Collection Photos [Biological Canvas]

I decided to make a common thread of my collection instead of new ones each time.

2021 Pastel Dreamsicle Male: I’ve figured out that I get the best illumination with my DSLR bounce flash setup if I stand on a stool and hold the snake in my hand. This puts the snake closer to the ceiling where the flash is bouncing light off of. I’m shooting pretty closed at F10 which makes for more depth and sharpness but it requires a lot of light. When the snake is too far from the ceiling there’s just not enough light. I could counter that by stopping down and opening up the aperture to F6 or so but that would make my depth of field too shallow and reduce sharpness. I could also increase ISO sensitivity but that would introduce more noise. After quite a bit of experimenting I’ve found this to be the best way.

It’s surprising how much this guy’s color intensity has increased since he hatched. This was after his second shed. Just keeps getting better.



Here’s some photos from this morning of him next to a 2019 1400g Pastel Dreamsicle adult female. She’s technically his half aunt. Pastel in the Lavender and Dreamsicle combination is an efficient longevity enhancer. I have a handful of standard Dreamsicles and their color and overall look is quite different. The whites turn into a neon yellow with an almost greenish look. The father to the 2021 Pastel Dreamsicle (also a Pastel Dreamsicle) exhibits this more than the female I used for these comparison photos but he was in shed. You can see how the colors aren’t adequately illuminated in these photos compared to the in hand ones, they’re a foot or two further from the ceiling.


Lastly here’s a couple updated photos of this 2021 Leopard Enchi Clown male. I’ve been experimenting with Wilibanks higher volume / smaller prey feeding regimen and he has exploded in growth as a result. He’s got a solid shot at being ready to breed later this season.


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Good looking pet rocks. :wink:

I do miss having some.

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Hah, thanks Randy. I still accidently call them boas all the time. The leopard enchi clown above reminds me of a nice jungle hypo boa and the dreamsicles remind me of sunglows.

I’ll be back once I get the space!

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I like the moustache on the leopard enchi clown :star_struck:

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Here’s two low white pied het lav females from different clutches this season. Same dad (Pastel Dreamsicle) different moms (YB Pied Het Lav on the smaller one, Pied on the larger).

Every time I open their tubs I’m impressed with their color. I expected them to dull out more but they seem to be gaining color.






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I love the bigger one! The larger section of white is for me!

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Thanks! The bigger one was the pick of that clutch IMO. Smaller one is more colorful but it’s kinda hard to tell in the photos. The up close tail shots of her really shows it.

I know it’s “against the recessive rules” :wink: but I really think het lavender is coming into play with their color. Not sure anyone has more experience than Kobylka on the matter and he has mentioned it numerous times, he shows an animal in his latest dreamsicle YouTube video posted today describing the effect.

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Powerhouse just in from Ozzy!

ODYB Leopard Enchi Pied Male

Biggest plans for this guy is to work him into my dreamsicle females that are ready to breed now. He will elevate that project quite a bit. He’s a bit on the higher white side for enchi, I think enchi/leopard are battling for pattern dominance and leopard won. Intense color! Really excited about this one!






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I love the orange spots! He is a beautiful snake for sure!

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That’s a stunning animal. Your BP collection is really nice.

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Thanks Randy! Trying my best to build solid foundations. It is REALLY easy to get off track with ball pythons considering the crazy amount of mutations. Next couple breeding seasons should be very exciting!

You for sure are! All quality stuff you have!

Yes…… yes it is lol

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Thanks Shaun!

I’ve heard so many stories of ball python keepers getting initially overwhelmed, loosing focus, and eventually figuring out they have to sell much of their collection to fund animals with better compatibility. I only have a single animal I did that with, an ultramel female. Ultramel and lavender is not a logical combo. But I can still put this new ODYB Enchi Leopard pied with her, or the enchi leopard clown also posted above, and make some nice hets. With the way this leopard enchi clown male is growing I expect he will get the first chance at her later this upcoming season.

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They are all looking great man! So much color and possibilities!

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Thanks Brandon!

Took another round of photos of this sweet little YB Pied Het Lav male this morning. Just weighed in at 221 grams.






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YB Pied Het Lav male and Pied Het Lav female

I recently sold the YB Pied Het Lav male and wanted to snap a few comparison shots of him next to a regular pied before I ship him off. I think they’re both getting ready to go into a shed cycle and not at their peak brightness but I got some good closeups highlighting the difference in color and pattern regardless.




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Awesome looking snakes! I have to admit the willbanks method has me curious. I dont think it will have the same negative effects as power feeding, but am definately interested in seeing a larger sample size than just him. Please let us know of any complications as well as the good! The more info available, the easier it is to keep the snakes healthy. If its a viable method, thats awesome!

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I really like these two like a lot lol! Super nice stuff Ryan!

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Thanks guys!

Yeah the Wilibanks method has definitely resulted in exploded growth from the enchi clown male. I haven’t been following it exactly though. I produce my own rats, have limited supply, and sometimes the rats are a little bigger than 1/7th the size of normal. In that case I feed less frequently. Sometimes it’s every other day, sometimes it’s daily, sometimes it’s 3 times per week … depending on the sizes I have available. My immediate concern was the potential for regurgitation but I’ve never had one (ever, with any of my ball pythons actually). I’ll slow things down at 600 grams or so. I doubt there will be any long term health effects but we shall see.

The ODYB Enchi Leopard Pied male is a tiny little guy. I’ve been feeding him very small pinky rats every other day or so and he has thickened up really quick and just went into a shed cycle. I think it is working very well with him as well. I’ve never needed to resort to feeding my ball pythons mice. Almost all my hatchlings have taken live rats on the first try with the remaining on the second.

Another idea I’m testing out is whether breeding younger females sub-1500 grams is detrimental to health or long term production. I’ve heard multiple credible highly experienced breeders say pairing at 1200-1300 grams is fine, they’ll breed/produce when they’re ready. I had one I paired last season at around 1300 grams and she produced a clutch of 6 before her second birthday. I’ve seen it said that they wont put the weight back on well if they produce this early, or they wont have many eggs, or there will be deformities, etc. I’ve experienced none of the above with my female. She put the weight back on faster than an older female I have that also produced last season. I haven’t weighed her but I suspect she is 1700g+ at this point after laying 4 months ago. I didn’t push her at all feeding wise as a baby, weekly feedings of appropriate size, which is her current regimen as well. I plan to pair her again this year and I bet she will do great.

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Fresh photos of this awesome little girl. Just went through a shed.

Pastel YB Dreamsicle





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