The short version
- Bask applies REPTA's Deleterious Gene Policy in full. Every morph on their prohibited list is refused when a listing is saved.
- Healthy single-copy carriers can still be sold. Their listings show REPTA's breeding guidance, and a buyer confirms they have read it before an enquiry goes through.
- A prohibited morph's page stays up and explains why nothing is listed under it.
- REPTA review the list every six months. Bask follows each revision.
Why
Some morphs come with a hereditary condition. A spider royal python has an inner-ear defect that shows as wobble. A super champagne dies in the egg or within hours of hatching. An enigma leopard gecko has balance and coordination problems for life. The condition is part of the gene, so every animal carrying it is affected.
REPTA, the Reptile and Exotic Pet Trade Association, publish a list of these morphs. The British Veterinary Zoological Society endorses it. REPTA's view is that there is no ethical case for breeding or selling them when healthy alternatives exist. We agree, and we would rather apply the whole list than pick a subset and argue about the edges.
It also matters for trust. A buyer should be able to assume that anything listed here can be bred and kept without a known hereditary defect.
If you already keep one of these animals, nothing changes for you. A spider royal in a collection deserves the same care as any other snake. The rule is only that it cannot be advertised for sale here.
What is prohibited
| Species | Morph | Reason, in REPTA's words |
|---|---|---|
| Royal python | Spider, Super Spider | Inner-ear anomaly; moderate to severe wobble |
| Royal python | Super Champagne | Lethal |
| Royal python | Super Hidden Gene Woma | Lethal |
| Royal python | Super Black Pastel, Super Cinnamon | Underdeveloped lower jaw, spinal and tail kinking |
| Royal python | Champagne x Hidden Gene Woma | Often severe neurological issues |
| Boa | Super Motley (all three localities) | Metabolic; loses muscle tone |
| Boa | Super Jungle | Metabolic; poor digestion, fertility issues |
| Other pythons | Jaguar carpet python | Neurological; wobble, cannot self-right |
| Western hognose | Skullface, Super Skullface | Cranial, jaw, ocular and nasal malformation |
| Crested gecko | Super Cappuccino, Super Lilly White | Cranial, spinal, limb and skin defects |
| Leopard gecko | Enigma, Super Enigma | Neurological; balance, coordination, cognition |
| Leopard gecko | Lemon Frost, Super Lemon Frost | Skin tumours (iridophoromas) |
| Other lizards | Super White Out African fat-tail | Lethal |
| Bearded dragon | Silkback | Fragile skin, burns, dehydration, no UV-B filtering |
Champagne x Hidden Gene Woma is the one combination on the list. We check it from both sides, so a listing with both genes is refused whichever one the seller picks first.
REPTA also name some "risky combinations", and we treat those as advisory. Spider x Champagne and Spider x Hidden Gene Woma are already covered by the Spider ban. Super Spotnose, which REPTA say will probably be added later, gets a welfare note on the listing rather than a refusal. Their "genes under scrutiny" (Red Monster bearded dragon, Scoria boa) carry nothing for now.
What this means for sellers
A prohibited morph cannot be listed
The check runs when you create a listing, when you edit one, and when you switch one live. Bulk activate on your stock page skips the listing instead of failing the whole batch. The error message names the morph. A MorphMarket import skips the row and warns you instead of importing it.
For species with a morph catalogue we match on the exact morph you picked. Super Cinnamon is prohibited; Cinnamon is not. Other pythons and other lizards have no catalogue, so there we match the prohibited names as whole words in the morph line and the title. We never scan the description, so mentioning a morph in a paragraph does not trigger anything.
Breeding guidance on carrier morphs
Some morphs are healthy on their own but produce prohibited offspring when paired to a similar line. REPTA ask that a buyer of one of these animals is given written guidance and that a record is kept. Bask does both for you. The guidance sits on the listing as a plain "do not pair with" line, on these morphs:
- Royal python: Champagne, Hidden Gene Woma, Cinnamon, Black Pastel, Spotnose, Sable, Lesser, Butter
- Boa: Motley, Jungle
- Crested gecko: Cappuccino, Lilly White
- Bearded dragon: Leatherback
The enquiry form on one of these listings has a required tick box: "I have read the breeding guidance for Cinnamon shown on this listing." The confirmation is added to the first chat message you receive. That message is your record.
What this means for buyers
- Where a morph carries a welfare note, its pill on the listing is amber, and the note is repeated in the buy bar so you see it before you scroll.
- Every morph page states its welfare status, including "no documented concerns".
- A prohibited morph's page stays up. Search for "spider royal python" and you land on the page that explains why nothing is listed.
- Where a morph is better known by a nickname, the label reads morph name first, nickname after: "Super Spotnose (aka Powerball)".
- If a listing shows breeding guidance, read it. The tick box on the enquiry form gives the seller a record that you did.
What happens next
REPTA revise the list every six months and we follow each revision. When a morph is added, any listing already carrying it is taken down, the seller gets an email, and no strike is recorded. When a morph is removed, it can be listed again.
REPTA membership is for reptile shops, and a marketplace is not a shop. We are asking REPTA what wording they are happy with and whether a marketplace can be listed as a supporter. The Pet Advertising Advisory Group's standard 14 (no morphs with hereditary defects) is met by this change, and our PAAG application follows.
Every listing already links PAAG's buying advice. Species care guides are next, so a first-time keeper who sees a welfare note has somewhere to go.
If you have a question about a specific animal, or think a morph is on the list in error, contact us and we will take it to REPTA.
The full policy statement is on our Animal Welfare page. REPTA's list: repta.org/deleterious-gene-policy.