Starting out.

[ZBP]

Hey, I am looking to start my own ball python collection, and I would love to breed them too, but i'm curious as to what you guys think would be a good starting project. I am considering getting either a lemon blast male and a pastel female combo in hopes of producing super blasts or super pastels, or I also really like the possibility of getting a jigsaw so for about the same price I could get a pinstripe male and a female mojave and pastel which is really only a few generations behind producing a lemon blast/super pastel/superblast.

What do you guys think would be a fun setup for a beginner and what do you think would be the funnest combos to play around with down the line?

[The Serpent Merchant]

Everything that you mentioned would be great, my only advice (since choosing what projects to work on really depends on personal taste) is to try to stick with non-recessive morphs at first. recessive morphs complicate things a lot and take twice as long to get any results.

if you want to do a recessive project go right ahead, I'm not trying to stop you just putting it out there that they are more difficult.

[ZBP]

Yeah I really wanted to get started with albinos when I first started doing research, but it seems like it would take a long time to see any new morphs, especially if I purchase young snakes like I plan. Just to be sure pinstripe/mojave/pastels are all non recessive genes correct? Also you seem to know quite a bit so how much money do you think it would cost to feed 3 ball pythons for a year? (Frozen Thawed is the route I plan to take). Thanks!

[The Serpent Merchant]

Just to be sure pinstripe/mojave/pastels are all non recessive genes correct?

you are correct none of those are recessive.

Say hello to your new best friend, a site called World of Ball Pythons. it is an online database with pretty much every morph. they have a list of everything, and if you click on a morph it takes you to that morphs page. on said page you will see pictures of the morph, if it is a base morph or a designer morph (base morphs are single gene morphs like the spider or pastel. designer morphs are combinations of the base morphs like the bumble bee = spider x pastel) what type of genetics the morph is and when it was first produced.

Here is a link to the list:

http://www.worldofballpythons.com/morphs/

The same site also has a genetics calculator so you can find out what your odds are when breeding 2 BP's

*from the webpage

Here you can select any gene for a male and "breed" it to a female to see what the outcome will be. In order to select multiple genes for a given snake, simply hold the "ctrl" key while adding more genes.In order to breed a snake to a normal Ball Python, leave one side of the wizard blank and that snake will be treated as normal.

here is a link to the genetics calculator:

http://www.worldofballpythons.com/wizard/

[ZBP]

Thanks again, I had used the genetic wizard before but I had never seen the rest of the site. Definitely joining the many other pages I have favorited for Ball pythons.

Also I don't know if you didn't answer because you are unsure, or because you simply forgot, or maybe didn't even read this part, but out of curiosity do you know how much it would cost to feed 3 ball pythons per year with frozen/thawed?

[Shadera]

How much it costs per year can depend on a lot of things. If you can get it from a local supplier, you'll pay less. If you have to have them shipped in, it'll usually be quite a bit more. It also depends on what sizes you're feeding, and how often. So, a lot of variables there.

Welcome, and good luck. Start small with morphs you like, and go from there. It's incredibly easy to get overwhelmed, with the number of morphs out there and the way the ball bug bites as hard as it does.

[Jabberwocky Dragons]

YAlso you seem to know quite a bit so how much money do you think it would cost to feed 3 ball pythons for a year? (Frozen Thawed is the route I plan to take). Thanks!

It depends on if you have local supplier or if you'll have to order in bulk online. If you average $1.50/rat and feed once weekly, it would be about $230 to feed all 3 for a year.

This is just an estimate, f/t rats can be a little cheaper or a lot more expensive.

[ZBP]

Alright, thank you very much Shadera.

Edit:Thanks to you too Jabberwocky, at what size do you think it is appropriate to feed them rats?

[The Serpent Merchant]

Yes, I must have skimmed over that part:

it will vary based on a few things (Bp size, how consistent they eat, how often you feed, where you get your rodents... you get the idea)

I would say $250-$500 depending on the things listed above

[TheSnakeEye]

I think you should just get w.e snakes appeal to you and go from there. There is no such thing as a bad combo. There is a market for everything, so what you produce, as long as they are quality, I'm sure you'll find a buyer.