Albino with Orange Outline

Pythons Ball Pythons
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I was wondering what causes the orange blotches and outline on an albino hatchling?

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image2940Ă—2259 1.59 MB

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I believe it is just extra red pigment. It usually fades away with age.

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No red pigment in balls :grin: :+1:t4:
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The outlining is the result of a localized concentration of xanthophores in the area. As the animal ages they tend to diffuse out and the line fades.

The blotches are what is commonly referred to as “blushing”. It is the result of low-level expression of xanthopores outside the typical area of expression

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Huh, thought they did since everyone says that axanthic BPs lack both red and yellow pigment. I guess they forgot to mention that they were already missing the red pigment before the mutation. :thinking: I was still right about the extra pigment thing though, just that it is yellow pigment. :joy:

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Yeah… They kind of missed the whole Greek etymology of the word LOL. Xanthos is Greek for “yellow” and the A- prefix is “without” so Axanthic literally translates to “without yellow”

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Now this is the kind of quality content i come here for!

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Thanks for everyone’s input. I was just really curious because new buyers that just want them as pets seem to really go for these outlines and blushing . But good to know that they will fade over time.

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