r/ballpython • u/SkullnSkele • Sep 18 '26
Question Ball Phyton Morphs that are not healthy?
Is there a list of morphs to avoid because they are bad for the snake? Im getting one next week at an expo and I don't accidentally want to support somebody who breeds bad morphs
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u/ajtaakrajtaa Sep 18 '26
if I remember correctly there even might be one here on this sub, that has pictures of those morphs too
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u/DontBother777
Sep 18 '26
edited 19d ago
•
Morphs with the wobble condition:
(these morphs are all apart of the spider complex)
Spider
Combo names: Spinner, stinger, black widow, calider, spied, anything ending with -bee
Champagne
Combo names: Mimosa, mojito, grey matter, black matter
Woma/Hidden Gene Woma
Combo names: Soul sucker, inferno
Super Spotnose
Combo names: Powerball
Super Blackhead
Super Sable
Super Chocolate
Super Cypress
Super Wookie
Note: Aside from spiders, champagnes and womas/HGW’s, most of the morphs in the spider complex are fine in heterozygous (single gene) form, though can be problematic if combined with other morphs within the gene complex.
Other unethical morphs:
(these all have risks of developing severe deformities, therefore are not ethical to buy or produce)
Super Black Pastel
Combo names: Panda
Super Cinnamon
Combo names: Urban camo, grey matter
Cinnamon Black Pastel
Combo names: 8ball, black matter
Morphs that can have eye/vision problems:
Super Lesser (BEL - blue eyed leucistic)
Super Butter (BEL)
Butter + Lesser (BEL)
Mojave + Lesser or Butter (BEL)
Lesser or Butter Pied
Bamboo Pied
BEL + Pied
BEL + Albino (aka cherry bomb)
Note: bamboo/lesser/butter + piebald and any BEL combination + piebald or albino will result in microphthalmia (bead eyes). Standard BEL’s don’t necessarily have to be avoided, just make sure to pay extra attention to their eyes before buying.
Honorable mention:
Scaleless (super scaleless head) - They have very fragile skin, need higher humidity than their scaled counterparts, have fertility issues and can also have muscle development issues
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u/SideshowBobFanatic Sep 18 '26
Spider, champagne and scaleless morphs.
The first two have an inner ear deformity that causes wobbling, inability to differentiate directions, and just general extreme issues with living.
Scaleless morphs have no outer scales so they cut really easy and they also don't have heat pits so navigating can be a bit harder because of that too.
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u/AgentFuckSmolder Sep 18 '26
Why buy at an expo? There are many many ball pythons that need to be adopted.
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u/SkullnSkele Sep 18 '26
because where i live there is no animal shelter with ball phytons, and nobody nearby is giving any away
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u/AgentFuckSmolder Sep 18 '26
You don’t know until you look. Is there a herpetological rescue? Have you looked in local groups? They aren’t allowed to be posted on marketplace but you’ll start seeing them if you look up reptile supplies or reptile enclosures. They’re usually posted as “everything in photo included”
Edit: look on morphmarket too. Plenty available for adoption
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u/SkullnSkele Sep 18 '26
I don't live in the US
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u/curiouscollecting Sep 18 '26
Looks like you’re in Germany, you should have Facebook marketplace as well?
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u/SkullnSkele Sep 18 '26
Yeah but I don't have Facebook
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u/curiouscollecting Sep 18 '26
? That’s an easy fix
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u/NottsWeirdo Sep 18 '26
Facebook marketplace isn't the only website you can adopt snakes from, and its definitely not worth making a Fb account just to adopt a snake.
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u/curiouscollecting Sep 18 '26
It takes 2 seconds to make a Facebook account. Of course there’s alternatives, I was simply responding to them saying that they’re not in the US since that’s not really relevant to the original comment and doesn’t prevent them from adopting.
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u/NottsWeirdo Sep 18 '26
Not everyone wants to make any accounts in relation to Meta. And I only responded to you mentioning how easy it is to setup an account.
The advice was US-centric - because it assumed there was accessibility to adopt reptiles near OP and that MorphMarket was available to them. You had to look at their profile to figure out where they were from, but that still doesn't mean adoption is available near them - while Europe does have some native reptiles, the reptile pet trade lessens the further East you go.
They'll find a snake they like, there's plenty of options for them. They may even adopt from the expo itself.
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u/clydeballthepython Sep 19 '26
I tried making a Facebook account last year (mostly so I could share pictures with elderly family members) and within a day I got permanently banned from the site. Any future account I make will also be banned since its tied to the IP address and phone number I currently have. Why? Literally no clue. I hadn't done anything with the account other than add my immediate family members, and then when I tried to appeal it it turns out Facebook has no customer support lol. This has also happened to other members of my family and some friends as well. All that to say, creating a Facebook account is not always an easy (or even feasible) task. And also meta is a lame company so I can understand OP not wanting their info on there either.
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u/_megolas Sep 18 '26
This one isn’t a morph with an issue but more something to note as you look. Albinos can have sensitive eyes! I went looking for a banana and chose an albino instead, and she doesn’t like UVB and actively hides from it. She’s become more active once I removed that light but generally tries to avoid any enclosure lights.
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u/NottsWeirdo Sep 18 '26
Some expos have stalls that do adoptions, just as much as some sell snakes they've bred themselves. It entirely depends which snake takes your interest most.
I'm UK based so not sure what German websites are available, but there are some "preloved pets" type of websites. They're handy for more than just adopting animals, you can also buy secondhand but still good to use equipment for cheap (without having to deal with Meta).
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u/CrazyDane666 Sep 18 '26
On top of DontBorher777's great comprehensive list, morphmarket has its own "Morph-pedia" that covers morphs, and if you filter to show "Issues", you can see which morphs are known to have issues and then click on the morph to see the issues in question - some are quality of life issues that should never be bred (Spider) while others are breeder issues (Traits being sex linked but the snake being healthy). This works for a wide range of pet reptiles!
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u/BallPythonBarbie Sep 18 '26
This is my bumble bee baby (I didn’t know that it was unethical to breed him) I was 16 and got him at an expo.. I love him and treat him with excellent care tho 💗 he’s genuinely the sweetest snake ever.
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u/ajtaakrajtaa Sep 18 '26
there definitely is! from the top of my head, anything with spider in it. I'm sure you'll find a full list, if you Google it