Here's my weight...guess my age!

[Dovetail]

My rescue banana lesser pastel female weighs 425.24 grams and is a husky 31 inches long. Origins unknown, but she is a rare beauty in excellent health. What is your best educated guess as to her age? My vet wants a birthday!

***She was (obviously mistakenly) wholesaled to Petsmart as a normal "banana" and then tossed in with a bunch of baby normals and pastels half her size. Original purchaser could not cope with her strikey ways when she tried to handle her and passed her on to me. Lucky me: I like bitey-fighty girls just fine, and she settles down once out of her cage and in hand. :thumbsup:

[Lucille]

My vet wants a birthday!



You will I'm sure get some good estimates here, but perhaps you should consider an experienced reptile vet who could make his/her own educated guess as to age.

[SPJ]

You got a banana lesser pastel FEMALE at the petstore?
A female?

[Pasodama]

Something to keep in mind is that you may be able to get some educated guesses but you cannot get true age based on weight/length alone. A lot depends on how much (&/or how often) they are fed, genetics, etc.

Your gal could be (or is), likely, a yearling (2015), based on her weight, but that does not eliminate the possibility that she could be a very early 2016 or even a 2014(+).

[Dovetail]

Yep, she did. Female. Couldn't believe it when I saw it, but I've popped her repeatedly on different days. I'll have my vet probe her for confirmation when we check in with her, but I'm pretty confident. No hemipenes at all. Unless they are almost totally inverted, she is a girlie girl.

This photo is from VPI's website, but she looks just like this:
http://vpi.com/images/118

[Dovetail]

http://vpi.com/images/118

http://vpi.com/images/118

I was shocked.

Now, as to the 3-gene combo, I WISH I had a camera available right now for more expert opinions, but she's really something else: lovely fade along her sides from her scutes to her top line, no spots or ticking, exceptionally clean pattern, some white highlighting beginning to pop around her dark patterns toward the bottom, exactly 1 dark scale on her whole body that I hope will shed out, bright green eyes, but only lightly "rubbed" look on her pate, if any. Now, I also have a lovely pastel male that also has an unweathered pate, so I don't think that rules out the pastel gene.

I'll upload photos as soon as I get my phone repaired. Worst comes to worst, I'll attempt the dreaded laptop camera photo shoot, but will probably just get a close-up of a mouthful of teeth on camera, since I don't have a photo assistant! :rofl: She guards her habitat like a doberman pinscher....

[Dovetail]

Something to keep in mind is that you may be able to get some educated guesses but you cannot get true age based on weight/length alone. A lot depends on how much (&/or how often) they are fed, genetics, etc.

Your gal could be (or is), likely, a yearling (2015), based on her weight, but that does not eliminate the possibility that she could be a very early 2016 or even a 2014(+).

Oh, I don't think there are enough rats in the world to create such a bumptious big '16 by the first of June, and she's only eaten three times since she came into my care in April. Though since she doesn't seem to be a faster, I'm thinking '14 is equally unlikely. I'm guessing late summer 2015, since I KNOW my 195 gram male is a November baby. Does that seem reasonable? I guess our British friends would call her a Michaelmas baby...maybe more like Sept. 1?

[Dovetail]

However, I go forward fully prepared to discover I have a lovely male with inverted hemipenes. Wouldn't be the first time I've experienced pet gender confusion...I volunteer at the humane society - try sexing an angry cat while it poops in your hand and struggles mightily to take your eyes out!

:angry: Me-OW!

[Pasodama]

Oh, I don't think there are enough rats in the world to create such a bumptious big '16 by the first of June, and she's only eaten three times since she came into my care in April. Though since she doesn't seem to be a faster, I'm thinking '14 is equally unlikely. I'm guessing late summer 2015, since I KNOW my 195 gram male is a November baby. Does that seem reasonable? I guess our British friends would call her a Michaelmas baby...maybe more like Sept. 1?

I know of cases where a ball had not reached its 1st yr. yet weighed 1000 grams (+). Likewise, 2 yrs. olds who had not, yet, broken the 1000 gram mark (& less).
However, if you choose to not believe such can/does happen, that is your right.:shrug01:
My thoughts, as already stated, is that your ball is likely a 2015.
However, was giving you info as to why you cannot always go by weight/length since other factors may need to be taken into consideration.
You had not given any info on feeding, very little history, and an unknown background/genealogy.
Regardless, good luck and enjoyment, with her.:thumbsup:

[Dovetail]

I see your point. Ultimately, I'm not going to look a gift snake in the mouth...with any luck at all!

[Big Borg Reptiles]

I'm not trying to be rude but I don't think you have what you think you have. I'd love to see pictures, but just the fact that you said she has green eyes tells me she's probably not banana. I just checked my own banana combos as well as those online to make doubly sure, and the banana combos all have black eyes.

That's not to say it isn't what you think it is, but I think if you post some pictures it would help you find out for sure.

As far as age I'd throw a late 2014 date. Most of my 2015's are between 150-300 grams, so add another year and you're on point. I don't power feed and if this snake was at a petsmart I can't imagine they were bulking her up.

