Information on the Lavender Albino Python

Ball pythons are one of the most popular pet snakes and they come in a variety of color patterns. The lavender albino ball python is a very rare and beautiful color morph. Its striking high-contrast color makes it exotic and unusual.

  1. Appearance

    • The lavender albino ball python is extremely uncommon. A typical albino python has a white body. In the albino lavender python, this white turns a pale lavender as the snake grows up. The swirls of yellow pattern along the snake̵7;s body take on a golden-orange color, in stark constrast to his pastel background. A lavender albino̵7;s eyes are a deep shade of ruby.

    Albinism

    • As the name suggests, the lavender albino python has a form of albinism. Albinism occurs when a genetic mutation causes an animal to produce little to no melanin, one of the pigments that result in color. Albinism occurs not only in snakes, but in humans and most animals. Albino ball pythons are almost never seen in the wild since their inability to blend into their surroundings makes them easy for predators to spot. Albinism is a recessive trait in pythons, so both the parents had to carry the recessive gene in order for a python to display the trait.

    Color Morphs

    • Ball pythons come an array of different color morphs. Color morphs are genetic mutations that lead to an extraordinary array of patterns and colors, lavender albino included. Other ball python morphs include piebald, clown, ghost and spider. Albino ball pythons first became popular in 1992, when the first captive-bred albinos became available to hobbyists.

    Ball Pythons as Pets

    • Like all ball pythons, lavender albinos grow to between 3 and 5 feet long. They can be long-lived, attaining more than 30 years in captivity. Normal ball pythons are easy to find and inexpensive to buy, but lavender albinos are very rare and expensive if you can find one. Ball pythons are typically shy, but are very friendly and like being handled once they get used to you. Due to their small size, an enclosure 36 inches by 18 inches by 12 inches is large enough for a full-grown ball python. Because they are a shy, they'll need a hidey-hole, such as a flowerpot. Like all snakes, he̵7;ll need a basking spot, which should be kept around 88 to 96 degrees Fahrenheit, with the rest of the cage around 80 degrees.