After a lot of lurking, I found this place has the nicest community for reptile-lovers I've seen yet! I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask a few questions here, I have a lot of planning to do and any input would be great.

It will be awhile before I can get a Ball Python, but I will most certainly get one when I can afford all the costs behind owning one! But, before that, I want to make sure I have everything I need to care for one and eventually breed some. There's things like thermostats, scales for weighing the little (and not so little!) guys, money saved for possible vet trips, enclosures be it PVC or/and tubs, and all that but after the main big ones peoples' lists tend to shift around and vary. What do you guys suggest as the big things to have ahead of time? Any brands you recommend above all others?

Also, breeders are another thing I have been looking at. There are a lot of them, though, and my main focus are Piebalds which not everyone carries, so I'm curious if anyone here has a really trustworthy breeder (or IS one!) to recommend or if they hear anything good about a certain few! My state doesn't have many local ones or else I would look there. Repticon does come here, sometimes twice a year, would that be one to go for? Feel free to post any you think of with pieds, I'll do my best to research and such.

When a breeder is found and I can eventually afford one or more pythons, what would you guys suggest would be the best thing to do? I think it might be wise for me to get one (a year or two old, perhaps?) to get the hang of caring for it well, then move up from there. I have owned a snake in the past, but it was a native one and very easy to care for in comparison! But, that said, if you guys think it might be wiser to get a few at once, what would you suggest for future breeding? Two females, one male? Reverse that? I heard that if two different morph males breed with a single female there's a chance for traits of both to pop up in the clutch.

On that note, how much would you all suggest keeping in case of vet visits? I hear $500-$600 per snake being tossed around, would that be enough?

Any other suggestions for preparing would be very helpful! I've been researching these little guys for over a year now, but I hope that soon I might be able to start saving for one or more in the near future. Thank you all in advance for all the information you have here! Again, this is a nice community, and I hope maybe to be more active someday.