That's expensssssive! Spectacular super black pastel piebald goes on sale for $16,000



Three-month-old female labelled 'one of the holy grails of python world'

A prized snake labelled 'one of the holy grails of the ball python world' has gone on sale for an incredible $16,000, it emerged today.



The owner of the super black pastel piebald says the female is the product of more than seven years of planning and breeding.

The three-month-old, which has a black head and an albino body, is featured on the website of Virginia-based East Coast Reptile Breeders.

'Spectacular': This super black pastel piebald snake has gone on sale for an incredible $16,000

Prized possession: The three-month-old is featured on the website of East Coast Reptile Breeders

Owner Colin Weaver describes the ball python as 'spectacular' and says that priority overnight shipping is included in the price.

He says the snake, also known as a panda pied, was hatched on October 31 and lives on a diet of rats.

Mr Weaver told MailOnline: ' Genetic mutations in snakes of all kinds make them fun, exciting and profitable to breed.



'These genetic mutations cause inheritable variations in both pattern and color.



'Breeders such as myself mix and match these "genetic ingredients" in order to produce visually stunning animals.

'Because of their beauty they have become immensely popular among collectors.'

Ssssupreme: The female, which has a black head and albino body, is the product of seven years of breeding

Should hope so! The owner says that priority overnight shipping is included in the $16,000 price

THE PYTHON 'WORN BY CLEOPATRA'

Ball python - also known as royal python - are non-venomous snakes from Africa which have become extremely popular in the pet trade due to their docile temperament. Their name refers to the animal's tendency to curl into a ball when stressed or frightened. The name royal python is based in part on the story that Cleopatra supposedly wore the snake around her wrist.

He said the process can take several years because ball pythons lay only about six eggs on average in their lifetime, so it requires 'a fair amount of luck' to randomly get certain genes to be present in one particular snake.



He added: 'Piebald animals have irregular sections of their skin that do not have any color or pattern and therefore appear to be white in those sections. This occurs in many different types of animals in nature.



'In the competitive arena of ball python breeding, breeders have long suspected that a ball python that is both piebald and solid black would be visually stunning (and valuable).'

He believes there are only three panda pieds in the world, two of which he has produced.

She said some ball pythons have sold for as much as $100,000.

Mr Weaver developed a passion for reptiles in his first year of college at Virginia Tech in 1990 and within a year owned more than 100 snakes.