Time to look at my top 5 yellow Ball Python morphs – and some runners up. Keep reading to find out more about their appearance and genetics…
Yellow Ball Python morphs are some of the most popular of all. Interestingly, they are a mix of incomplete dominant (often called co-dom), dominant, and recessive genes. In this article, we’ll look at my choice of the top 5, including some super-bright yellow morphs such as Coral Glow and Albino Clown.
What ball python morphs are yellow?
Across both the North American and European markets, yellow morphs are some of the most sought-after. This is mainly down to how eye-catching they are, which makes them easy to sell and great for adding to new combination morphs.
There’s now plenty of yellow-ish morphs, but only a handful of almost totally yellow snakes. These include:
- Banana
- Coral Glow
- Albino Clown
The yellow-ish or mostly yellow morphs include:
- Desert Ghost combination morphs
- Albino combination morphs
- Lavender Albino combination morphs
- Some Orange Dream morphs
- Pastel/Super Pastel
- Orange Ghost combination morphs
- Monarch
- Ultramel
- Candy
Are yellow Ball Pythons rare?
Yellow Ball Pythons morphs are not rare. In fact, they are widely available, and you can easily find them by browsing through the BP section of Morphmarket.
That said, they vary widely in price. Some of the most yellow morphs like Banana come in it an affordable price – usually in the region of $150-300.
Others, like Monarch, are still very expensive, and less widely available. The main for reason for this being that while Banana is a widespread incomplete dominant gene, Monarch is a newer, recessive gene. This means that less Monarchs are produced each year and demand drives up the price.
If you plan on breeding, either the high-end or less expensive yellow morphs make for great projects. They’re super popular and always will be.
If, on the other, you just want a pet – then it makes more sense to aim for a cheap but nonetheless beautiful yellow morph like Banana or Coral Glow.
My top 5 Yellow Ball Python Morphs
These morphs have been chosen for their overall yellowness! What I’ve looked for is morphs that are both popular and have very little other pigment on them.
1. Coral glow
Coral Glow is one of the yellowest morphs available, and probably the first one that springs to mind if you ask most breeders to name a yellow Ball Python.
As a juvenile it starts out with a pretty, almost purplish glow to its background and a subtle yellow pattern. Then, just like the Banana morph, it slowly turns to a deeper yellow and gets black freckles as it approaches sexual maturity.
Add genes like Cinnamon or Black Pastel and you often increase both the number of freckles and the purplish hue of the background colour, even in adults.
Are banana and coral glow the same?
Banana and Coral Glow are exactly the same morph – stemming from the same incomplete dominant mutation. The reason that they have different names is that they were produced by different breeders. In fact, when they were first imported by VPI, they were initially known as White Smoke Ball Pythons.
2. Albino
Albino is a beautiful morph that has some really nice, yellow pattering on the back and a pure white belly. This recessive mutation is both common and affordable, having been one of the first morphs to be captive-bred.
Across almost all species of captive reptiles, albino is one of the most common recessive morphs. But somehow it retains its popularity. Despite the fact that it’s nothing new, albino still seems to work its way into every major breeder’s collection.
3. Albino Clown
Maybe Albino just isn’t yellow enough for you? In that case, you can opt for an Albino Clown. This double-recessive combo adds both a lot of yellow and a lot of value to any project.
Overall, this morph has a really nice, almost solid yellow back and bright white belly.
4. Albino Pinstripe
As you may already know, Pinstripe is a dominant gene that increases the brown dorsal patterning and decreases the black to a thin ‘pinstripe’ of pattern. When combined with Albino it creates an almost entirely yellow/orange snake that has an incredibly intense appearance.
For breeding projects it probably doesn’t have huge potential, but it certainly works as a centrepiece to a nice collection. Overall, you’d be hard pressed to find a more entirely dark yellow snake. Only Albino Enchis and Albino Enchi Spiders come close.
5. Coral Glow Leopard Clown
Something that soon becomes apparent when getting into Ball Python morphs is that if you add Clown to anything, its value skyrockets. This is exactly the case with this combination, which is also aided by the fact that Leopard has a very cool effect on pattern.
