Help with hatching ID’s Please for my first ball python hatchlings.
Parents, Male Super Banana Pastel + Female Butter Pastel.
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5 of the 7 together for comparison:- (the one on the far right is in shade but is the same as the one next to it at the bottom) Picture before first shed not grate lighting.
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I have split them up into what I think are Butter bananas and bananas. I might be wrong about that but ,if i am not, its the non pastel, pastel and super pastel I’m not sure about.
All these are after the first shed and in natural light.
First the non Butters- I would guess ‘S’ Is a super pastel???
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Now the supposed butter bananas:-
And a close up of the lighter 2 of those
Your opinions please
Edit: I am pretty sure the Male parent is a super banana by the lack of spots and lightness. I also have
both sexes in the darker ones that I think might be butter and the bananas without butter.
Although I know the sex linked banana thing seems to throw out less sex linked anomalies more as time goes on. 2 definite males, Spot and Dash. the rest females…
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I think you are right with the top bananas, the s definitely looks super pastel by the lighter and busier sides for sure! On bottom you are correct all three look butter and the darker one would in my opinion be pastel because of the blushing on the back of the head, so the other 2 erased head looking ones would be super pastel. That’s what it looks like to me. Pretty snakes, I wish the contrast would stay more with the bananas as they get older, looks so awesome when they are young! Great job!
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Thanks, yes I to wish bananas would hold their colour and contrast- but in a way maybe not?,
but is that not their particular beauty - that the change so much?
As I have a super with no spots, I would love a female for him with extreme spots.
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That’s awesome @ascended ! Congratulations on an incredible looking clutch.
Spot is the one I like the most. Gorgeous snake.
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Thanks that makes sense also the two lighter butters have a bit busier pattern
Other than the super pstel, I’m still not sure if the others above are pastel or not.
Any ideas about how to tell the difference?
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So typically (at least from my experience) it’s hard to tell pastel sometimes. I had a clutch recently hatch out from a banana bumblebee specter x normal, and here’s the 3 bananas I got.
You can see the bottom one isn’t nearly as “purple” and the oranges are more of a yellow.
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Thanks that will help in the future, but other than the super pastel, all the other 3 are identical, so I have nothing to compare with. 
or are you saying they are not faded enough to be pastel
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With bananas it is difficult, but in my experience the sides pattern, especially toward the bottom will be white or more faded look, also the heads look very white on all, but some regular bananas also have very faded heads. Also like @nswilkerson1 pointed out normal bananas tend to have more dark oranges, purples on the dorsal. I could kinda see hats sides look faded near the bottom, still hard to tell for sure. Their heads are so white all have the pastel look on their heads at least!
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As @banereptiles pointed out it definitely can be hard. They make a good point when it comes to looking at the sides of them. I would probably give it another shed cycle, and see how they look. Bananas are already so bright, they’re tricky.
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@banereptiles and @nswilkerson1
I will l get some side pictures if we get some Sun in the UK soon 
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Even if it’s not sunny, just an overcast day, natural light is the most important thing. I find the sun can wash them out or make some of the colors not look right in photos
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@banereptiles and @nswilkerson1 here are some side photos of the same one dash
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Thanks for the side pics, I don’t know to me it looks like the Alien heads on all are starting to fade out which is a decent marker of pastel. You got that and there crazy white heads - I am leaning towards all three being pastel. Crazy odds though, I know. Still very hard to say with this banana clutch. I think you may have to see if the sides start fading even more after this next shed like @nswilkerson1 said. They continue fading on the sides, I would say pastel on all! I may be wrong, but that’s my best guess!
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I’d agree with @banereptiles. I found one pic of my banana pastel that you can see his alien heads with the white showing up, which all yours appear to have, and my normal bananas did not.
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@banereptiles and @nswilkerson1
Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.
I guess with pastel X pastel if there is a 25 % of a super + a 50% chance of a single pastel = total 75% of at least 1 pastel gene, so its not too much over the odds for all to be pastel.
Tell me if you think any of that is wrong.
Also its possible the father is a super pastel I guess, the seller was not sure about that and had it as a super banana, possible super pastel…
Here is a baby picture of him.
Anyway I will take more pictures after the first shed. Thanks again.
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Also I fed my adults today and a few of these babies smelt the rat smell in the room during the defrost and were sniffing at the front of their boxes, so I tried a few with one pink rat and ‘S’ took it immediately. Only 2 days after the first shed…
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That’s great to get on food so fast! If the male was a super pastel it would make the ids really easy for sure! You are right it is totally possible even if he wasn’t super pastel as well, just playing the odds game seem not as likely. One thing you got to love about so many genes, never know what your going to get. Always exciting when they come out!
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@banereptiles
Strange - all my straight bananas have eagerly feed twice now with what i call passively, not strike feeding but if I leave the food with them for a while thy take it,.
But nothing for the banana butters.
I have got some african soft fur rats of various small sizes to try that for them to try if they done take rat pups this weekend. Most likely jut a coincidence.
Unless you can reliably get asfs I would try live hopper mice first, usually I try rat fuz then mouse hoppers live. Then after they eat mice 1-2 times I try going back to rats, then I will try frozen/thawed rat. I can’t get asfs and if your snake only eats asfs, if you plan to sell it can be a turn off for some potential buyers as well.
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I can get a regular source of ASF here Lucaly, Probably because of the problem below–
I used to use Live decades ago, but its illegal in the UK now to use live unless its a last resort, basically that means unless the snake would die of starvation otherwise, thats a pain 
Stupid I know, our UK snakes in the wild take live. Circle of life.
Yes I know that’s a problem for buyers. I might try mice too,
and be it ASF or mice I will have to spend ages getting them onto rats with scenting or tricking them by swopping the food item before strike,
Stupid uninformed and uneducated United Kingdom laws to protect animals but that actually harm animals
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Oh I apologize, I know you are in the U.K. You are right about the laws, it happens here all the time. Ignorant people making laws to protect, does the animals, business and people a real disservice. I have only 2 from last season that I couldn’t get onto rats, but without using live you are right, may be a tough situation. I still say mice first, just because I know a lot of people that have to feed asfs, never able to get them off there natural diet. Good luck though!
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