[Dovetail]

Oh, I'm not at all offended! I'm looking forward to knowledgeable opinions re: her morph. She's such a looker that I won't really care what her breeding is, so I have nothing to gain or lose by the outcome.

[Big Borg Reptiles]

Oh, I'm not at all offended! I'm looking forward to knowledgeable opinions re: her morph. She's such a looker that I won't really care what her breeding is, so I have nothing to gain or lose by the outcome.

That's the best way to go about it :P. I've got a couple normals that I can't imagine selling just because they have such a nice look.

[Dovetail]

Ok, you experts out there, I took one for the team to get these sub-par photos, so bring me your A-game - what is this bitey-fighty little darling? Everything I know about identification I learned reading and watching videos on line, so I will greatly appreciate the opinions of those that know better. Thanks in advance!

PS - photo of scutes is blurry but color-accurate. She is creamy white underneath with very pale fading in on her sides. And her eyes do look green to me, but what do you think? Is it just a line highlight, or what? The scuffiness between her eyes isn't fade, it's pre-shed, or more likely where she scrapes it on the screen when she tries to take my hand off!

PPS - funny, isn't it, how that ONE brown scale tends to show up in photos, no matter what her pose? Dang, dang, dang!

[Dovetail]

Regardless of her pedigree, she's a pretty nice python for the $120 my dubia customer paid for her at Petsmart, don't you think? And DEFINITELY a nice snake for the 200 xl dubia nymphs I traded for her! :yesnod:

[Dovetail]

That's the best way to go about it :P. I've got a couple normals that I can't imagine selling just because they have such a nice look.

I know! I wouldn't take any amount for my plain vanilla pastel boy because he's such a puppy dog and a joy to interact with. I know snakes "love" us (read: accept being handled) because we prove ourselves a reliable source of warmth, food, and safety; but anthropomorphism aside, I'd swear in a court of law he lays his head in my hand to be stroked the way my dogs do. It's been a real adjustment to handle a nippy snake with the typical BP head-shyness. I forget which snake I'm handling and scare the daylights out of her, which doesn't help with the trust-building. :NoNo:

[Big Borg Reptiles]

I'll be honest, I'm not sure what she is. If she has banana it's definitely not a single gene. Regardless, she's a very pretty girl :)

[Dovetail]

Butter, perhaps, in there somewhere?

We assumed banana because Petsmart in this area has been limited to normals and bananas this winter and spring. My customer assumed she was mismarked as an "assorted," aka normal, and I agreed with her.

[Dovetail]

Lesser orange ghost? See, now my head is spinning.

[Dbz4246]

Based on the pics, I don't see banana.
I would say Lesser/Butter Enchi, or Lesser/Butter pastel. I don't think it has hypo, but I don't deal with hypos personally, so I couldn't say for sure.

[Big Borg Reptiles]

Based on the pics, I don't see banana.
I would say Lesser/Butter Enchi, or Lesser/Butter pastel. I don't think it has hypo, but I don't deal with hypos personally, so I couldn't say for sure.

I was thinking an enchi lesser too. Hard to tell with some morphs unless you have really good lighting.

[ClarkT]

Banana Lesser is what I see. Most likely a 2015, but as others have stated, just a guess.

[Dovetail]

Clark, looking at the male lesser pinstripe banana/coral glow you have posted on facebook, I can see why you think so. The coloration is spot on. What a lovely boy you have there!

FMI, why is banana/coral glow back slashed? Are these traits the same? Related? Is it an either/or because of his parents' genes? My goal is to get this all down ASAP. Ignorance isn't bliss: it's danged irritating.

[Pasodama]

FMI, why is banana/coral glow back slashed? Are these traits the same? Related? Is it an either/or because of his parents' genes? My goal is to get this all down ASAP. Ignorance isn't bliss: it's danged irritating.

It is because, although some believe they are different, Banana & Coral Glow are the same gene (morph).

[Pasodama]

BTW To explain the two different names ...
Two different breeders first had them at around the same time/Era and, individually, came up with two different names.
Edit to add: It was, later, discovered that Banana & Coral Glow were the same thing. Tried and agreed to.

[Big Borg Reptiles]

It's also debatable that butter and lesser are the same thing. Not sure if there's been any definitive decision but I personally don't see a difference.

[ClarkT]

It's what Pasodama said... they're the same gene.
Butter and Lesser are the same gene. Some might argue, but that's because they like to argue...
There are quite a few out there that are just duplicates of another gene... But whichever. The reason I backslashed it is because it's the same gene.

[Dovetail]

Gotcha. So one could argue that butter is what you have when lesser results in a high yellow animal, rather than a browner version of the lesser gene?

[blbballs]

Gotcha. So one could argue that butter is what you have when lesser results in a high yellow animal, rather than a browner version of the lesser gene?
Not exactly. It is more like both versions express a range of coloration that overlaps exactly. Also, both versions react the same with other genes and combos. So, given the evidence is the same in both cases it is safely assumed, barring genetic testing or some disparate as yet unseen results, that lesser and butter are the same gene given 2 different names by 2 different companies that each wanted the right to name something new.

[Dovetail]

Ah! Like ghost and hypo, banana and coral glow. What other morphs do you know of that have different names?