When these three genes are combined, you get a pretty yellow snake, with a light purple line of irregular patterning down its back. It’s a delicately beautiful morph that packs a serious genetic punch.
Breed it to literally anything, and you’ll be creating some highly sought-after morphs.
Summary of the top 5
| Morph | Morph Type | Availability/price |
| Coral Glow | Incomplete dominant | high/low |
| Albino | Recessive | high/average |
| Albino Clown | Double recessive | average/high |
| Albino Pinstripe | Recessive/dominant | average/fairly high |
| Coral Glow Leopard Clown | Incomplete dominant/dominant/recessive | low/very high |
Honourable mentions…
I hope you enjoyed that little run-down of some of my favourite yellow morphs. While we’re here, we may as well look at some honourable mentions.
The only reason these runners-up didn’t make the list is because they have less yellow, not because they are any less incredible.
Desert Ghost Pinstripe
Apologies are in order here, as I couldn’t get a photo of this one! If you click on this link, however, it will take you to another site that has as a couple of pics.
When you see this morph, you’ll notice it has a nice, sandy tone to it. As with many other combinations, it is very hard to appreciate it without seeing it in real life, though.
Suffice it say that it is an incredibly beautiful animal, that somehow seems to get brighter with age, rather than darker.
Super Orange Dream Fire Spider Yellow Belly
This one is incredibly hard to describe and convey just how incredible it is. Let’s let Chris Hardwick take over and cover it with a video instead!
Again, the only reason it didn’t make the top 5 is because it has some black patterning!
Lemonblast
The good-old Lemonblast has been around for years, and is still incredibly popular. It’s a simple combination of Pastel and Pinstripe, but I can say with absolute certainty that these will always sell. They’re pretty and people like them, and that won’t change anytime soon.
How much is a Lemonblast Ball Python?
Lemonblasts are one of the cheapest combination morphs, and you should only ever pay $100 – 150 for a hatchling. In some cases, you may even find them for less.Given how pretty they are, and how well some of them age, this is definitely worth it for a beautiful pet.
Pastel Yellowbelly Ball Python
A combination of two incomplete dominant (co-dom) genes, the Pastel Yellowbelly is not an all yellow morph – but it does have some exceptional yellow markings. Like Pastel on its own, a Pastel Yellowbelly has nice yellow coloration on all of the markings that would otherwise be brown on a normal Ball Python.
Thanks to the addition of Yellowbelly, those markings look more intense and more contrasted to the background than they would on a snake with the Pastel gene alone.
It’s not a new morph, but it’s definitely one of the most attractive ones that you can buy for as little as $50.
Let me know what YOU think!
My top 5 and the runners up are all morphs that have caught my eye over the years. Some are expensive, some not. What they all have in common though is the nice yellow colouration that drew me to them.
What do you think though? Did I miss one? Or, is there an up-and-coming yellow morph that everyone will be wanting in the next couple of years?
Comment and let me know!
FAQ relating to Yellow Ball Python morphs
What is a yellow ball python called?
There’s actually a whole range of yellow Ball Pythons available today. The most widely-known and famous yellow morphs, however, are Coral Glow/Banana and albino. Coral Glow and Banana are in fact the same incomplete dominant gene, whereas albino is a recessive gene.
What is the rarest ball python morph?
The rarest Ball Python morphs available right now are Stranger, Astro, Monarch, Sunset and Monsoon. All of these morphs are hard to find for less than $2000. At any given time, there may be less than 50 Sunset Ball Pythons,10 Monsoons, and 20 Monarchs available for sale in North America.
What is the prettiest ball python morph?
The prettiest Ball Python morph is down to personal judgement. Some people like dark morphs, whereas others look for brightness and contrast (me, for example). If you like yellow morphs, then the prettiest you can find will likely be a Coral Glow/Banana.
What is a yellowbelly ball python?
A Yellowbelly Ball Python is one that carries the Yellowbelly gene. This gene is an “enhancer” meaning that it brightens pattern and adds contrast. In it’s single form it is incomplete dominant and has a modest effect on pattern. However, when a snake has two copies of the gene it becomes a super form called Ivory. Ivory Ball Pythons are a light cream color all over.