how can i pick pick out a good quality pastel?

[coolguypat27]

Going to an expo saturday and i want to know how i can pick out a good quality pastel ball python that most likely won't bronze out as it ages.
what are some morphs i can get with $170?
thank you,

Patrick.

[matt71915]

look at the sire and dam to see how bright they are, then pick a bright baby and hope that all goes well, even a nice looking baby can brown out though.

as for morphs you can get it depends on how bad the seller wants to sell the snake
you would be looking at pastels, yellow bellies, maybe spider. Not sure if your interested in hets but those are a posibility too

[MarkS]

Go for a brighter yellow baby, the orange ones seem to brown out more.

[kc261]

The first step is to figure out what YOU like in a pastel. Lots of blushing? Bright yellow color? Crazy busy pattern?

Once you know that, you can know what to look for in a baby. The pattern won't change at all, so get one you like. Blushing may become more obvious as the snake gets bigger, but it won't appear out of nowhere.

The hardest part to predict is how much the pastel will brown out, but generally cleaner brighter yellows stay that way, and oranges and anything that looks muddy will brown out.

[rabernet]

Orange = brown as an adult in a pastel.

Go for the least amount of orange as possible, and the MOST faded head that you can.

Be prepared to pay more for a quality pastel than your average pastel (maybe $100 more at a show at most).

[dreese88]

Get one from Albey

[MarkS]

Get one from Albey

HA, best advice yet...

[SGExotics]

Get one that looks like mine HAHA

[Jsh]

Get one that looks like mine HAHA

I cant believe the colors are true here as the yellows are even in the shadows. Still a nice looker!

OP, you have got some good advise from others on here so no need for me to repeat them.

[kc261]

I forgot that I also wanted to say that part of being able to get a good quality snake is being willing/able to pay more than $170. Not that there aren't bargains to be found, but if you have a little more to spend, you'll be much more likely to be able to bring home that beautiful pastel when you find it.