Morph Issues [Reticulated Pythons]

These are mutations but inbreeding is minimal and doesn’t cause the morph issues. The mutations can be easily and quickly passed on. There are recessive and dominant mutations. The dominant mutations can be passed on visually with one parent having the gene. So, you could pair two totally unrelated snakes, and if one has the gene, half of the babies will have it, and there will be no inbreeding.

Recessive traits need to have both parents have a copy of the gene to produce visual offspring, so there is often inbreeding when a recessive trait is first discovered. But, over time the recessive trait is spread out very widely and paired to a huge variety of snakes that aren’t related. So, over time the only thing the animals with that gene have in common is that gene, other genes can’t cause issues.

For example, albinos only cause harm to the animals in very rare cases (which can be fixed with better husbandry, with dimmed lights). Other genes do have issues related to the morph, but they are often minimal and don’t cause any pain or harm to the animal. Some of them (like super golden child) often cause severe defects, so breeders avoid pairings that can produce that to avoid creating those animals.

That’s for mendelian genetics, in polymorphic traits (like crested geckos), inbreeding can occur more often since animals from similar pairings and colors/patterns are paired together. But, that kind of inheritance isn’t as common and doesn’t apply to retics or most snakes.

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Thanks for the great explanation of genes in easy to understand terms. The more i interact with the forums the more im learning about species im not as familiar with such as snakes. ( being only about a month working with snakes.) Im definitely glad for this space that we all can share what we love and we can learn so much more than an online article. I’ve definitely learned a lot and know i have so much more to learn about snakes.

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I agree, this forum is great. When I first got here I knew pretty much nothing about genetics and I only knew a little bit about leopard geckos. Now, from the forum, I actually understand a lot of genetics and I know a lot about a ton of different species.

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@erie-herps gave you a good explanation. Most morphs don’t have health issues associated with them, and some have only minor issues that don’t affect quality of life. A few do come with serious issues, but ethical breeders usually avoid producing morphs known to have serious problems (though there will always be unethical people who just don’t care if they think they can make a buck). And the issues that do exist are related to the mutations themselves, rather than being the result of inbreeding. Albinos are typically quite healthy. In some species they can be a bit more sensitive to light (though that’s not always the case), but that’s easy to manage with some husbandry adjustments. Unless I’m mistaken, one or both of your rosies are albino, aren’t they?

It’s also worth noting that many morph mutations were initially “discovered” in the wild. Many were even collected as adults, meaning their mutation(s) wasn’t a hindrance to their survival in the wild. There are even plenty of recorded cases of people finding wild adult albinos or leucistics, apparently surviving just fine, despite the fact that their light colouring would seemingly put them at a distinct disadvantage. :person_shrugging: Nature can do some crazy things, often with unexpected results.

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I appreciate everyone’s answers and yes both of my rosys are albino. I hope i didn’t come across as negative or as confrontational, if i did i do deeply apologize. I was just wondering about morphs and genes, being new to snakes ihave a lot to learn still, ive never had any morphs of other species.

I do apologize if my questions on the post were confrontational, condescending or offensive in any way, that certainly wasnoty intent. I love all the advice and support i received and i respect everyone here.

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Oh no, you didn’t come across as confrontational at all, and I hope I didn’t either. I was just trying to point out some examples of healthy albinos that you could see for yourself first-hand. :slight_smile:

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My 2 lover noodles are definitely healthy and i hope happy, even though i haven’t found Orange Crush i have faith she will be found. She wasnt behind or under the stove at least. There is still lots more search to do.

I love my animals even though my caregiver doesn’t like them or my momma hating them too.

My beautiful albino babies are my 1st ever morph experience and they are my world, just as my niece is.

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So I’m just kind of getting into reticulated pythons.

I’m wondering what Leucistic genes have the problems?

Is it the super phantom?

Black-eyed Leucys tend to have digestive issues. Varying reports of having to feed small meals and be less frequent with feedings. There were many rumours of better results from furless feeder animals (skinning rats etc.) but most currently feed whole prey and are having good results. Leucys have bred and laid good clutches (only a single female example as far as I am aware). I would not actively produce Platinum Leucistics but there is a little evidence to say LemonGlow Leucys are potentially more viable long term.
Super Phantoms have no issues so far as I’m aware. Lots of rumours, some regarding sight issues, but plenty of good sized animals with very little evidence to support the rumour mill.
Anthrax Super Phantom will give you a Black-eyed Leucy with none of the Platty Leucy issues.

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