1. Hypo... Lets start there. The hypo part is shown with the BLUE circles and arrows, as you can see the  black bands  on normal ball pythons is very faded on this animal. Also the hypo part affects the animals color, usually on a ball python the side colors are off brown to a muddy yellow. On this animal the body color is a vivid orange /yellow (shown with the RED arrows) and very bright, this happens because the melanin producing function is basically "broken" and you remove a lot of the dark colors from a ball python and you are left with the bright yellow and oranges. Also Hypo have varying degrees of Blushing as shown with the GREEN circles and arrows ( notice the extremely faded head) One of the key traits of Hypos is that they shed CLEAR, there is no pigment on the shed skin... This is a fantastic example of an Orange Ghost.

                                                                                                                    Photo by Tosha McClintock

2. Hypos also have very faded heads, shown with the GREEN arrow. You can also see the vibrant yellows shown with the RED arrow.

                                                                                                                      Photo by Jasball Pythons

3. This is another good example, not as bright as the first, but most Hypos tend to get a little darker as they age. You can see a good degree of blushing on this animal shown with GREEN. Also the lighter color is shown with RED. This is a very nice older Hypo.

                                                                                                                           Photo by Rich Crowley

4. This is a phenomenal hatchling ghost! Hypos almost always look like they are going to shed, that is another defining characteristic of them. This animal has a very high degree of blushing shown in GREEN. The color on this one I am sure you can see, but its pointed out with the RED arrow just in case.

                                                                                             Photo by Corey Woods

Variations and examples: There is an unbelievable amount of variation in Hypos. Some are very light like the ones above , some are darker and harder to tell.  There are also many proven lines of them a few are- Orange Ghost, Yellow Ghost, Green ghost, Extreme hypo, etc. As far as I know all lines are compatible except for a few (Citrus ghost, Greg Grazianis' Incompatible Ghost, I will add the rest as soon as I find out) If you are thinking of obtaining another ghost be sure to ask your breeder if they are compatible with others lines if you already own one.

Variation 1 - This is a fantastic example of an older Orange Hypo.

                                                                                                                    Photo By John Berry Reptiles

2. This is another fantastic example of a young Orange Hypo

                                                                                                                    Photo By Tosha McClintock

3. Another good example.

                                                                                                            Photo by Jasball Pythons
 

4.

                                                                                                            Photo by Taylor James

5.

                                                                        Photo by Eric White

6.

                                                                                    Photo by Corey Woods

7.

                                                                                                            Photo by Corey Woods

8. A very nice Yellow Ghost

                                                                                                            Photo by Taylor James

There are many many more examples of Hypos but they all follow the same rules...

1. SHED CLEAR!
2. Faded dark colors (always looks like its going to shed)
3. Very faded head
4. Intense light colors

I did not get into naming the lines on the examples because a lot of the lines have been intergraded so its hard to tell which is which, this guide should help you pick out a REAL hypo of any line or origin.

Hope this helps
The guide

Jon Dvoretz
Next World Exotic