave

Pinstripe

Spider

Black Pastel

Cinnamon

Fire

Yellowbelly

Sable
Spotnose

Het Red Axanthic

Special

Mystic

Albino

Pied 

Ghost

TSK Axanthic

Genetic Stripe

Caramel

Clown

Het Lavender

Super Pastel

Pastel Yellowbelly

Lemonblast

Bumblebee

Pastel Lesser

Pastel Mojave

Mojave Spider

Firefly

Pastel Orange Ghost

Honeybee

Pewter

Black Pewter

Crystal

Sulfur Mojave

Spinner

Pastel Calico

Pastel Pied

Pastel Het Red Axanthic 
Black Pastel Het Red Axanthic

Butter Enchi
Red Axanthic

Sterling

Super Pastel Lesser

Pewterbee

Spinnerblast

Silver Bullet

Pastel Super Mojave

Pastel Crystal

Super Mojave Super Fire

Super Pewter

Pewter het Red Axanthic

So there you go. I'm pretty sure that is all of them...
I avoided listing the hets for stuff, cause that would make it even longer. 
You wanna see something? Let me know and I will highlight that morph for the next blog!


Have a fantastic day, my friends!

Ball Python Coloration

There are days where I just sit and think of all the awesome shades and colors Ball Pythons come in.

I play with colors all day, and it give me a chance to appreciate the rainbow of Ball Pythons that we have available to us.

Brown, Gold and Black are the basics, that of the noble and beautiful normal.

Yellows, Tans, and Purples for the Pastels and Enchis. 

Blues, Greens, and Violets for the Mojaves and Lessers.

Spiders and Pinstripes, a nice Gold and Black overall tone. 

Yellows and Whites and Ivories for the Albinos.

Orange, White, Brown, Grey and Black for the Pieds.

Greys, Silvers and Ivories for the Pewters and Silver Bullets.

Deep rich Browns and Blacks for the Black Pastels and Cinnamons. 

I could go on, but I think you get the point.

The one color that I know does not exsist in the Ball Python Color Wheel is RED.

Granted, if you pinch an Albino or make a snake bleed, you will see red...

But as a scale tone, it is very difficult to find.

And yes, Red is a Base Color, and it doesn't show up. Blues and Yellows do, however... It's rather interesting to note that.

Yellows seem to also be predominant in terms of colorations, as well as whites, if we forgo the basic Black and Brown.

It is interesting to note all of this, and I challenge you out there to take a look at your snakes. Find their shades, enjoy them, note them, photograph them... Share them with the world.

They are pretty.

All the colors of the rainbow (almost...)


Have a fantastic day, my friends.

Enchi goodness

There are people out there in morph land that have no idea what an Enchi is supposed to look like. Well, Enchis can be difficult to pinpoint, so this is going to be a "what to look for" blog.

The first time I hatched out an Enchi, I thought it was a Pastel. (I did a who's your daddy clutch with a Pastel as well, so that is what I assumed was the father at that point) They are easy to spot next to normals if you know what you are looking for.

Enchis are known for their banded patterns, bright yellow sides, and brownish purple areas where normals would be black. The bands are atypical of Enchis, as well as the side stripes over the eyes, but not all Enchis have either. The most telling characteristic for me is the color. They are GOLDEN.

As they grow older, the golden turns into yellow, and the top of the animal turns more purple brown. The blushing on the tops stay there, and mellow out into a nice chocolate tone, as the sides stay bright yellow from the belly up, and from the top down into a nice tan.

The belly is something to also look for. It tends to be mottled in color, not just grey scales, but shades of yellow and purple on the sides as well.

Once you have a knowledge of what you are looking for, it is relatively easy to spot Enchis. The problem is, there is, as many other morphs have, very bad examples of the morphs out there.

Just because they do not exhibit all the typical signs of an Enchi doesn't mean it is not an Enchi. You just need to know the basics. Color, pattern, belly. This is true for many other subtle morphs as well.

Hopefully this has helped you, and maybe I will revisit this topic again soon to compare with other morphs in the same photos to help people see the differences.

Have a fantastic educated Enchi day today, my friends.

Contrast and Color

A lot of people tend to appreciate the colors and contrasts of animals that don't fit any where close to the norm. Pieds being the ultimate example of contrast and color. 

How can you not love white on the back ground of orange and black? 

And those that are more difficult to identify in terms of just seeing them, Axanthics are one of those that are tough to call unless you have some colors to compare to. 

I say this to say if you showed an Axanthic to a person who had no idea about snake morphs, they would not realize it was something different.

It's easy, however, to point them out when they are close to a morph that has a high yellow or high gold coloration. 

I took this picture to show the colors of the Axanthic as well as a more developed and older Pied, but also to put a dream team together in terms of a breeding possibility. 

Axanthic Pieds, Babaaay!

And of course, the yellower the animal in terms of color, the more dramatic the Axanthics that come out of the mix when it is combined.

Pastel Axanthics are lighter and brighter than regular Axanthics, Pied Axanthics are lighter than regular Axanthics as well. 

I can't wait to have some to share with you all eventually...

Have a fantastic day, my friends!

Happy Saint Patty's Day! (I don't have any green snakes or I would have posted them)

I'm feeling Lucky tonight

I find it absolutely fascinating watching particular animals grow up and change over the years, and Lucky the Silver Bullet is the one I am going to focus on today. He hatched out SILVER, very bright, solid colored and beautiful.

It has been a little less than a year since he hatched out, and he has changed drastically in terms of coloration and pattern.

He has changed a lot since he was hatched, and it is clear that there was a lot of growing to do in terms of developing into his adult colors and form. 

He has developed light gray spots on his back and sides, but has kept his paradox spot towards the midsection of his body.

His belly has become a mottled gray as well, and his head and overall color has darkened considerably. 

He is still considered patternless, as there is no distinct pattern to discern, but he does have a mottled appearance compared to his hatching colors.

I find it very interesting how drastic his colors have changed, but I really believe that he is a great example of the morph, and a beautiful male to boot. I am looking forward to using him in the future for combos and such, and also producing a Super Pewter to compare coloration again in the next few years. I'm sure it will be just as drastic, but will settle at a lighter tone than Mister Lucky, the Silver Bullet.

We shall see soon, I would hope.

Have a fantastic day, my friends.

Pattern Morphs versus Color Morphs

Well, there are a few animals that I wonder what the particular appeal is more than others. This stemming from the Dark Morph blog from a few days ago. I can tell what people DON'T like, but what is the MUST HAVE?

Patterns seem to be a big thing, although its interesting what the differences are. Womas and Spiders look similar, but in fact are not the same. The difference (the Super Woma being the Pearl), however, does not make Womas more popular by any means. Spiders still seem to be the go-to pattern morph. Pinstripes? A close second, but not the ONE that everyone seems to want.



Now with the color morphs, Pastels seem to be the big thing as well. Common and easy to find, and beautiful. If you were a newbie in the ball python world, most people would buy a Pastel. Albinos are a close second as well, as they obviously hold the WOW factor. Pieds are also a good one, but with the current price tag, some Newbies are unwilling to get them.

Now the question really is... WHY?

I have yet to figure that part out, and although the go-to animals in pattern and in color seem to be bright and obviously different from the norm.

But why Pastels and Spiders rather than any of the others??

The one thing I can think of is that they make THESE:



Bumblebees, the morph that I know many many people aspire to have. I know I do as well!

Anyone have any thoughts on this??

Please share!

Have a great day, my friends!