I love the color morphs though, especially caramel's, spiders, ghost's, etc. However, I heard they are more aggressive then the normals. Is this true? I want to be able to hold my Ball. Also, are males or females more aggressive?
Thinking of getting a Ball
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as far as i know, certain morphs are not any more or less agressive than normals or other morphs. the only difference other than colour/pattern is in some morphs, like kinking in caramels and spinning in spiders. it doesnt happen often but it's more common in these morphs.
kinking where the spine has "kinks" in it, deformities. i'm not 100 sure what goes on there. spinning is when the snake's head sometimes spirals [uncontrollably]. nothing too violent, usually. spinners [ not the morph 
] also stargaze more. periscope and stare off into the distance. all this is pretty rare, and as long as you buy an animal that doesnt exhibit these behaviours [and is perfectly physically healthy] it'll make a great pet. a spinner or stargazer could make a good pet too actually. but if you intend to breed in the future you might wanna take note of stuff like this.
] also stargaze more. periscope and stare off into the distance. all this is pretty rare, and as long as you buy an animal that doesnt exhibit these behaviours [and is perfectly physically healthy] it'll make a great pet. a spinner or stargazer could make a good pet too actually. but if you intend to breed in the future you might wanna take note of stuff like this.alcohologist;2172284; said:kinking where the spine has "kinks" in it, deformities. i'm not 100 sure what goes on there. spinning is when the snake's head sometimes spirals [uncontrollably]. nothing too violent, usually. spinners [ not the morph
Awesome, thanks so much for the info!
This is not to breed, rather, to have a gorgeous pet/companion =) I have wanted a snake, and luckily, my girlfriend likes ball pythons.
nice! no problem, some of the more experienced keepers will probably chime in later. balls are my favourite herp, despite some people saying theyre a "beginner" snake. very cool little critters.
balls are a great snake. They will be puppy dog tame if u handle them correctly and often. Like all snakes they can strike but not usually will a ball do this out of aggression, Just yesterday i held a ball that out of nowhere struck, maybe i smelled like something maybe he was confused who knows, they are snaks so they can bite but i doubt a well cared for ball will become aggressive. They are not known to be strikers, either normals or morphs.
I've *heard* from experienced breeders that caramels are snappy for some reason or another. I don't think that there is any real data to back it up, but more than a few keepers have noticed that their caramel lines tend to be little more wild than other balls. That being said, I've held plenty of caramels without being bitten....
Spinning is the industry term for a neurological condition that affects the snake's equilibrium and motor control. Most common in the Spider morph, but I've seen as many normals exhibit the trait as I have spiders, so it isn't something unique to them like some may say. The degee to which these animals spin also varies greatly, with some just tilting their head to one side at rest, to others that violently flip end over end when you pick them up. The lesser affected animals lead completely normal and healthy lives and make find pets. The average keeper probably won't even notice the problem unless it is pointed out to them. I have a normal female that spins mildly, and she eats, sheds, and breeds, and none of her offspring have shown this trait. I wouldn't be surprised if the problem is incubation-related, as opposed to being genetic.
Kinking is a problem associated with lines of Caramels, however, as more and more are being produced and individual animals without kinks are being selectively bred, less and less are kinked offspring are being produced. You've got to remember that with these recessive traits, some amount of inbreeding is going to take place just because there aren't huge numbers of the morph, but as new blood is put into Caramels, the kinking issue should work itself out of the morph.
Also keep in mind the adult size difference between males and females when shopping for your snake. A well-fed female is going to exceed 5' and 3000 grams when fully grown, while males rarely get larger than 3-4' and 2000 grams as adults. If you are just looking for a pet, I'd say that a male of any morph would be your best bet, not only because of their size, but the price won't be as high either.
Spinning is the industry term for a neurological condition that affects the snake's equilibrium and motor control. Most common in the Spider morph, but I've seen as many normals exhibit the trait as I have spiders, so it isn't something unique to them like some may say. The degee to which these animals spin also varies greatly, with some just tilting their head to one side at rest, to others that violently flip end over end when you pick them up. The lesser affected animals lead completely normal and healthy lives and make find pets. The average keeper probably won't even notice the problem unless it is pointed out to them. I have a normal female that spins mildly, and she eats, sheds, and breeds, and none of her offspring have shown this trait. I wouldn't be surprised if the problem is incubation-related, as opposed to being genetic.
Kinking is a problem associated with lines of Caramels, however, as more and more are being produced and individual animals without kinks are being selectively bred, less and less are kinked offspring are being produced. You've got to remember that with these recessive traits, some amount of inbreeding is going to take place just because there aren't huge numbers of the morph, but as new blood is put into Caramels, the kinking issue should work itself out of the morph.
Also keep in mind the adult size difference between males and females when shopping for your snake. A well-fed female is going to exceed 5' and 3000 grams when fully grown, while males rarely get larger than 3-4' and 2000 grams as adults. If you are just looking for a pet, I'd say that a male of any morph would be your best bet, not only because of their size, but the price won't be as high either.
Awesome, thanks so much for everyone's advice! Elevatethis (and btw, is your name taken from Young Frankenstein?) how do I tell if any hatchlings have the afore mentioned diseases? Will the symptoms be present already?
I LOVE ball pythons by far my fav herp.
They make great pets and like mentioned earlier, can become puppy dog tame. If you purchase from a pretty reputable breeder you are more likely than not, going to get a good animal without genetic defects. This cannot always be guarenteed but your chances are lessened quite a bit if you don't just buy it from any old place.
They make great pets and like mentioned earlier, can become puppy dog tame. If you purchase from a pretty reputable breeder you are more likely than not, going to get a good animal without genetic defects. This cannot always be guarenteed but your chances are lessened quite a bit if you don't just buy it from any old place.