Hello!!! I"m new to the Python Community and will most likely be posting some questions now and then in hopes to soak up some wisdom from trustworthy sources! thank you all in advance!
I have been researching ball pythons for some time now as I prefer to be educated before diving in to owning animals. I have bred dogs, fish, and some other animals in the past but never reptiles. Being new, I will be buying 1 or 2 young females, taking my time to get used to them, and IF I decide that I would like t breed them in a couple of years when they are grown enough, I will then look for a male. I hope to get to know most of you and I look forward to being a part of this community! So just out of curiosity, I have read that when breeding ball pythons, you have to breed within the same “line.” So I was wondering, how does a guy find two females from the same “line” and when/if the time comes, how would I know and find a male that is the same line as my 2 females? I have tried to look through the filters while using this website browsing through the snakes, but I cant find anything that allows me to limit the search results to just one specific line. when I speak of “lines” I’m referring to, VPI, Snake keeper, Jolliff, and Marcus Jayne. Thank you in advance for your help!
You don’t have to breed the same lines together for the most part as long as it is the same gene. Pastel for example, there are plenty of lines just from people breeding good examples of animals that carry traits they find appealing such as high yellow or contrast just to make a quality animal and the best representation of that gene they can. I believe you are referring to the axanthic lines which are actually different genes from each other and are incompatible.
Hi and welcome to MRC, the reason you would have to breed the same line in this case is because the various lines of axanthics are not compatible, therefore to produce a visual axanthic both animals need to be from the same line.
People selling axanthics know which line they work with and it will be featured in their listing, if not simply pass.
Hi and welcome to the coolest community ever!!
Welcome! @stewart_reptiles hit it right on the dot about the lines. If you ask a breeder and they don’t know what you’re talking about - high pass as well.
I look forward to seeing your questions online!
Awsome!!! thank you for clarifying that for me!!
Ok great!! that makes much more sense! I don’t think I will be dabbling with axanthic at all… just not a personal favorite. But its great that I don’t need to be too concerned about it for other breeds! Thanks a lot!! 
Hi Erica!! Thank you! I’m Stoked! 
Most axanthic ball pythons on this site have their line indicated in their trait listing, if not in the title as well. If not, just ask the breeder. If the breeder doesn’t know, just pass. The VPI line is compatible with the Markus Jayne and NERD lines, but all other lines are incompatible. When I was working with axanthics, I chose to work with the rarer Jolliff line, because animals from this line often exhibit genetic banding. However, most people choose to work with either the VPI or TSK lines, because they are more available and more combos have been made with them. Good luck!