Black Head Royal Pythons for sale in the UK
Breeders use Black Head for projects with high-contrast and dark colours because it makes the bands thicker and leaves the belly white. This gene is part of the Spider complex. Reports exist of the super form wobbling, but these reports are unconfirmed.
- Visuals
- £250
- 1 for sale
All Black Head royal pythons
About the Black Head gene
A royal python (ball python) becomes darker from the nose back with the Black Head gene. Because the head turns to black, the bands are thick, and the belly stays bright white, the animal looks sharper and darker than a normal. This contrast is why keepers buy it. It also carries into combinations where the gene tends to pull the whole animal darker. Breeders who use it for exactly that are building projects that are dark and high-contrast.
Appearance
You can tell by the head. While a normal royal python has a headstamp and a brown head that is often blushed, the head of a Black Head is dark to black and the headstamp is gone or broken up. The snake looks more melanistic than a normal overall because there is stronger contrast between the lighter ground and the dark pattern. A gold stripe runs along the spine between the bands where the dark banding is heavy and thick down the body. The tail has the same colouring as the rest of the animal, and the belly is usually clean and bright white.
Genetics
The Black Head gene is incomplete dominant. One copy results in the visual animal, while two copies create the Super Black Head super form. Many listings still use the term "co-dom", which is the looser hobby word for this same thing. It is part of the Spider complex and is allelic with Spider. Other partners in the complex are Champagne, Chocolate, Cypress, Hidden Gene Woma, Sable, Spotnose, Woma and Wookie. You might see it written as Blackhead or BH. In 2002, Ralph Davis Reptiles produced the first clutch from a dark male that was imported in 1999.
Known issues
Because it reduces the wobble in those combinations, Black Head earns part of its place in Spider complex work. A Black Head paired with Spider or another member of the complex that carries wobble typically shows less of it. It masks the wobble rather than fixing it, and the partner gene still passes on to offspring with its own issues. Although those reports remain unconfirmed, Super Black Head has been reported to wobble. Ask the seller if any of their supers have shown it if you are buying a super or planning a pairing that can produce one.