Tips on breeding?

Alright, so I have decided that I would like to start breeding in a year or two. Right now I only own one male ball python but I am look either for a pastel male or female. I would like to know the pros and cons to breeding in your opinion, should I start breeding normals? Or should I start with some Hets, or just go straight for Dom, or Co-dom?

Well I'm at the same point as you, What i have learned is by breeding Dom's it can be cheaper because you can breed your dom to a normal.

I say take your time, make a plan on what you want to do and what you can handle. I've seen a friend get much more than he could handle and he ended up loosing snakes and became discouraged!

Be patient make sure you have the space needed and come up with a plan. Check out http://www.royalconstrictordesigns.com/ :snake:

a lot of breeders got into balls as a hobby first. pick up morphs that you like. get your females first, since they take longer to get to breeding size. why have a male sitting around that is dropping in price waiting for a female to get to size? remember when you get a snake thats selling for this much money. by the time you breed them it will most likely be alot less.

Normal breeding will not pay for itself because there price are low and they are harder to sell because there is alot on the market! If you want a pastel then go for the female! Always get the female of any morph you want! Males are cheaper and easier to come by. I would recommend starting with one breeding pair and see how you do with that! You can even get two females to help your odds. Get a co-dom or dom because they will produce morphs off the bat!

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Originally Posted by don15681

a lot of breeders got into balls as a hobby first. pick up morphs that you like. get your females first, since they take longer to get to breeding size. why have a male sitting around that is dropping in price waiting for a female to get to size? remember when you get a snake thats selling for this much money. by the time you breed them it will most likely be alot less.

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Most hobbyist dont look at the $$$$ of things. When we see a male we like we buy it. I dont care if its worth half its price a year down the road.

Thats the problem with newcomers wanting to make the fastest buck possible in all reality you end up in debt.

When breeding as a hobby, you dont really look into making more money than you put in. I really started breeding just for the fun of it. Hatching out your first ball python is a feeling thats hard to describe in words no matter what morph or normal. Just get whatever morph you like and you will have more fun breeding than getting a morph that you think will sell or make profit. But if you do plan to get a pastel, I suggest a female. They are not very pricey so maybe you can even get a pastel het something to make it more interesting down the road when she hits breeding weight.

To be honest, I dont want to do it for the money. I think it would be amazing to be able to take two beautiful animals and create something even more beautiful from that. To me just reading posts and looking at pictures it looks completely self full filling and something truly great.

Ok.. for your encouragement.. here what I bought in early 2008. A pair of pastels

Male pastel (photo was shot in April 2008)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2364/...73f65ce549.jpg

Female pastel (photo was shot in May 2008)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2071/...4831e83cc4.jpg

Even though, I didn't breed them to each other because I bred the male to my friend female pastel and bred my female pastel to a friend spider...

The hatchlings that I've got last month.. from the pastel x pastel pairing
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/...5fc73106f8.jpg

I say the most important thing is patient... you really need it.. To bring the snakes to breeding weight in a healthy way...

Until today, I haven't decided to sell the hatchlings.. they are very special to my heart... even the ugly duckling normal one...:P

I am not in it for the money either, but of course I want my BP's to produce the nicest and most valuable babies possible. The more and better they produce, the more money or trade value I have to replace my normal girls with morphs, funds for food, vet bills, better racks, etc.

shakeyhand, you have some beautiful BP's there. When I get into breeding I dont think i'd be able to sell my first clutch for any amount of money. Ive wanted one of these since I was 8 years old and have had a passion for them since before that. I grew up watching the crocodile hunter and going to the pet store every chance I got just to hold one of these wonderful animals.

I plan on getting a baby for a female and hopefully if the funds are available a pastel or lemon pastel. I'd wait three years or as long as it takes, and one day i'll be posting my pictures on here : )

I couldnt explain to you guys how much this forum means to me, I have no friends or any aquatences around here that even get close to understanding how much I love snakes. So this forum honestly feels like home. Like I said, Thank you : )