Season 2026/2027
The ball python pairs we are planning for this season — including what we expect from them. We calculate the probabilities with our genetics calculator, so you know in advance what a particular pairing can produce.
The probabilities are a statistical estimate based on the genetics of the parents, not a guarantee of the result.
The goal is a BEL (Blue-Eyed Leucistic) — Mojave and Butter belong to the same allelic complex, so when they meet in one hatchling they produce a white snake with blue eyes.
♂ Paradox — Pastel, Mojave, Calico · ♀ Lumi — Butter, Cinnamon, Bongo
The BEL complex is a group of genes that sit at the same place on the chromosome — our catalogue lists nine of them, including Mojave, Butter, Bamboo, Lesser and Mystic. One copy gives the animal its own distinctive look. Any two copies from this group together, however, create a Blue-Eyed Leucistic: an almost pure white snake with blue eyes.
The key point is that the two copies do not have to be the same. You do not need two Mojaves — Mojave from one parent and Butter from the other is enough. That is exactly this pair. Paradox carries one copy of Mojave, Lumi one copy of Butter, and when the two meet, a BEL is produced.
At this locus there are therefore four equally likely outcomes: Mojave + Butter gives a BEL, or the hatchling inherits only Mojave, only Butter, or neither. Each possibility accounts for a quarter of the hatchlings.
One thing surprises even experienced keepers: a leucistic snake is white all over, so the other genes simply cannot be seen on it. If a BEL hatchling also inherits Pastel or Calico, its appearance does not change — but it carries the gene on and it will show in the next generation. That is why BEL animals are listed simply as “BEL” in the breakdown, even though genetically they carry more.
64 possible outcomes in total.
The percentages for Pastel, Calico, Cinnamon and Bongo are genetic — the animal carries the gene. On a leucistic hatchling, however, it cannot be seen.
Visual Piebald hatchlings — both parents are visual Piebalds.
♂ Ceratos — Piebald · ♀ Naga — Piebald
Piebald is a recessive gene, and that is a completely different mechanism from most other morphs. Recessive means that one copy is not enough — a snake that has Piebald from only one parent looks completely normal. It carries the gene but does not show it. Such an animal is called het Piebald, and you cannot tell it apart from a normal snake by looking at it.
Only when two copies meet does what made Piebald famous appear: sharply defined white areas without any pattern, alternating with normally coloured sections. The distribution is different for every animal and cannot be influenced — or predicted.
Both Ceratos and Naga are visual Piebalds, which means both have two copies. Every hatchling therefore receives one copy from the father and one from the mother and will be a visual Piebald. This is the only pair of the season without any lottery — there are no possible hets here that could only be guessed at.
1 possible outcome in total.
Piebald is recessive and both parents carry it — all hatchlings will be visual Piebalds.
A crossline pairing — Gravel and Yellow Belly sit at the same locus, so the male always passes on one of them. We are aiming for Highway (Gravel + Yellow Belly) and for Ivory, the super form of Yellow Belly.
♂ Leonidas — Pastel, Gravel, Yellow Belly · ♀ Aurora — Banana, Bamboo, Yellow Belly
A gene sits at a specific place on the chromosome — we call it a locus. Every snake has two copies there, one from each parent. Gravel and Yellow Belly are not two independent genes: they are two different versions of the same place. So a snake cannot have “both extra” alongside the normal version — it has either one, or the other, or a different one from each parent.
Leonidas is exactly such a case. At this locus he has no wild-type version at all — he carries Gravel and Yellow Belly. This leads to something that does not happen with ordinary pairs: every single hatchling from him receives either Gravel or Yellow Belly. None comes out “clean”.
Aurora contributes one copy of Yellow Belly. When both sides meet, four equally likely combinations arise: Gravel + Yellow Belly gives Highway, and two copies of Yellow Belly give Ivory — an almost white animal that is the super form of Yellow Belly. The remaining two possibilities are plain Gravel and plain Yellow Belly.
Banana is inherited differently from the other genes — it is sex-linked. In snakes it works the opposite way to mammals: the female has Z and W chromosomes, the male two Zs. Banana sits on the Z. Because the female carries it here, she can only pass it to her sons — she gives her daughters her W. In practice, this means that every Banana hatchling from this pair will be male.
32 possible outcomes in total.
The male has no wild-type allele at this locus — every hatchling therefore receives either Gravel or Yellow Belly. Banana is Z-linked: because the female carries it, only males will inherit it.
The most complex pair of the season — Pastel and Fire form a Firefly base, layered with Pinstripe, Leopard and Calico. The aim is extremely high-contrast, clean animals.
♂ Björn — Super Pastel, Fire, Pinstripe, het Clown · ♀ Hera — Leopard, Pinstripe, Calico
Björn is a Super Pastel, not a Pastel. The difference is fundamental: he carries two copies of the same gene instead of one. With incompletely dominant genes, the double dose has its own, more striking look — and above all it means that he cannot fail to pass on Pastel. Every single hatchling from this pair will be a Pastel, because the father has nothing else to give.
Both parents have Pinstripe, which works differently — it is dominant and has no super form. A snake with two copies looks the same as a snake with one. So three out of four hatchlings will be visual Pinstripes, but which of them have two copies cannot be told from their appearance. Only a test pairing would reveal it.
Fire, Leopard and Calico each contribute one copy, each with a fifty per cent chance. Pastel together with Fire gives the combination known as Firefly — and it is this that forms the light, high-contrast base on which Leopard and Calico stand out the most.
Clown is a different story in this pair. It is recessive and only Björn carries it, so a visual Clown cannot come from this pairing — the second copy is missing. Half of the hatchlings will inherit it and half will not, but there is no way to tell them apart. All of them are therefore labelled 50% possible het Clown, and that is how we sell them. Listing them as 100% het would be untrue.
16 possible outcomes in total.
Clown is inherited only from the father, so all hatchlings are “50% possible het Clown” — without test breeding it is impossible to say which of them carry the gene. We never sell them as 100% het.
Pastel on both sides — we are aiming for Super Pastel combinations with Mojave and Calico.
♂ Paradox — Pastel, Mojave, Calico · ♀ Moria — Pastel, Pinstripe
When both parents carry one copy of the same incompletely dominant gene, a possibility opens up that a one-sided pair can never give: a hatchling can receive a copy from both at once. With Pastel, such an animal is called a Super Pastel, and it is not just “more Pastel” — it has its own, noticeably lighter and cleaner look.
The split is classic: a quarter of the hatchlings receive Pastel from both parents and will be Super Pastels, half receive one copy and will be ordinary Pastels, and the last quarter will not have Pastel at all. In total, three out of four hatchlings will be some form of Pastel.
Mojave comes only from Paradox. It belongs to the BEL complex, but Moria has nothing from this complex, so a leucistic hatchling cannot come from this pairing — that would require a partner who also contributes to the complex. Mojave will show on its own here, in half of the hatchlings.
Calico and Pinstripe complete the pattern, each with a fifty per cent chance. The most interesting animals from this pair will be those that combine Super Pastel with the light Mojave — a combination you cannot get from a one-sided Pastel pair.
24 possible outcomes in total.
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