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A snake with a smiley face on its back has gone viral on social media.
Animal lover and reptile breeder Branden Nicholson has been sharing the snake's shedding journey with his followers on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, receiving millions of views since she hatched in January.
"I was actually on TikTok live when it hatched and someone pointed it out to me," Nicholson told Newsweek. "I was really excited when I saw it."
Since then, her unusual markings have become even more striking. "[It] has gotten a pretty bold outline overtime," Nicholson said.
According to Nicholson, the ball python, named Smiley, lives up to her pleasant pattern: "She's a very sweet and docile snake!"
Smiley's smile is caused by a genetic mutation that causes white coloration on parts of her body. "It's simply caused from a gene called pied which is a recessive gene that occurs naturally in the wild in a lot of animals," Nicholson said.
The scale patterns that do show through are unique to each python. "She just happened to hatch with a perfect smile because of it," Nicholson said. "Each pied looks different so it's certainly rare!"
Ball pythons, also known as royal pythons, are native to west and central sub-Saharan Africa. These snakes grow up to 6 feet long and are named after their tendency to curl up into a ball when stressed.
The snakes are non-venomous, and instead kill their prey by constriction.
Due to their striking scale patterns and docile nature, ball pythons are one of the most popular pet snakes. They can also live for an extremely long time, with one in St Louis Zoo living for 62 years.
Smiley has gone viral on social media, with one video, posted to Instagram in June, receiving over 2.9 million views. Another video, posted to TikTok the same month, received more than 450,000 views.
Thousands of users have commented on Nicholson's videos sharing Smiley's progress.
"Whoa, that's the coolest pattern I've ever seen on a snake!" said one user.
"I've always been deathly afraid of snakes but since seeing these beautiful, peaceful looking ones, I'm learning to appreciate them," said another.
Some users have pointed towards a similarly patterned python that sold for $6,000 in 2021, asking if Nicholson was also planning to sell the snake. "I would but it would have to be a whole lot more than thousands," he said. "Enough to get my farm going lol."
You can follow Smiley's journey on Nicholson's social media accounts, @b.n_exotics.
Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about snakes? Let us know via nature@newsweek.com
About the writer
Pandora Dewan is a Senior Science Reporter at Newsweek based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on science, health ... Read more