The Itsy Bitsy Spider...

 This is Rupert, the first even royal python morph I’ve bought. For those of you who don’t know, he is a Spider morph, and as you can see he is absolutely gorgeous!

I’ve always been really fond of the Spider gene, as well as others like Pinstripe and Genetic Stripe. Some of the patterns that I’ve seen of these different types of morph are amazing, and each python has their own unique pattern that can greatly differ from one to the other. Rupert has got some awesome patterns, one of which is a little smiley face on the end of his tail!

A main concern surrounding the Spider gene is the ‘head wobble’ that comes with it. The term ‘head wobble’ came about when breeders who produced spider ball pythons noticed that they seemed to ‘wobble’ their heads when excited or stressed. It’s thought to be a neurological issue that is some how connected to the spider gene however nobody knows for sure. The ‘head wobble’ in Spider morphs differs greatly from each snake; in some it is more noticeable than others. It also carries across to other morphs carrying the Spider gene e.g. Bumblee, Butterbee, Queen Bee etc. 

Now where Rupert is concerned, his ‘head wobble’ does not affect his life at all. He still eats really well and does everything any other Royal Python does. I make sure that when I’m feeding Rupert, the rat is closer to him than usual to avoid him missing it, because feeding is the main time his head wobble is the most noticeable. Rupert loves exploring his vivarium, and when he’s climbing his head will go backwards in some funky angles but this is nothing to worry about. I see his head wobble as more of a quirk than a concern, and as long as he is eating, growing and behaving well I see nothing wrong with the Spider gene. 

The reason I bought Rupert was so that I can eventually achieve one of my dream morphs; a Queen Bee. I’ve always wanted one since I saw a photograph online and instantly fell in love with the pattern and colouring. I think there is still a lot to develop with the Spider gene, and I hope that eventually I can be a part of creating a stunning new morph!

xoxo