Noob needs pointers so she dont get ripped off.....

[gracefrog]

Lol! Ive bought from this guy before, I like him and the balls have been healthy and all that jazz. Heres the deal. He is offering me a snake. I cant remember if he said it was a clown, or a het clown. Either way, Can you tell me a roundabout price you would pay, Its a male, 350 grams. Also, is there any way for me to be able to, without a doubt, tell that it is a clown, or het clown? Ive read, and read so much stuff about morphs, and read the amazing guides on here, AND looked at tons of pics, yet for some reason, I still cant identify most the time. Any ideas, advice or links would be much appreciated!

[Freakie_frog]

Clowns run 1200.00 + so I'm guessing Het

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Well first you need to know what you are really buying because between a clown and a het clown there is a difference of well over $1000

A little advice if you are unsure regarding this specific purchase maybe you should familiarize yourself with morphs a little more before making what could be a significant investment.

If it is an het clown did the seller produce it? Does he guarantee the genetics?

And finally if you are unsure about a breeder use the BOI http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...splay.php?f=13

[Kyle@theHeathertoft]

Some good Clown pictures here: http://www.ballpython777.com/clown/clown.html

both colour and pattern differ from a normal-phase BP. That said, Clown is recessive so a het clown will look like a normal. To get a Clown, breed a het Clown to either a Clown or to another het Clown. If bred to a Clown, your het Clown will produce Clowns about half the time...het to het would be a one-in-four chance.

I'm not sure there's any way to prove a het anything really IS a het anything without breeding it, so...you have to trust the seller. A het Clown, like any recessive morph, will look like any normal.

[NatelovesBPs]

definatly a het unless hes trying to get in your pants lol...j/k. But yeah with a het the only way you can know for sure its het (or trust that it is) is to have him provide paperwork stating a gaurantee that its het clown.

[Jay_Bunny]

A clown will be unmistakable. The pattern is totally different from a normal. Just search clown ball python on google, and it should pull up some images of a clown. As far as a het clown, there is no 100% guaranteed way of knowing you have a het clown but if you purchase from a trusted breeder, who can back up the genetics then you have a pretty good chance.

[mainbutter]

Clowns are easy to identify, they have a pattern all their own that looks different from normals.

The dorsal stripe, the small spots along the sides, and some other markers that aren't as easy for me to put into words but you pick up on looking at clown pics online are things to look for.

Hets will look like normal wild type ball pythons, since it is a recessive gene.

There's no point IMO to buying a het unless you buy a pair of snakes both carrying the gene, which you plan to raise up and breed. Since you haven't stated your intentions of whether or not you're looking for just a pet or a breeder, keep that in mind.

[Toronto Python Gurus]

When it comes to Ball Pythons or any purchase for that matter I like to know what I'm buying before I buy it. It seems like you are new to Ball Pythons well the morphs at least. I would suggest doing some research before purchasing. I'm guessing you already have some since you said you were buying off this person again, I would look after what you have for a while see how it goes then look at all the awesome morphs out there, once you have picked the ones you like then purchase them, don't just buy something becuase it's for sale, I myself love Clown and Axanthics so I'm building an army of them . . . there are also different lines of clowns, which makes it even more confusing for ya

[kc261]

Ive read, and read so much stuff about morphs, and read the amazing guides on here, AND looked at tons of pics, yet for some reason, I still cant identify most the time. Any ideas, advice or links would be much appreciated!

I'm not going to comment about the clown, because that part of your question has already been thoroughly answered. I did want to comment on this part, though.

It takes time to develop an eye for BPs and all the different morphs. Some are pretty obvious, even to non-snake people, such as albinos. But at the same time, you have to look a little closer to see the difference between a lav albino and a regular albino, an albino and a cinnamon albino, etc.

Start looking at a LOT of pictures. The Hunter's Guide is extremely useful, but that alone doesn't have enough different pics of different snakes to train your eyes. If you start looking at every thread in the picture forum here, that is a good start. I also used to browse the ads on kingsnake nearly every day; not because I was in the market to buy anything at the moment, but because by doing so, I was learning about what morphs were available and what they looked like (and how much they were worth, too, altho that changes quickly).

The other thing you can do is go to shows, or visit a breeder. This will help you pick up some of the subtleties that are hard to catch in a photograph.

[m00kfu]

definatly a het unless hes trying to get in your pants lol...j/k. But yeah with a het the only way you can know for sure its het (or trust that it is) is to have him provide paperwork stating a gaurantee that its het clown.

Paperwork is still only as good as the breeder's word. Anyone can whip up some paperwork stating that a normal they're selling is het for something. Where the paperwork comes in handy is if you decide to sell that het down the road, especially if you aren't known to the buyer.