Black Pastel Ball Python
The Black Pastel is a darkening morph that deepens a ball python's browns into rich chocolate and near-black tones while tightening and blurring the normal pattern.
🗓️ Last reviewed: July 2026
Overview
The Black Pastel is a darkening morph that deepens a ball python's browns into rich chocolate and near-black tones while tightening and blurring the normal pattern. It is a popular, widely available "base" gene that breeders stack into countless darker combos. Black Pastel is a colour and pattern morph of the ball python (Python regius).
What it is
Black Pastel is a single-gene morph that increases the amount of dark pigment across the body. Compared with a normal (wild-type) ball python, a single-gene Black Pastel looks noticeably darker and higher-contrast: the tan and gold areas are pushed toward deep brown or black, the blushing (lighter flame markings) is reduced, and the overall animal reads as a "moodier," darker version of a normal. It is one of the go-to genes hobbyists use to darken and clean up a combo.
The genetics
Black Pastel is inherited as an incomplete-dominant trait. In the hobby this is almost always called "co-dominant" or "co-dom," but technically it is incomplete-dominant: a single copy produces the visible darkened look, and two copies produce a distinct, more extreme "super" form (the Super Black Pastel), rather than just a carrier. Because only one copy is needed to see the effect, there is no hidden "het" version to worry about the way there is with recessive morphs. Black Pastel is also allelic with Cinnamon, meaning the two genes sit at the same locus and can be paired together to make super-type animals that combine both.
Appearance
A single-gene Black Pastel shows a dark chocolate-to-black base with reduced, often busier or "pinched" pattern and muted, darker sides. The dorsal blushing is subdued and the light markings are smaller and less golden than a normal's. Eyes are typical dark ball-python eyes. Many Black Pastels darken further as they mature, so an adult often looks richer and blacker than it did as a hatchling. The Super Black Pastel is far more extreme: a very dark, sometimes nearly patternless animal ranging from deep brown-black to almost solid black.
How it is bred
Because it is incomplete-dominant, only one copy is needed to produce a visible Black Pastel, so pairing a single-gene Black Pastel to a normal yields roughly half visual Black Pastels and half normals. Pairing two single-gene Black Pastels together can produce the double-copy Super Black Pastel. Breeders also stack Black Pastel with other single-gene morphs to darken and refine combos, and because it is allelic with Cinnamon, the two can be crossed to make combined super forms. No hidden recessive het pairings are involved.
Cost and availability
Black Pastel is a common, well-established, and inexpensive morph. Single-gene animals are widely available and sit at the affordable end of the market, while super forms and multi-gene combos that use Black Pastel cost more depending on the other genes involved.
Health and ethics
Single-gene Black Pastels are generally healthy and carry no special defect beyond normal species care. The honest concern is with the double-copy forms: Super Black Pastel (and the closely related super forms made with the allelic Cinnamon gene) has a documented association with structural head and spine deformities, most notably "duckbilling" (a shortened, malformed snout/lower jaw) and kinks. These defects reduce quality of life and can affect feeding, so many careful keepers avoid producing supers, cull selectively, or do not breed animals that show these traits, and they do not sell affected animals as healthy pets. Anyone acquiring one should choose a reputable breeder who is transparent about their lines, inspect the animal for jaw and spine abnormalities, and see a reptile (herp) veterinarian for any health concern.
Care
Care is identical to a standard ball python. This is a colour and pattern morph, so it changes only how the snake looks, not what it needs in temperature, humidity, enclosure size, or feeding. Follow standard, reputable ball python husbandry resources and consult a herp veterinarian for health questions.
Black Pastel Ball Python - frequently asked questions
Is "co-dominant" the same as incomplete-dominant here?
Functionally yes. Hobbyists call Black Pastel "co-dom," but it behaves as incomplete-dominant: one copy shows a darkened animal and two copies make a distinct, more extreme super form.
Does the Super Black Pastel have health problems?
It can. Super Black Pastel and related super forms made with the allelic Cinnamon gene are associated with duckbilling (snout/jaw deformity) and kinking. Many ethical keepers avoid or do not breed animals that show these issues.
Is a single-gene Black Pastel safe to keep as a pet?
Yes. A single-copy Black Pastel is a normal, healthy ball python that simply looks darker, and it needs the same care as any other ball python.