Black Pastel Royal Pythons for sale in the UK
A royal python with a Black Pastel morph will have a brown-black base and a very dark head. The pattern remains in gold and rust with dark blushing along the sides. You should think before pairing one with another Black Pastel or a Cinnamon. This is because both pairings can produce animals with two copies at the same locus.
- Visuals
- £150
- 5 for sale
- Super Black Pastel — linked to structural defects such as kinking
- Black Pastel — do not pair with another Black Pastel or a Cinnamon. Offspring of that pairing carry a hereditary defect.
All Black Pastel royal pythons
About the Black Pastel gene
The royal python (ball python) has a colour and pattern gene called Black Pastel. This gene keeps the pattern in rust and warm gold while pushing the base colour to near black or dark brown. Instead of looking simply dark, the animal reads as high contrast. Keepers buy it for this look alone or for the depth it adds to brighter genes in combination.
Appearance
The ground colour is dark brown to nearly black, while the pattern is rust or earthy gold. You can spot the head first as it is very dark, ranging from chocolate to nearly black, with eye stripes in a duller and more earthy tone than a normal royal python. There is heavy flaming up the flanks and dark blushing through the pattern, and hollow alien heads run along the sides. The tail keeps the same ringed pattern down an earthy gold dorsal stripe. Because lines differ in the details, expect individuals to vary in how blushed and how dark they are. A Super Black Pastel is a dark animal, chocolate to near black, that is almost patternless.
Genetics
The Black Pastel is an incomplete dominant trait. The hobby usually puts it under "co-dom" because one copy shows the visual Black Pastel and two copies result in Super Black Pastel. There is no het because a single copy already shows. This gene belongs to the 8 Ball complex and is allelic with Cinnamon, Enchi, Huffman and Het Red Axanthic, among others. Because Black Pastel and Cinnamon look so alike, it is still argued if they are two mutations or one under two names. A Black Pastel paired with a Cinnamon gives the combo keepers call 8 Ball. Proven lines include Barnhart, Liesen and VPI's. Gulf Coast Reptiles first produced the gene in 2002.
Known issues
The issue with this family is the super form rather than a single-copy Black Pastel. A Super Black Pastel is prone to a deformed, duckbilled face and is linked to structural defects such as kinking. Under REPTA's Deleterious Gene Policy, BaskMarket withdraws and refuses any listing with Super Black Pastel. Because a Black Pastel shares its locus with Cinnamon, pairing a Black Pastel with a Cinnamon or another Black Pastel can produce animals with two copies at that locus. Read the breeding guidance before you plan either pairing. Severity varies between individuals - please research the morph and ask the seller about this specific animal before buying.