Super Pastel Ball Python
The Super Pastel is a strikingly bright ball python with high-contrast yellow coloring, faded dark markings, and a noticeably lighter head.
🗓️ Last reviewed: July 2026
Overview
The Super Pastel is a strikingly bright ball python with high-contrast yellow coloring, faded dark markings, and a noticeably lighter head. It is the "super" (double-gene) version of one of the hobby's oldest and most popular genes, and it is prized both on its own and as a building block for combo morphs. It is a colour and pattern morph of the ball python (Python regius).
What it is
The Super Pastel is a lightened, high-contrast version of a normal ball python. Where a wild-type ball python shows muddy brown and tan blotches, the Super Pastel replaces the browns with vivid yellows and cleaner, paler backgrounds. The dark saddles are reduced and softened, the head is much lighter and often nearly clear of dark pigment, and the overall look is brighter and more colourful than either a normal or a single-gene Pastel.
The genetics
Pastel is an incomplete-dominant gene. In the ball python hobby it is almost always called "co-dominant" (or "co-dom"), but technically it is incomplete-dominant, because a snake with two copies looks visibly different from a snake with one copy rather than showing both parent forms at once.
A snake with one copy of the gene is a "Pastel." A snake with two copies is the homozygous "super" form, the Super Pastel. Because the super form is simply two doses of the same incomplete-dominant gene, it is fully viable and healthy - there is no lethal or non-viable "super" issue here, unlike a small number of other genes where the super form causes problems. Pastel is also one of the most widely combined genes in the hobby, and a Super Pastel base is often stacked with other genes to intensify designer combos.
Appearance
Base colour is a bright, saturated yellow that tends to hold better with age than a single Pastel, which can "brown out" or dull over time. The dark blotches are reduced, browned-out to a lighter shade, and often show pale "blushing" in their centres, giving a washed, high-contrast pattern down the back and sides. The head is distinctly light, frequently with a clean, pale crown and reduced dark markings. Eyes are typically light - greenish to pale grey - and the belly is usually clean and white. Hatchlings emerge bright and generally stay vivid as they mature.
How it is bred
Because Pastel is incomplete-dominant, only one copy of the gene is needed to show the single-gene "Pastel" look, and no hidden "het" carriers exist - a snake either visibly carries the gene or it does not. To make a Super Pastel, a breeder pairs two visual Pastels together; on average about a quarter of that clutch inherits two copies and hatches as Super Pastels. Alternatively, breeding a Super Pastel to a normal produces a clutch where every hatchling inherits exactly one copy and is a single Pastel. Breeders also use Super Pastels as a base to stack additional genes into brighter combo morphs.
Cost and availability
Pastel is one of the most common and affordable genes in the ball python hobby, and Super Pastels are widely available and inexpensive as single-gene animals. Prices rise when the Super Pastel base is combined with other genes, but a plain Super Pastel sits at the budget-friendly, beginner end of the market.
Health and ethics
The Super Pastel carries no known genetic welfare problem. It is not linked to the neurological "wobble" seen in some genes, and its super form is fully viable rather than lethal, so it is generally considered one of the safer, more ethical morphs to keep and breed. As with any animal, buy from a reputable breeder who keeps clean records and healthy stock, and consult a reptile (herp) veterinarian for any health concern. This profile is educational and is not breeding instruction or veterinary advice.
Care
Care for a Super Pastel is identical to that of a standard ball python - the morph changes only how the snake looks, not what it needs. Provide the same enclosure, heating, humidity, hiding spots, and appropriately sized prey you would give any ball python. For husbandry specifics, follow reputable ball python care resources and work with a herp veterinarian for health questions.
Super Pastel Ball Python - frequently asked questions
Is the Super Pastel the same as a regular Pastel?
No. A regular Pastel has one copy of the Pastel gene, while a Super Pastel has two copies. The Super Pastel is brighter, higher in contrast, and typically holds its yellow better with age.
Is the super form dangerous or lethal for this snake?
No. Unlike a few genes whose super forms cause defects or are non-viable, the Super Pastel is a healthy, fully viable snake with no special health problems beyond normal ball python care.