#spider morph

[rising-in-the-ash]

Got a snake recently. He’s an albino spider morph ball python. He’s silly. I love him.

[morroodle]

I went to a reptile expo yesterday and had an amazing time and took about 150 photos but tumblr is stupid and only lets me share 10 of them on one post so I'll just give some of my favorites

I got to hold a baby beardie! They're soooo tiny and so cute <333 seeing the other adult beardies made me realize that my girl Tanzi was TINY. She was just a little lady compared to the others! Also I may or may not have cried a lot a little when I pet a beardie again for the first time.

There were so many cool and pretty and unique animals I am so sad I can't share more of them. I love all the ball python morphs and now im more determined than ever to get my own little fella. I think I'll go with a pastel morph if I can, they're so pretty to me. Also reminder please do not support the spider morph it causes neurological defects in the snakes and that is not good it is unethical.

I think if I had to pick a winner for the most unique animal I found it would be this scaleless (aka silky) bearded dragon

This man is naked! They stole his spikes! His name was Chicken Wing and he used to have a friend but his friend chomped his tail like an asshole and so was banished. I got to pet him and oh man they feel so weird and so cool. Very soft!

[fellowshipofthenoodles]

Dizzy got some new stuff for her enclosure! Because of her wobble, we have to make sure everything we get for her is extra secure, and things she can grab onto easily for balance.

At the end you can see her corkscrew a little before she can right herself - this is normal for her, especially as she was a little stressed from having been handled and having new things in her home.

*Dizzy has the spider gene in her morph, which causes neurological issues like wobbling, corkscrewing and stargazing. Every single spider morph has this gene. Spider morphs are unethical to breed, and we would never support it. Dizzy is a rehome.

[id: Dizzy, the brown and cream ball python, exploring her enclosure. She starts coming over the top of her water bowl, pauses in place for a few seconds before her head goes backwards and she arches away before righting herself]

[fellowshipofthenoodles]

Dizzy was VERY offended that Boba's uneaten meal was given to Second Breakfast instead of her

*Note: we do not support the breeding or purchasing of spider morph ball pythons, please rescue or rehome but don't increase demand for them. Dizzy was a rehome.

[ID: Two pictures of Dizzy the white, cream and brown ball python, in the first her head is pointed upwards and in the second she's looking at the camera]

[fimbry]

what's the issue with spider ball pythons exactly? i'm not planning on getting one but your tags are the first time i've heard there being problems

They're the original wobbler. These days there are many genes that wobble, but spiders were the first. Wobble = snake lacks motor control and ability to tell up from down, leading their movements to be unnatural, frightening, "corkscrewing" and at rest they wobble around.

For decades people have insisted this was fine, it could be bred out. People insisted that THEIR spiders didn't wobble, only the spiders of THOSE OTHER BAD BREEDERS wobbled. They just needed some outcrossing and it would be fine, which they had "responsibly" done!

Of course none of this was true. Spiders have been around for ~25 years and they wobble now just as much as they did back then, and they're one of the most outcrossed, possibly THE most outcrossed, gene in ball pythons.

The gene that causes the pattern mutation also causes an inner ear deformity leading to terrible balance issues. It is also random, as in the baby can have it worse than the parent, and vice versa. Some have it so bad they have to be euthanized at hatching. It can't be bred out, they all have it to varying degrees.

Relevant study

If the "we can breed it out!" and "MY spiders DON'T wobble, unlike those other bad breeder's spiders!" rhetoric sounds familiar, it should. You will hear that same song regarding any mutation that is tied to something detrimental, and breeders who invested thousands into their projects are seldom easily deterred.

Literally the only case I've heard of where the pattern/color mutation was NOT tied to the detrimental effect is the granite morph in carpet pythons. When this morph was new, it was inbred to hell and back which lead to kinked spines and short lifespans, weakness, failure to thrive, etc. It was so bad that the entire gene was nearly lost at one point. After more people got this morph and outcrossed it appropriately, these negatives disappeared and the gene is much healthier these days. These weaknesses were due to the inbreeding, not to the morph itself, and it did not take long to figure this out.

(One thing of note, I do think the lavender morph in false water cobras can be saved much the same way, but jury is still out. Right now they have the same problems the granite carpets did, but they were similarly inbred and mass produced horrifically.)

Now if I had to list every detrimental morph where inbreeding wasn't the cause, and it WAS the gene, well, the list would be long as hell and growing.

[fellowshipofthenoodles]

I love her so much 🥹

Please note that Dizzy is a neuro morph, and a rehome. We hate neuro morph breeders in this house.

[id: Dizzy, the cream, yellow and brown ball python with copper eyes, curled up in a ball and looking over at the camera]

[fellowshipofthenoodles]

Wait what's wrong with spider morphs? /Gen

Hey!

Spider morph ball pythons carry a gene that means they have a central nervous system disorder. This means they wobble/corkscrew - meaning their head shakes about, and they loop around a bunch. They can’t find their up from their down, and their equilibrium is fucked.

This is Dizzy - she’s our spider gene carrying bab, and her wobble is severe. In the first picture, she’s looping back on herself, and in the second she’s pressed against the wall to try and steady herself.

[id: a cream and brown ball python as described above]

Breeders and some owners say that not all spiders wobble. And that’s .. vaguely true, but not really. All spider morphs carry the gene for the wobble. Every single one of them. It greatly reduced their estimated lifespan, and oftentimes babies need to be culled when they hatch because of deformities.

They’re beautiful, and that’s why breeders love them, because they know they can sell them. But they’re not an ethical morph, at all.

When we can, we’ll get a video of Dizzy to show here. It’s sad, and honestly, if it gets any worse, we’ll have to seriously consider euthanasia for her. Which would break our hearts, but we need to do what’s best for her.

[fellowshipofthenoodles]

What morph is Dizzy?

Long story short - dunno.

She’s part spider morph though, and as pretty as she is, we don’t want to seem like we’re encouraging people to go to breeders for them. We’re 100% against people breeding spider and other designer morphs where it’s known to cause problems for the snake.

Dizzy’s very cute but she has severe neurological conditions related to her patterning, that come with every ball python with the spider gene (even if they don’t show it).

Please don’t seek out spider morphs from breeders, or shops; if you’re that interested, then look for rehomes, and be prepared to be looking after a disabled snake who may get worse if your husbandry is even slightly off, or just because.

We took Dizzy on knowing that one day we’d probably have to make the very hard decision to escort her to the rainbow bridge, but til then we’re giving her the best life thag we can offer her.

[id: a cream and brown patterned ball python curled up in a swirl in her viv with her head resting on her body]