‘Astronomically Rare’ Snake With 3 Smiley Face Emojis Sells For $6,000

A snake with one smiley face on it is uncommon, but this ‘astronomically rare’ reptile had three.

The ball python boasting the three emoji-esque faces was bred by Justin Kobylka, who has been breeding the animals for many years; this type of snake is the most common to be kept as a pet.

Due to the rarity of this particular snake, thanks to its markings, Justin sold the lavender albino piebald ball python for an impressive $6,000.

Also known as a ‘dreamsicle’ ball python, the snakes are known for their yellow and white colouring – something which made the snake’s apparent emojis stand out so well.

While it’s not unheard of for snakes to have this type of marking, Justin said it happens ‘very randomly’ adding, ‘When it does happen, it’s extra special.’

When the snake was born in 2016, Justin initially only spotted two of the faces. Thinking it was cool, he shared a video of the snake online. It wasn’t until the video had gone viral that Justin spotted the third face.

He explained, ‘I thought, ‘Oh, that’s really, really cool.’ We almost never see that. So then I went and got my camera and thought this will be interesting to put online. As I was doing the video of it that has gone viral, that’s when I noticed a third smiley face.’

While the snake was sold in 2017, the interest surrounding the incredibly rare reptile was renewed after Justin shared a video of it on Instagram to his 92,000 followers recently.

He later shared a video on his YouTube channel explaining how he achieved the snake’s unique markings.

Justin explained:

Over the course of the last few decades, we’ve found quite a few in the wild that look different for one reason or another — natural selection, mutations occur. And we are able to find those animals in the wild and bring them into captivity and reproduce the unique look that actually happened naturally.

‘Through this process, we’re able to actually create snakes by combining these different natural mutations,’ he added.

The buyer who bought the snake in 2017 apparently didn’t only purchase the pet for it’s emoji markings, but for its ‘cool history’ as well.