MorphMarket News

We’ve updated our policy regarding the use of the Dwarf and Super Dwarf trait tags in reticulated pythons.

In reticulated pythons, the terms Dwarf and Super Dwarf (D and SD) do not refer to "morphs" in the common use of the term. They refer to the locales from which the animals originated.

Very specific islands in Indonesia are home to reticulated pythons that mature at much smaller sizes than their mainland counterparts. Crossbreeding—in particular with mainland retics to introduce morph varieties into the smaller animals—has necessitated the need for clear definitions to help ensure buyers have reasonable expectations for an animal’s mature size.

While an animal’s locality percentage does not provide certainty for the animal’s mature size, it is currently one of the best indicators available.

It’s important to have a definition for these terms for them to be understood and useful. Up until now, we have not enforced any specific definitions for these tags. Going forward, we will be enforcing the industry-accepted definitions for the use of these tags in all current and future MorphMarket ads.

• To use the plain D or SD, the locales in an animal’s lineage must add up to at least 50%. Because SD is a subset of D, SD locales may be included in defining an animal as D, but D locales may not be included in the math used to define SD.
• All retic ads that use the tags D and/or SD must include percentages of locales in the description field. If a seller is unsure, then they may not use those tags. (While not required, we strongly encourage sellers to also include sire and dam with their percentages, when known.)

What can breeders do if exact percentages are not known?

• Locale tags may still be used when the seller is certain of the locale, but either uncertain of % or if less than 50%.
• We have introduced Unknown (Super dwarf) and Unknown (dwarf) tags which can be used like the other locale tags. These can be used without knowing exact locales or percentages.
• Users will still find your animals in all the other ways, including latest listings, genetic traits or other characteristics.

Please review this support article for a full explanation of the definitions and rules MorphMarket will be enforcing when it comes to the use of these two tags.

We understand that this update may be challenging for sellers without known bloodlines; however we believe that it is important for these terms to be meaningful and useful.