Morphs of The Reticulated Python and Selective Breeding
Hello everyone!
Thank you for sticking with us on our journey with Reticulated pythons. We mainly breed and sell Reticulated pythons in the UK but feel we want to contribute to this amazing community.
So we thought it would be a good idea to go over some of the morphs and their features. This isn’t a comprehensive list and won’t contain all the morphs and their associated features.
First, what is recessive, dominant and incomplete dominant?
Dominant Traits: Dominant traits in reticulated pythons only require one copy of the gene to be present for the trait to be expressed. Most morphs in reticulated pythons are not typically linked to dominant genes.
Recessive Traits: In reticulated pythons, several morphs are linked to recessive traits, which means that two copies of the gene, one from each parent, must be present for the trait to be visible. For example, the albino or amelanistic trait in reticulated pythons is a recessive trait. This means that both parents must carry the gene for a chance at producing albino offspring.
Incomplete Dominant: In the case of reticulated pythons, incomplete dominance is more often observed, where a heterozygous individual will display an intermediate phenotype. An example in reticulated pythons is the Platinum morph. A snake with one copy of the Platinum gene will be a Platinum python, while a snake with two copies will be a "Super Platinum." The Super Platinum has a more extreme expression of the Platinum trait.
Albino or Amelanistic: A simple recessive trait, which results in the lack of melanin. These snakes lack black pigmentation and instead appear in a variety of yellows, creams, and whites with red or pink eyes. There are a few different versions of the albino now.
Lavender: This is a variation of the Albino trait that results in lavender coloration rather than the usual yellow or white.
Caramel Albino: A recessive trait that, like the Albino trait, removes the dark pigmentation, but leaves a caramel or toffee color instead of the usual yellow and white.
Platinum: This incomplete dominant gene lightens the snake's color, giving it an almost iridescent quality. Snakes with two copies of this gene (the 'super' form) are lighter still and may be almost white with a yellow tint.
Golden Child: An incomplete dominant trait that results in a largely patternless body, typically darker with some gold coloration, hence the name.
Tiger: This dominant gene disrupts the pattern on the snake's scales. The 'super' form, often referred to as a 'Super Tiger', has an even more disrupted pattern.
Phantom: The Phantom morph is an incomplete dominant gene that affects the coloration and patterning of the snake. It generally results in a darker, more uniform color and a significant alteration in the usual "net" pattern of a reticulated python.
Mocha: An incomplete dominant gene which can result in a more golden color and higher contrast. The super form is called Mochino and, when combined with the Albino gene, it results in a Toffee morph.
Anthrax: A dominant gene that changes the reticulated pattern of the snake to a more “floating” appearance.
Sunfire: An incomplete dominant gene that enhances the coloration, often resulting in brighter yellows and more intense oranges.
Motley: This incomplete dominant gene disrupts the normal reticulated pattern and often results in a row of dorsal blotches. The 'super' form, called 'Super Motley', is a darker snake and often almost solid in color.
Anery or Anerythristic: Anerythristic pythons lack red pigmentation, which gives them a unique appearance different from normal Reticulated Pythons. They usually display in varying shades of black, white, and gray, creating a somewhat monochromatic or 'black and white' look. Anery can be combined with other morphs to create a diverse array of appearances. It's worth noting that there are different types of anerythristic morphs in snakes, such as Type 1 (black and white) and Type 2 (more of a brownish look), but the specifics can depend on the species and particular line of morph.
Pied: This recessive trait results in large, irregular patches of white along the snake's body.
Ocelot: This recessive gene was first produced by NERD (New England Reptile Distributors). The Ocelot morph disrupts the regular pattern of the snake and leads to large color and pattern variations, even within the same clutch of eggs. The pattern appears blotchy, somewhat reminiscent of an ocelot cat's coat, hence the name.
Jaguar: This morph results from a dominant gene that significantly alters the pattern and color of the snake. Jaguars typically have a much lighter color than normal retics, often with a yellow or golden tone, and their pattern is highly disrupted, with large blotches instead of the small, intricate reticulations seen in normal retics.
