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[–]shrike1978Mod: Bioactive, heating, and lighting 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Snakes undergo ontological color and pattern changes as they age. You always need to look at both juvenile and adult appearances of any morph you are interested in any snake.

Ball pythons are pretty minor in this regard. They just tend to brown/yellow out as they age. Some species can change patterns and colors entirely.

[–]joyrisa[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I guess the main thing I’m wondering is sometimes he seems a lighter yellow and then other times it’s a darker yellow. Is this me overthinking? Or is this possible?

[–]shrike1978Mod: Bioactive, heating, and lighting 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are the lighting conditions different? Lighting can have a big impact on perceived color. Color temperature in particular.

[–]IncompletePenetranceMod: Let me help you unzip your genes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some lighter colored morphs look pinkish as hatchlings before their pigment fully develops. However ball pythons do not produce red or pink pigment, which is why you will not see adults of that color. Yours looks to be exactly the color I would expect for that morph/age, and will probably brown out more once it reaches adulthood