Hi everybody, I’m going to apologize in advance 'cause english is not my first language so I’m trying my best to explain myself
I need some help with the id of a ball python
The breeder told me he is a specter/asphalt yellow belly pastel, he is almost one.
I’ve talked with other breeders that work with yellow belly complex, and all of them told me that they have some doubts about the pastel, and they also ave some doubts about the genes of the yb complex
I’ve tried to do some research myself, and i found out that the parkway (asphalt specter) is quite similar, but so does the specter gravel
So I’m looking for some help, because he also has some small spots all along the stripe on this back, and I haven’t found anythong similar in all the other animals that I’ve seen doing my research, so I don’t know if they can be related to the yb complex or to some other genes
Unfortunatly the breeder didn’t gave me the morph of the parents
Thanks in adveance to all of you that will try to help me
Greetings
Headstamp is consistent with having pastel and enchi.
Thanks for your answer, doesn’t enchi reduces the pattern on the side? I’ve never thaught about that gene in him because the pattern on the side is quite big…
And what about the gravel/asphalt/specter/yb? What genes do you think that he can carry?
Thank you again!
Ohhh he’s pretty!
So the genes you said the breeder told you is a Pastel Super Stripe (Specter x Yellowbelly) which does somewhat line up with comparisons I’m seeing on MorphMarket. However…
He is definitely Yellowbelly, but I’m not too sure with Pastel. The headstamp screams Fire because of the dark “dot” in the middle of the headstamp, along with the lighter coloring, I have a Fire Leopard male with pretty much the same headstamp, just a bit more faded.
He has a pretty dark solid coloring compared to the Fire Super Stripes and much bolder Alienheads, which appear very faded and grainy on the Fire Super Stripes.
I disagree with Enchi… if he had Enchi the Alienheads would be pretty much nonexistent in combination with the other genes listed.
Unfortunately I cannot really place what else may be going on here… I can only really confidently eliminate potential genes that were said had been present.
@t_h_wyman you have been summoned to assist 
Edit: If you are capable @silviamanni you can try doing a shed test panel through MorphMarket/RGI, it may be the best bet you have since you don’t have any parent information.
First of all @cmsreptiles thank you so much for your reply. I had some doubts about the enchi, too. I hadn’t considered the fire for him, but I actually have a female Mahogany Fire, and the head is very similar. As for the YB complex, I had ruled out the YB by looking at other animals with different patterns. How do I know it’s present? I have seen some parkway that looked quite similiar so that’s why I thought that yb wasn’t in him
I would like to try with a shade test, but as far as i have seen since now most of the shade test are about looking for specific genes, just to confirm if that gene is present, and for him would be a bit restrictive, I should find a test where i send the shed and they test that for all the possible genes, but I understand that it is a huge work and has a huge price too… and he’s not in my main projects, so probably I will just breed him and will see how the babies will look like
I have a super stripe ready for him, so hopefully something good will come out
You’re welcome! 
So what I look for in Yellowbellys is a lack of white along the sides of the snake, especially in between the Alienheads on the lower sides nearing their belly. Non YB snakes have much higher white tones, even in combinationwith other morphs.
On the headstamp it will be topped with a lighter brown tone especially towards the back of the head.
The belly will have checkered like markings on the edges of the belly nearing the sides and the middle of the belly is typically solid with no marking. Despite the name Yellowbelly, not all Yellowbellys have to have yellow coloration on the belly, thats why I look for other indicators.
And the coloration overall on the snake may be richer, with black areas of the body appearing more like a dark brown on darker morph combos.
I have a baby Cinnamon Sugar YB I can share an example of once I get some good photos of her, just to show how YB can interact with other morphs.
@cmsreptiles thanks again, here there are other two BP that i have, both YB, and your message helps me a lot to really understand this gene
They are vanilla cream yb, and bamboo vanilla yb
I’m really into the yb complex, because it can create some really amazing combos, but I’m aware that I really have so many things to learn about this world!
So cronfronting with other ball pythons lovers and knowlers is really helpful for me!
.
.
.
@silviamanni, since you said English is not your first language, I want to make sure that we are both on the same page with our communication so I have a question with how you are labeling this animal. When you write it out as “Specter/Asphalt Yellowbelly”, my brain understands that to mean '“this is either Specter Yellowbelly (aka SuperStripe) or Asphalt Yellowbelly (aka Freeway)”. Is that what you mean?
