How To Make A Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python

Have you dreamed of owning a Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python?

Or maybe you’ve recently heard about this stunning, white-skinned, blue-eyed snake and want to find out more?

Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Pythons are relatively rare Ball Python morphs and are typically expensive snakes to buy.

However, it’s possible to create your own Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python at home!

Today, we’re going to show you how to make a Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python while also giving you some tips on how to breed ball pythons safely. 

Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Pythons are made by pairing two ball python morphs of any of the following morphs: Mojave, Butter, Lesser, and Het Russo. 

What Does a BEL Ball Python Look Like 

BEL ball pythons are typically all-white or pale-colored snakes with striking blue eyes.

While most people prefer BEL ball pythons with pure white skin, some have a light gray head, a black smudge on their head, or even a pale yellow line running down their dorsal region.

The BEL’s color purity depends on the gene combinations used to make them (more on this later). 

Blue Eyed Leucistic ball pythons, just like other ball pythons, grow to a maximum of around 3′ to 5′ feet in length.

Their smaller size and usually docile natures make them ideal snakes for beginner owners. 

The Blue-Eyed Leucistic Ball Python morph rarely occurs naturally in the wild.

While breeders have learned which snakes to crossbreed to produce the BEL ball python, the breeding results are not always guaranteed to produce a BEL, making BEL ball pythons relatively rare and expensive. 

Is the BEL Ball Python Albino 

While Blue Eyed Leucistic ball pythons are typically all-white or very pale, they are not albino snakes.

Their name, Leucism, is closely related to Albinism, but there are significant differences.

Most importantly, instead of having little to no melanin production (like Albinism), Leucism is the absence of several different types of pigmentation.

This allows BEL ball pythons to have healthy, bright blue eyes still (instead of albino pink eyes) and sometimes slight coloration on their heads or down their backs. 

How Much Does a Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python Cost 

The price you pay for a pet ball python varies based on age, gender, breed, and coloring.

If you wish to purchase a BEL ball python, you may spend $400 to $900.

Females are more expensive than males, adults are more costly than hatchlings and juveniles, and the purer, cleaner colored BEL ball pythons are sold at a higher price than BEL ball pythons with slight coloration on their heads or color flecks on their backs. 

If you decide to make a Blue Eyed Leucistic ball python by breeding snakes on your own, your costs will vary even more.

You may need to go out and buy the parent ball pythons (some breeds are pretty expensive), plus you’ll also be responsible for caring for them for months (or possibly years) while you breed them.

However, if you already have the right types of parent snakes (more on this later), your costs to obtain the beautiful BEL ball python will be minimal. 

How to Make a Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python

Before we get into the different types of snakes you can breed to make a BEL ball python, it’s important to remember that there is no guarantee you will produce a BEL ball python the first time you breed your parent snakes.

Blue Eyed Leucistic ball pythons are rare and difficult to produce.

When you breed the right two snakes together, each egg laid only has a 25% chance of hatching a BEL ball python. 

Further, while some ball python breeds can produce BEL ball pythons when bred together, they may not produce a pure white BEL.

Some combinations make cleaner, purer colors, while others produce BELs with slightly gray heads or pale lines running down their backs. 

Morph Plus a Morph

As we mentioned earlier, the Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python results from two ball pythons morphs.

This means you’ll never get a BEL ball python if one of the parents is a regular (non-morph) ball python. 

So can any ball python morph produce the Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python?

No, only about four to eight specific ball python morphs possess the gene capabilities needed to create the white skin and blue-eyed BEL Ball Python. 

We’ll now dive into the four main ball python morphs used to produce BEL ball pythons, explore various breeding combinations capable of producing the BEL ball python, and take a look at the coloration characteristics each morph is likely to produce. 

Mojave Ball Python

The Mojave Ball Python is an incomplete dominant (co-dominant) mutation of the regular ball python.

This particular Ball Python morph boasts a blue-grey body color patterned with deep shades of brown, vivid yellows, rich blacks, and creamy flames and highlights.

One of the Mojaves defining characteristics is their completely white underbelly. 

There are several breeding combinations to make a BEL ball python if you want to use a Mojave Ball Python.

First, you can breed a Mojave with another Mojave.

When you breed two Mojave Ball Pythons together, each egg has a 25% chance of being a Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python, a 50% chance of being another Mojave, and a 25% chance of being a regular Ball Python. 

A few other breeding combinations include a Mojave x Mojave, Lesser x Mojave, Butter x Mojave, a Het Russo x Mojave, and a Platinum x Mojave.

Again, each egg has a 25% chance of being a BEL Ball Python with each of these combinations. 

Some of these combinations will make cleaner, purer-looking BEL ball pythons, while some of the combination’s BEL offspring will come out with more coloration.

For example, the Lesser Platinum x Mojave combination produces a cleaner-looking BEL ball python.

In contrast, the Super Mojave combination often produces BELs with a black smudge on the top of their heads and yellow speckles down their dorsals. 

Butter Ball Python

First bred in 2001, Butter Ball Pythons are a co-dominant ball python morph with a light caramel-brown base color and yellow markings.

