This article is about the genetics, breeding potential, and origin of the fireball python.
Fire ball pythons first appeared on the market in 1995, and breeders have since found that you can use the fire gene to create many different ball python morphs.
Like most morphs, the care of the fire morph is the same as for other ball pythons, which you can read more about in our ball python care sheet!
In This Article
Ball Python Background Information
The ball python originates in Sub-Saharan Africa’s western and central parts, where they prefer habitats like grassland and open forest.
They prefer areas with some shaded cover, and usually live near water. In the wild, ball pythons thrive on a diet of rodents, birds, and even amphibians like frogs.
Ball pythons were introduced to the international pet trade in the 1980s and quickly became a world favorite.
What Are Fire Ball Pythons?
Fire balls are one of the many morphs of ball python, each of which has unique coloration. Popular morphs include the pastel, spider, and pinstripe.
This snake carries a gene that produces brighter yellow coloration, making its patterns stand out against the darker background of black and brown.
No one knows who bred this morph the first time, but it first appeared on the market in 1995.
Fire Ball Python Appearance and Size
With a body length of up to five feet, the fire ball python is the same size as a normal ball. We have a whole article about the potential size of ball pythons that can tell you more.
Image credit: u/quinnyd123 (via Reddit.com)
The fire also resembles the patterning of a normal but has brighter yellows and a lighter brown that can sometimes look gray.
Buying Fire Ball Pythons
Do you want a fire ball python? You’ve made an excellent choice. These beautiful snakes are easy to care for, free from genetic abnormalities, and not too expensive.
Purchasing from a good breeder is essential, since it can be hard to tell the difference between similar morphs.
Relying on the snake’s body pattern and coloration is only accurate to a degree, and you truly need the breeder to tell you what went into the mix.
Fortunately, there are excellent markets for snakes and reptiles today.
Trusted sites like MorphMarket, where most breeders specialize in certain morphs are an excellent option.
Image credit: u/LivTheTinyDragon (via Reddit.com)
You can also travel to reptile expos, where experienced breeders sell the offspring of their snakes.
If you’re sure you want a fire ball, you can expect to pay around $150 for a normal fire morph. There are many other morphs bred from the fire, which may be more expensive.
$150 isn’t bad for a beautiful snake with a great temperament and without genetic defects.
Caring for Your Fire Ball Python Morph
Many snake owners buy a ball python as their first snake, then look for morph-specific care sheets.
Whether you buy a fire ball or one of the other morphs, their care is the same.
The only exception is that some ball python morphs have genetic difficulties which need special care.
You’ll be delighted to know that the fire gene doesn’t carry defects like head wobbles or kinking, so you can follow our detailed guide to keeping ball pythons for the full low-down.
Fire ball pythons are ideal for beginners, as they have few requirements, and are easy to care for.
Fire Ball Python Genetics
Thanks to the great diversity of the gene, breeders can use the fire morph to make completely unique color variations.
The fire gene is co-dominant, so you can cross it with another fire to make a super fire (a black-eyed leucistic in this case).
Breeders can also cross fire with co-dominants like pastel, pinstripe, or spider to produce new morphs. We’ll discuss some of the morphs you can breed from the fire ball in the following sections.
Super Fire Ball Python
When you cross two fire morph ball pythons, you get a super fire. Super fires have the fire gene twice, which manifests as a black-eyed leucistic.
It lacks pigmentation, so it’s a creamy white snake, except for its black eyes.
It’s similar to the blue-eyed leucistic morph but has black eyes instead of blue and red pupils instead of black.
Image credit: u/mollyshau (via Reddit.com)
Breeding a super fire to another super fire will ALWAYS produce super fire babies. That’s because both parents will definitely give a fire gene.
Breeding a super fire to another morph will give almost the same results as a cross of a standard fire and that morph, except that the super ALWAYS gives a fire gene.
Banana Fire Ball Python
A banana fire ball python is a cross between a banana ball and a fire ball.
Image credit: u/Mandi_lee_radke (via Reddit.com)
Banana fire balls display the bright yellow coloration of the fire and the pale appearance of the banana.
These come in various shades of pale brown, gray, and yellow, with a normal ball python pattern, but in fire colors.
Enchi Fire Ball Python
When you cross a fire ball and an enchi ball, you get an enchi fire ball python.
Its patterning is more irregular than that of wild-type morphs but less line-like than that of spider morphs.
This cross has a combination of the bright yellow of the fire morph and the slightly subdued brown of the enchi morph.
Pastel Fire Ball Python
As the name suggests, the pastel fire ball python morph results from a cross between a pastel and a fire.
As with the pastels and fires, these snakes have the standard patterning shape of wild ball pythons.
They have the bright coloration of the pastels, combined with the luminescent look of the fire morphs.
Image credit: u/Myscalybabies (via Reddit.com)
Occasionally, one of these crosses may have the oddly colored “alien head” of the pastels. However, the differently colored alien heads are rare even in the pastels, so it’s not common.
Fire Bee Ball Python
The Fire Bee ball python morph is a cross between a fire and two other morphs.
Breeders cross fire and pastel to get a firefly, then cross firefly with a spider to get the fire bee.
This snake is usually cream or light yellow, with spider patterning. Unfortunately, it’s also susceptible to the “wobble” that many spider crosses and cinnamon crosses suffer from.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this guide to the fire ball python morph. If you’d like more information about ball python morphs in general, check out our comprehensive guide.
If you’re looking for another bright-colored morph, then we highly recommend the orange dream ball python!
Which of the ball python morphs is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.