If that is indeed what you mean, then based on what I am seeing I believe your animal is an example of a busy patterned SuperStripe, I have seen many that look like it over the years
If I am misunderstanding your labeling, then I will re-evaluate my answer but for now I will hold off to prevent confusion in that regard
As far as other genes are concerned, I do not see anything else present in this animal. It definitely is not Pastel
.
.
.
This is not fully accurate. RGI has a ‘YB Panel’ available that tests a shed against every gene in the complex that they currently have a test for. That panel would certainly provide you with the clarity you need. However, if you are not in the US then you may have difficulties getting a shed sent in due to Customs/USDA/Lacey Act restrictions
@t_h_wyman
Until the kind answer of @cmsreptiles I wasn’t so sure about yb, so in my first post, the two options that i had for the animal were asphalt specter or gravel specter
Now that we are quite sure about the yb, I’d like to try to understand what kind of combo he has, if he is a yb asphalt, yb grave, yb spark or something similar
I have a female from the same breeder, she also doesn’t carry the same genes that he sold me, but luckily she’s quite easy to unserstand, because she is a super stripe (I’ll attach a picture of her)
and they are quite different, so I’ve never taught about a superstripe for him
and I’ve excluded the asphalt yb beause he absolutely doesn’t look like a freeway to me, and also doesn’t look like a highway
so the genes of the yb complex, if I’m right, should be 5, and if one of the two genes in this animal is for sure yb, than my combos can be:
yb x yb : ivory, and he doesn’t look like that
yb x gravel : highway defnitly not
yb x asphalt: freeway, definitly not
yb x spark: puma, still doesn’t look even similar
yb x specter: super stripe, that looks like the only option at this point
I had no idea that the super stripe could have the pattern that he has on the side of the body, I’ve always tought about a clean side witha strong stripe on the back
So I’ll wait for your answer just to make sure that he is really a super stripe
Here you’ll find the picture of my superstripe female
Unfortunatly no, I’m not from the Us, but I’ll look for someone to do a shed test with the yb omlex here in Europe, hope I’ll fine someone!
Thanks again to all of you for your help!!
Update
I have found the picture of the mother, and I think she should be an Ivory, but she has some small black spots that i guess may be related to some other genes… do you guys have any guess?
Silvia,
YB does not necessarily have to be in your animal. There are a number of less common combinations in that complex that make confusing looking animals
Unfortunately, since you noted the breeder did not provide the morphs of the parents, we are stuck with pure speculation. Which is to say, only a guessing game. We can make some informed guesses, but they are still nothing guaranteed
So with that in mind… As I said, I can certainly see this being nothing more than a busy patterned SuperStripe. Some example I dug up with a quick search:
That said, I could also possibly see your animal being a Parkway (Asphalt Specter) or Pavement (Gravel Specter). My Parkway from a few years ago as an example:
Been some time since I saw a pic of a SuperSpecter, but I seem to recall they could have a fair bit of patterning as well. As you can see, there can be dramatic overlap in the phenotype between the combos
.
.
.
This animal looks like a fully mature Puma or possibly Highway to my eye, not an Ivory (Ivories do not freckle, or at least none of mine have). But again, without knowing the exact genetics of the parents, we are only throwing darts at a wall in the dark. At best, we can say with certainty that the animal in question is a compound heterozygous YB complex animal. Beyond that… 
.
.
.
I am almost certain there is a testing company in Europe. I want to say they are in the UK, but do not quote me on that. I will message Ben and see if he knows for sure
Ben got back to me quick.
The company in the EU that does shed testing is called Repgen under Prague Morphs. They are able to accept sheds from anywhere in the EU and are running the same tests as RGI
You should be able to look them up easily enough from that info but if you need help let me know
Yes. Of course we’re just trying to guess, I don’t expect anything more than an exchange of opinions with people more experienced than me in this field, in which I am studying a lot but I still have a lot to learn
I had no idea about the existence of a buisy pattern in SuperStripe, but actually yes, it can be a good guess for him
I’ll wait for his next shed, and I’ll try to get in touch with the company that you have kindly suggested
And probably I’ll try to test also my female, just to have a more clear idea of which can be the results of their breeding
Thanks a lot for all your help, and i still apologieze if i have made some mistakes in my posts
Have a good one
Nothing to apologize for 
You came seeking help and we (I hope) were able to provide at least some direction even if it was not a perfectly clear answer. The language disparity may have caused some hiccoughs, but from my end I still believe it was a good conversation 
When you do finally get the results of the shed test, please come back and let us know