While regular ball pythons have darker colors like browns and blacks, the Butter Ball Python’s genetic mutations make them lighter in appearance (although their marking patterns closely resemble regular Ball Python’s markings).

If bred with the correct morph, the Butter Ball Python has the genetic capabilities to produce BEL Ball Pythons. 

Butter Ball Pythons can be bred with another Butter, a Mojave, a Lesser, or a Het Russo Ball Python to produce a Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python.

While the Super Butter Ball Python offspring will produce the purest-looking BEL, all of the above-mentioned morph combinations have a 25% chance (per egg) of being a BEL. 

Lesser Ball Python

The Lesser Ball Python is a base, co-dominant morph.

Lesser Ball Pythons can vary significantly in color and appearance, with some appearing bright yellow with pale tan markings while others have a blush color and Mojave-like markings. 

The following morphs can be bred with the Lesser Ball Python to produce the Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python: Lesser x Mojave, Lesser x Butter, Lesser x Lesser, and Lesser x Het Russo. 

Again, with any of these Lesser morph combinations, each egg has a 25% chance of being a BEL Ball Python.

We have a post you can read to learn more about the base morph and lesser ball python.

Het Russo Ball Python

The Het Russo Ball Python, named after Vin Russo, the founder of the Russo morph, is a rich-colored morph.

The Het Russo designer morph has more traditional Ball Python markings than some morphs, but its coloring is chocolatey and warm.

When bred with a Mojave, a Lesser, or a Butter Ball Python, there is a 25% chance of producing Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Pythons. 

The BEL Ball Python offspring produced from a Het Russo combination tend to be pure white with bright blue eyes. 

How To Breed Snakes

Are you interested in making your own Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python?

Here are a few tips to get you started. 

Make Sure They’re Ready

Before ever trying to breed your snake, it’s crucial to consider whether it’s ready to be bred carefully.

While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to when a snake is ready to breed, it’s usually best to wait until females reach their third winter and are over 1,500 grams in weight. 

While a ball python’s weight does factor into whether or not she is ready to breed, it is not the only factor, so don’t make the mistake of power-feeding your snake so she can breed sooner.

You want your snake to be healthy, with a stocky appearance and a firm-to-the-touch body (never obese and soft).

In short, only once she’s reached her third winter and is a healthy, stocky weight should you consider breeding her. 

If you push a snake to breed before she’s ready, it may hinder her ability to produce offspring later on down the road. 

Male Ball Pythons can safely breed much sooner than female Ball Pythons; in fact, it’s possible to breed them in their first breeding season.

However, always make sure your male BP is at least 600 grams and is still feeding before attempting to breed it. 

Male Ball Pythons often refuse food during the breeding season (winter), so it is important to ensure they are still feeding before pairing a male in his first breeding season. 

Prepare to Breed

Once you’re sure your ball python is ready to breed, it’s time to prepare them.

The breeding season starts in January and can last all year long.

You’ll want to start preparing your snake for breeding a few months before the season begins.

First off, carefully monitor your ball python’s enclosure temperatures to ensure the ambient temps stay between 80° to 90° degrees Fahrenheit (27° – 32° C) during the day and don’t drop below 75° degrees Fahrenheit (24° C) at night.

Make sure to always provide them with a heat light/lamp like this one on Amazon for a hot spot so they can bask in the heat if they want. 

During this time, you’ll also want to refrain from too much handling (to reduce stress) and never try to handle it within 48 to 72 hours after feeding it. 

Unlike many other snakes, ball pythons (especially females) tend to go on a feeding craze before heading into the breeding season.

Their body instinctively knows they’ll need extra fat and nutrients to get through the next few months, so they’ll often eat much more than they usually do.

It’s essential to listen to your ball python’s needs and feed it as much as it needs during this time.

If your ball python eats quickly and seems eager for more, offer it another rodent, and consider adjusting its feeders to larger-sized rodents with more nutritional value. 

Introducing Males

Before leaving your male and female snakes together in the same enclosure to breed, slowly introduce them to each other.

Place them in the same tank for a few minutes and see how they react.

If your female acts relaxed, she’s probably ready to be paired, but if she shows signs of stress, wait a few more days and introduce them again. 

Once they appear ready, place your male and female in the same enclosure and leave them together for around three days.

Keep an eye on them to see if they breed. Mating occurs when the male twists the tip of his tail around the tip of the female’s tail.

They may stay in this lock for a few hours or even a few days.

Once you see they’re in a lock, it’s best to leave them alone and private. 

Once they’re done, remove them to their separate enclosures.

Leave them apart for around four weeks and then repeat the process all over again.

You’ll want to place them together for breeding roughly once every month until the female enters ovulation. 

Conclusion

If you’ve been wondering how to make a Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python to breed BEL at home or are curious about how these remarkable snakes are made, we hope the information in this article was helpful.

BEL Ball Pythons are produced by pairing Mojave, Butter, Lesser, or Het Russo Ball Pythons together.

While there is no guarantee your hatch will contain a BEL Ball Python, each egg has a 25% chance of being a Blue Eyed Leucistic Ball Python.