Ultramel

Type: Recessive

First Produced By: Reptile Industries

Complex: Ultramel Complex

Aliases: Ultramelanistic, Crider, Burgundy Albino

First Produced In: ~ 1995

Availability: Common

Last Updated: 2023-02-24

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About

The Ultramel Ball Python is a colour altering mutation that reduces dark pigmentation, leaving a high contrasting combination of colours throughout its body. Although it’s name derives from the word “Ultramelanistic”, it is actually hypomelanism that is at play here.

Hypothesis: Genes linked to albinism in humans are the same as genes causing color morphs in ball pythons.

Defects in melanin production in humans cause a genetic condition known as albinism (technically, ‘oculocutaneous albinism’). Albinism in humans ranges from severe to mild, depending on the genetic cause.

The genes responsible for albinism in humans are shared with ball pythons. These genes encode proteins required for producing melanin. We predicted that the genes responsible for albinism in humans were the same as the genes causing the Albino/Toffee/Candy, Lavender Albino, and Ultramel color morphs in ball pythons. ^[1]

The Ultramel color morph is caused by variants in the gene TYRP1. This gene encodes an enzyme involved in synthesizing melanin. Mutations in this gene in humans cause a form of albinism in which individuals have reddish hair. This form of albinism in humans is more mild that other forms of albinism, similar to the difference between the Ultramel color morph and the Albino and Lavender Albino color morphs. ^[2]

History

Ultramel was originally produced by Mark Bell back in the late nineties ^[3]

Appearance

Head

The head of an Ultramel Ball Python is dominated by a soft yet bright orange headstamp on top of its lilac crown.

Body

The body of the Ultramel Ball Python is full of heavy blushing and bright yellows across the lilac-chocolate “puzzle” pattern.

Tail

The tail of the Ultramel Ball Python is similar to that of a Normal Ball Python, yet following the colourations of the rest of its body.

Proven Lines

Burgundy Albino,

Crider

History:
"Ernie Wagner had a ball python that he called the “Caramel ball”.
Later as more imports came in (VPI,NERD,Bell) that sounded like they looked similar to Ernie Wagner’s snake all of them became known as Caramel balls.
The snake Ernie Wagner had died before it could be bred back to any of its het daughters so some hets were sent to Mark Bell to breed to his male Caramel.

Well needless to say none of the hets proved out bred to the Bells Caramel and so the morph Ernie Wagner had almost disappeared into ball python history as it was assumed to be nothing since it was not compatible.

Some of those hets are what founded Criders line as well as Vin Russo’s line. The catch was Vin Russo’s male het Caramel was also het for the “other morph from Ernie Wagner” Vin bred the male to normal females and raised all the possible hets only he did not realise he was raising possible double hets. So when he started making Caramels funny things were popping out like what is now called Crider balls as well as the 1 in 16 Camarillo." ^[4]

Related Traits

Monarch (suspected), Caramel Albino

The Ultramel color morph has two alleles. We (BPGP) hypothesize that one of these alleles may represent the morph originally described as Caramel Albino. Caramel Albino animals look similar to Ultramels, and we hypothesize that the two morphs are allelic. We suspect that some animals described as Ultramels are actually Caramel Albinos. ^[5]

However, the two morphs have been paired together on numerous occasions and ended up generating doiuble hets. Further, the double hets have been bred together numerous times to produce a double visuals (Camarillo) ^[6] ^[7]