Bumble Bee Spider morph ball python
This little beauty, although gorgeous, has a serious genetic defect. She has the “spider wobble”. The spider morph in ball pythons is another example of a desirable phenotype (outward appearance) that is linked to an undesirable defect. The spider morphs carry a gene that cause balance defects. This is similar to what is seen in the Jaguar carpet pythons – go to Short Rounds page to learn about this in the carpets. Now, before you get all carried away saying how horrible this is, and how could people breed defects like this into animals?! . . lets take a minute to ponder some dog breeds that are similar. The English bull dog has many serious defects that actually make it unable to even reproduce without the help of humans. Or how about the majestic great danes that get Wobbler’s disease? Or standard poodles with Addisons? German Shephard with hip dysplasia. Boxers with mast cell tumors . . . need I go on? Perhaps we should think twice before messing with Mother Nature. Although once the animals are created they at least deserve our love and compassion. The spider morph ball pythons are no different than all of those dogs we love so much.
