Bang is an incomplete dominant ball python gene first produced by Sterling Nelson in 2014, and it's one of the more recognizable banded, high-yellow morphs in the hobby.
History
The original Bang male was farm-hatched in Benin, Africa, and imported to the US by Sterling Nelson, arriving in May 2014. Nelson paired the animal with several recessive genes already in his collection, including Clown and Piebald, which is how the trait's earliest documented combos came about. Bang is also known in the hobby under the aliases Tangerine Nightmare and Orange Bang.
How it's inherited
Bang is an incomplete dominant (co-dominant) trait: a single copy shows visually, and pairing two Bang animals together produces a homozygous "Super Bang" form.
What it looks like
The head tends toward a dark tan color with a large strip headstamp running from behind the eyes to the neck, and the normal yellow eyestripes are outlined in a black ring. The body shows heavily banded alien-head markings along the dorsal — without the usual "eye" center — in a high-yellow color with heavy blushing, especially along the spine. White flaming runs up the sides of the alien heads from the belly, and the belly itself is typically clear, showing a high-white set of scales. The tail generally continues the same banded pattern, sometimes with more tightly connected alien heads. For terms like "alien head" and "blushing," see our pattern and color vocabulary guide.
Combos
Documented Bang combos include Super Bang paired with 66% het Pied, and Fire Bang paired with 50% het Clown — a reflection of Nelson's original pairings with Clown and Piebald.
Care
No documented health or neurological concerns are associated with this gene. Standard ball python husbandry applies.
See current Bang and Bang-combo ball pythons at diabloexoticpythons.com.
