Morph prices

So I'm a noob when it comes to morphs. All I have is a (very pretty to me) normal female that is a bit over a year old now. There is a reptile show coming up this weekend and I thought I might buy myself a pastel male as they are the cheapest of the morphs as far as I know and try breeding them next fall. My question is there will undoubtedly be several pastel males there with different prices. I'm aware there there isn't a show standard similar to dog breeds where faults take away from the over all score of an animal. What do I look for to get the best pastel for my money? Does the pattern matter or is it all how light it is? Are there "faults" that would make it undesirable? What traits do I look for to get the best babies I can? My female was the lightest one of the batch and the guy selling it to me told me that she would stay lighter then others. She is still pretty light I think compared to other normals I've seen. Will this help in breeding her with a pastel?

Basically what makes one pastel for X dollars better then another for the same price or why is a higher price justified?

Thanks

Hello,

First off these are animals; there is nothing wrong with trying to find an economical choice for your budget, but when people start referring to them as cheap it just doesn't sound right nor look good.

Pastels have become very affordable but that doesn't mean that a quality pastel won't still have a higher price over a sub par animal.

If you want an animal that will stay bright you'll want to pick out a snake that has ideally no brown or orange running down its back. These colors will eventually brown out.

Other lines of pastel are not really known for their bright yellows but for their high amount of blushing.

Your female being light will definitely help the offspring if you were aiming for bright pastels.

I can't seem to find the edit button or I would correct the word in question.

Please replace "cheap" with "most sensible choice reflecting my current financial situation". Thanks

Would anyone be so kind and post pictures of good examples of what to look for in a nice pastel? I'm a visual learner and have a hard time understanding what you're eluding to. Also what does blushing refer to?

Really, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A nice pastel to me, might be sub par to someone else. I'd say use the search feature on this website and search for pastel, look up the pictures of them and get a feel for what you personally like.

A good example of blushing is in this thread. Those are "Super Pastels" so you won't find a regular pastel with blushing like that. Some come close though.

I bought my pastel for his contrasting color between yellow and black, I think this will eventually produce nice Bees. Some people prefer the high blushing animals; which is pretty much faded areas in the animals patter.

This is my pastel as a baby...
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...o/000_0053.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...o/000_0066.jpg

Him at 1.5 yrs

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...o/100_1658.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...100_1981-2.jpg

3yrs - Don't mind the little weird part on his head, he had a bad shed in that spot.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...o/100_2313.jpg

The first two picks are of a jungle pastel line where you have very nice blushing, good color but some browning..
The bottem pick is of a lemon pastel from a line who's mom had minimal browning and beautiful yellow coloring to her as an adult.

The jungles were priced lower then the lemon, and this lemon I purchased was higher then what most lemons i see go for. I paid more by choice for what I considered a brighter lemon then I have seen and documentation and pics of the mother over the last 2 years as I have watched her grow to see how she would progress. Not sure if this makes sense. Most people but not all look for least amount of browning and nice blushing in their pastels. Hope this helps...


https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ermark_560.jpg[/IMG]
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ermark_831.jpg[/IMG]
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...stel_00001.jpg[/IMG]

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First off these are animals; there is nothing wrong with trying to find an economical choice for your budget, but when people start referring to them as cheap it just doesn't sound right nor look good.

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Some people just need to adjust their sensitivity level.
The word "Cheap," when used in advertising, is used to reflect the price tag on the animal being offered for sale. Not the value of the animal itself.
When I see an Ad that uses the word "Worthless" to describe the animal being offered for sale, I will jump on this bandwagon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rjk890

Some people just need to adjust their sensitivity level.
The word "Cheap," when used in advertising, is used to reflect the price tag on the animal being offered for sale. Not the value of the animal itself.
When I see an Ad that uses the word "Worthless" to describe the animal being offered for sale, I will jump on this bandwagon.

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Well said... in my opinion its all part of promoting your sale, simple marketing strategies. Granted I am not in this for the money, it is a hobby and a passion for me.... so respect for the animals its a must, but I don't think anybody should take offense to an ad price labeling.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rjk890

Some people just need to adjust their sensitivity level.
The word "Cheap," when used in advertising, is used to reflect the price tag on the animal being offered for sale. Not the value of the animal itself.
When I see an Ad that uses the word "Worthless" to describe the animal being offered for sale, I will jump on this bandwagon.

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To each his own, you can refer to your animals as cheap all you want :gj: