Ball Python morph

Recessive

Clown

Ball Python (Python regius)

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What Clown looks like

Reduced pattern with head stamp

Major pattern and color mutation. Produces a wide, bold dorsal stripe, dramatically reduced lateral pattern, and enhanced golden-copper coloration. The head pattern is also distinctive with a teardrop or "clown face" marking. One of the most visually striking single-gene morphs. Clown pattern tends to dominate in multi-gene combinations, making it a powerful building block in designer morphs.

How to identify it: Bold wide dorsal stripe. Dramatically reduced side pattern (clean sides). Enhanced golden/copper coloration. Distinctive head stamp with teardrop marking. Clean belly.

How Clown is inherited

Clown follows a recessive inheritance pattern, carried on the Clown allele (locus Clown).

What does het clown mean?

Because Clown is recessive, an animal needs two copies of the allele to show the trait visually. An animal with a single copy is called het clown (heterozygous). A het animal looks normal but carries the gene, so pairing two het clown animals produces, on average, one in four visual clown offspring.

Combo morphs with Clown

  • Banana Clown

    Banana/Coral Glow + Clown combination.

Predict Clown pairingsOpen the Ball Python calculator preloaded with a het x het pairing.Identify a Ball Python morphUse the morph identifier to match photos to visually identifiable traits.

Track your Clown projects

ReptiDex keeps morph, lineage, and pairing records for your whole collection, on iOS and the web.

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