Scientific Name: Python regius
Common Name: Ball Python
Morph: IMG " Increased Melanin Gene"
Genetics: Unknown - I have produced "hets"

The "IMG" ball is a mystery???........Through the years there have been a few people who have imported them, a few have produced them...........and some have even had a totally normal looking snake turn into an IMG ball?...........IMG stands for Increased Melanin Gene.............this means that the snake basically keeps getting darker as it matures...........but the weird thing to me is this..........yes it gets darker with black flecking through out the body.........but it also gets lighter??????

I have a snake here that I call "Dirty Joe"..........I call him that because he was born crisp and clean..........almost black and white...........and as he matured in a short time.............he became "Dirty"..........where his pattern was a beautiful pale creamy white...........it began to fill in with little black flecks and turn a brighter yellow?.........and his black just got blacker?..........it was a real bummer for me............because when he was imported in as a baby..........he was like nothing I had seen before............I thought I finally had the "real deal" black and white ball that everyone was searching for...............NOT!!!............well maybe for a few months I did.........:)

Dirty Joe is an adult now........his adult pic is up top on the cypress mulch..........as you can see..........he has changed a good bit...........and this change seemed to happen over night...........each shed and he looked different.............his melanin was increasing I guess?

I don't know too much about this gene........but I do know that I love my "Dirty Joe".........I produced hets from him in 2002.........so hopefully one day I will get some "Baby Joes".............I do think that this gene is also similar to my"Arctic"........and maybe even my "Anery"?