Papaya Pythons

Genetics researcher moonlighting as a ball python breeder and keeper of various herps, invertebrates, & a small herd of mammals who make appearances.

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

For the first time since March 2020, we had an in-person #outreach event! outside at the beautiful @RBancroftGarden. used lots of hand sanitizer & most folks still wore masks, but everyone had a *ball* (python) - Xena, Peter, Gundy, & Charlemagne razzled & dazzled! #scicomm

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

Come see us today from 10a-12p at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek! Our first in-person outreach event in over a year!! Enjoy snakes, science, and puns in the gorgeous botanical gardens 💚🐍 #familyfriendly #scicomm #snakes #science #botany #botanicalgardens #walnutcreek

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

It can be tough to say goodbye to a former holdback when your breeding plans change, but I’m so excited to see this boy off to a new home that will use him for their breeding goals! #ballpythons #snakes #pets #morphs #breedingballpythons #toughChoices #ybpetwer #genetics

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

A sneaky peak at our clown gal, Quinn, locked with our super orange dream het clown male, Oranssi. Shhhhhhh, don’t disturb them! 🤞🤞🤞 #ballpythons #snakes #pets #mutants #clownBallPythons

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

After a look back with our “then and now” pics, it’s time to think of the future! The first rains have come, and with them, the first locks. Motoko (Golden Mochi) x Squig (Pastel GHI). Their clutch in 2019 was awesome! Excited to repeat the pairing for 2020-2021

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

Cindy, our cinnamon gal, looks similar to her hatchling self. The lighting in her adult pic makes her look lighter than in person. She produced some beautiful offspring for us, & we hope she'll continue that trend in 2021. #mutants #pets #snakes #ballpythons #breedingballpythons

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

Of course, we wouldn't want to forget someone else in our "then and now" series... #pets

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

Quinn, our clown female, has definitely lightened with age. She's still a shy gal, though, who'd rather hide in a warm spot than be out in the limelight. Hopefully she'll lay again for us in this upcoming 2020-2021 season! #ballpythons #pets #snakes #morphs #mutants

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

Our beautiful pastel yb het clown gal, Sam, sure has grown up! Back in 2015, she was just a little snoot looking for extra snacks. Now she's a big ole momma snake. #snakes #pets #mutants #morphs #ballpythons #genetics

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

@Blackmudpuppy Living the dream 😂

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

How did such a little cutie turn into such a big, beautiful gal? Whew! Gigi, our GHI gal, is still a spectacular example of the GHI morph. She's a 2014 who's been ~2kg for quite some time, but hasn't laid for us yet. Good things are worth waiting for, though. #snakes #ballpythons

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

Congratulations on your new home, Richard! You did a great job for us as both a sire and as an outreach snake; now you’ve got new adventures with a great family, too! ❤️🐍 #pets #snakes #ballpythons #mutants

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

#MacroMonday, check out the whiteflies buggin’ this poor Crassula! (Don’t fret, we used a spray bottle with water to ‘convince’ them to leave the plant alone!) #pets #plants #succulents #botanize

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

@McKnightLab_UO 💔

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

#ThrowbackThursday pic of Vinnie & Ludentis. Vinnie moved on to another breeder, but we hope to get some updates on his offspring sometime soon. Ludentis will breed again for us in this upcoming 2020-2021 season! #snakes #pets #genetics #heritability #inheritedTraits #ballpythons

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

you can see the snake was suffering from bone cancer. Lots of specimens are prep'd @MVZUCB to help further research & understanding of animals. W/out curated collections like these, it would be tough to seek answers scientifically. Treasure your #herbariums, #museums, etc!

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

One of our side projects was to create 'morph' cards, as a side-by-side comparison with certain morphs & normal BPs. It can be tough to get the snakes to cooperate for just the right shot, but here's an example: Cinnamon vs Normal #snakes #pets #genetics #morphs #mutants

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

Pampoen, a yb poss-Golden Pied, has the most rich oranges we've ever seen on a pumpkin pied - we just had to hold her back to see what she'd look like as an adult! She's growing well and still looks so intense! #snakes #ballpythons #pets

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

It's tough to tell the coloration of a #snake in a photo, but Bongani, one of our dinkers, is going into shed. W/her oranges muted, pay attention to her interesting, reduced pattern. Her F1s are neat so far, too! https://t.co/ToRu00ht8b #ballpythons #BonganiDinkerProject

[Papaya Pythons @PapayaPythons]

Check out Cindy, our cinnamon gal - Love those side pattern 'cheerios'! It's tough to tell without a normal next to her in pics, but she actually does look like the ground spice cinnamon in color! What a beautiful gal <3 #snakes #pets #morphs #ballpythons #cinnamonballpython