Pale Gray

Known as "the most subtle mutation," the pale gray is one of the four known recessive genes in blood pythons. 

This VPI old-timer has been elusive for most keepers. Although the morph has been around for over a decade, very few people have taken advantage of this project. 

The Pale gray is a very interesting morph. The gene seems to act as a hypomelanistic mutation, altering the characteristics of the dark pigments on the snake. As the name suggests, the Pale Gray has an abundance of various shades of gray, ranging from dark to light, with minimal black (if any). This confers the snake a unique aspect. As if that wasn’t good enough, the Pale gray mutation comes in all three main shades for bloods, Red, Orange, and the most commonly associated with the gene, the Yellow phase. This is because the original pale gray male is a yellow phase animal, passing on the phenotype as the predominant color, but we now know that Yellow pale grays can produce both red and orange variants. See gallery below.

The color is not the only thing this morph seems to affect. The pattern of the snake is also modified. The lateral blotches fuse for the most part, sometimes blending with the dorsal pattern. The black round marks seen in most blood pythons are “pulverized” in the Pale Gray, adding myriad dark flecks to the light color background. 

At the Scarlet Society, we are excited to work with this outstanding gene, and for the first time (2025), we were able to produce a clutch of Double het Pale grays and T+ Positive albino bloods, from a Super Sunder Electrostatic to a visual Pale-Gray pair. A powerful double recessive and triple incomplete dominant project. As with any recessive project, the road will be lengthy but well worth it.  I'll be happy to share the progress in our findings, wins, and losses as we continue to incorporate the Pale Gray gene in other projects.