Orange Ghost Stripe (OGS): This is a stunning morph that's recessive. This morph was first produced by Bob Clark and is known for its striking orange and brown colors, often arranged in a dorsal stripe running the length of the snake's body. The exact coloration and pattern can vary, with some OGS pythons appearing more orange and others appearing more brown.
Genetic Stripe: Genetic Stripe is another recessive trait. This morph is characterized by a solid stripe running down the length of the snake's back. The sides are typically a normal reticulated pattern, though they can be slightly altered. The coloration of Genetic Stripes can vary, but they're typically darker than normal retics.
Cow: The Cow morph is a combination of the Orange Ghost Stripe and the Phantom genes. This results in a mostly white snake with random patches of color and pattern. The white color comes from the combination of the OGS and the Phantom, both of which reduce the snake's normal pattern. The colored patches are often a mix of the orange/brown color from the OGS and the darker color from the Phantom.
Ultra: An incomplete dominant gene that alters the coloration and pattern of the snake, often resulting in a lighter appearance with higher contrast between the darker and lighter areas.
Snow: This morph is the result of combining the Albino and Anerythristic traits, both recessive. Lacking both black and red pigmentation, Snow Reticulated Pythons typically have a white or light cream base color, often with yellow or golden patterns. Their eyes are usually red or pink due to the absence of pigmentation in the iris.
Marble: This is an incomplete dominant morph that dramatically alters the pattern and coloration of the Reticulated Python. The Marble gene disrupts the reticulated pattern, often leading to a more chaotic, swirled pattern that can look like marble stone, hence the name. In addition, the Marble morph often has a lighter coloration, with hues ranging from light browns and yellows to grays and whites. 'Super Marble' is the homozygous form of this morph, presenting even more dramatically altered patterns and often lighter coloration.
Titanium: The Titanium morph is an incomplete dominant gene that changes the pattern of the Reticulated Python quite drastically. This morph usually has a darker base color, such as black or deep brown, with lighter contrasting colors that can range from yellow to white. The pattern of a Titanium tends to be disrupted, often presenting in an organized but less reticulated form, frequently with unique dorsal striping or blotches. 'Super Titanium' is the homozygous form of this trait, and these individuals often display even more dramatic pattern disruptions and lighter coloration.
SunTiger: This morph is a combination of the Sunfire and Tiger genes in the Reticulated Python. The Sunfire gene, an incomplete dominant trait, enhances the coloration of the snake, often resulting in brighter yellows and more intense oranges. The Tiger gene, another co-dominant trait, disrupts the pattern of the snake, typically resulting in a pattern with larger blotches and stripes instead of the small, intricate reticulations seen in normal retics. When these two traits combine, the result is a SunTiger Reticulated Python with vibrant colors and a distinctive, disrupted pattern. SunTigers can have a wide range of appearances, depending on the specific expressions of the Sunfire and Tiger traits in the individual snake
Paradox: This isn't a specific morph in the sense of a predictable, inherited genetic trait. Instead, the term "Paradox" is used to describe individual snakes that exhibit unexpected or unusual coloration or patterning that doesn't fit neatly into recognized morph categories.
Calico: The Calico morph typically exhibits a color and pattern change that gives the retic a spotted/blotched appearance, somewhat reminiscent of the calico cat (which is where the name comes from). This can manifest as an irregular pattern or patches of unusual coloration compared to the typical reticulated pattern.
The list isn’t comprehensive and we recommend you do proper research if you plan on selectively breeding. However, the list could go a long way to help you start learning about Reticulated pythons and their morphs. In future we plan on writing out an extensive journal of the morphs, the characterises, with accompanying images. But for now we will refer back to this and update where required.
Thanks for reading and we hope you learned something and we equally hope you can teach us something and add to this list and to our own knowledge.
Please check out the Retics we have for sale. We are based in the UK so delivery shouldn’t be an issue if you are also based in the UK. We have plenty of connections to assist with this.
Cold Blooded Coils Team
