advice for an aspiring breeder

I have recently gotten it into my head that I would like to keep a small number of snakes to breed just as a hobby. I have been researching endlessly for a few weeks and I'm just looking for some personal opinions as to which route will produce better morphs for me. I have been looking at an unsexed pied, a female lesser and a female mojave. All of the a above make at least one morph i absolutely love (blue eyed lucy being one of the favorites), but if I was to bring in others down the road which will have the best morph options. I know this is a mostly opinion question, but the genetic pool for ball pythons is so deep I've been having trouble keeping it straight which comes from which. I also plan to keep the number small as they are going to mostly be a hobby/pet, I have a job that covers all the bills now so profit from this would be nothing more than a perk to something I think I will really enjoy. Other options are certainly welcome as I'm sure there are others I have yet to even see, I would like to keep the individual snake prices below $750-1000 each if possible though.

Thanks in advance

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Originally Posted by Ssprice

I have recently gotten it into my head that I would like to keep a small number of snakes to breed just as a hobby. I have been researching endlessly for a few weeks and I'm just looking for some personal opinions as to which route will produce better morphs for me. I have been looking at an unsexed pied, a female lesser and a female mojave. All of the a above make at least one morph i absolutely love (blue eyed lucy being one of the favorites), but if I was to bring in others down the road which will have the best morph options. I know this is a mostly opinion question, but the genetic pool for ball pythons is so deep I've been having trouble keeping it straight which comes from which. I also plan to keep the number small as they are going to mostly be a hobby/pet, I have a job that covers all the bills now so profit from this would be nothing more than a perk to something I think I will really enjoy. Other options are certainly welcome as I'm sure there are others I have yet to even see, I would like to keep the individual snake prices below $750-1000 each if possible though.

Thanks in advance

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1. Pass on the "unsexed" Pied.
2. Get females before males.
3. Don't worry about profits as there won't be any.
4. Check out morphs on sites like worldofballpythons.com and find what you like. It also tells you how to make them.
5. Anything with Enchi rules.
:D

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Originally Posted by Ssprice

I have recently gotten it into my head that I would like to keep a small number of snakes to breed just as a hobby.

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All addictions start off small.

If you want to make BELs then why not start with the female Lesser and female Mojave. These are pretty low dollar snakes so if you are willing to spend more per animal you should go with multiple gene females. Wait a year then buy a male combo morph with a gene from the BEL complex. There are soooooo many options out there. I agree check out world of ball pythons genetic calculator.

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Originally Posted by grcforce327

All addictions start off small.

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Just have to make sure you don't let it become an addiction. With balls it's pretty easy. Start off with some normals and single genes. Make a few holdback single genes. Sell off a few normals. Make a few combos with your single genes, keep some hold backs and sell off the rest of your normals and a few single genes. Take those combos and make some double and triple holdbacks and start selling off your single genes, etc...keep the best females you produce and bring in the best males you can find for fresh blood...

My advice coming from someone who ruined the hobby for himself initially.
1. Start small and slow, don't buy too much at once or several low quality animals
2. Again, quality over quantity. You will sell more and be happier with your animals and clutches
3. If you can, expand your collection to include non ball pythons..you may find other animals just as fun to work with if not more fun
4. When working with bally pythons I recommend getting 2 trios
a) a morph or combo you like BEL, Enchi, Champagne, ETC
b)a recessive project: Producing hets and proving out animals over a long period of time is super rewarding not to mention they hold their value better

Good luck and HAVE FUN! Its about enjoying and being passionate about the animals, not money:)

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Originally Posted by sho220

Just have to make sure you don't let it become an addiction. With balls it's pretty easy. Start off with some normals and single genes. Make a few holdback single genes. Sell off a few normals. Make a few combos with your single genes, keep some hold backs and sell off the rest of your normals and a few single genes. Take those combos and make some double and triple holdbacks and start selling off your single genes, etc...keep the best females you produce and bring in the best males you can find for fresh blood...

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Originally Posted by Ridinandreptiles

My advice coming from someone who ruined the hobby for himself initially.
1. Start small and slow, don't buy too much at once or several low quality animals
2. Again, quality over quantity. You will sell more and be happier with your animals and clutches
3. If you can, expand your collection to include non ball pythons..you may find other animals just as fun to work with if not more fun
4. When working with bally pythons I recommend getting 2 trios
a) a morph or combo you like BEL, Enchi, Champagne, ETC
b)a recessive project: Producing hets and proving out animals over a long period of time is super rewarding not to mention they hold their value better

Good luck and HAVE FUN! Its about enjoying and being passionate about the animals, not money:)

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Both of these are exactly what I'm going for, I'm not looking to have hundreds and hundreds of snakes, running a business on snake breeding. I'm super excited about getting into this as a hobby and making impressive morphs (and likely selling a few to help fund moving forward) I would like to have several lines I'm working on, keep a few holdbacks from each and let some of the previous generations go as I get further along. As I mentioned I'm not at all in it for profit, I would very much like to have impressive animals for my collection. I'll check out some of the morphs mentioned as there are a couple I haven't come across yet.

Thanks for all the advice :) please by all means keep it coming.

The way I'm going about it is building up my base of females. I do not have any normals because when I start breeding I want to produce a lot of different cool combos. It takes the same space and money to feed a normal female for years as it does say, a lemonblast. Single and two gene females aren't too expensive depending on the genes involved. I'll also be getting myself a few double and one triple gene male to start. I figure this way I get to create many really cool combos I've been drooling over and I'll make more back by having higher valued animals then trying to sell normals or common single gene animals.

If you want only a small number I'd rule out pied, because if you want to mix it, you will be looking at holding back hatclings to breed back with the parents or even eachother since it is recessive. A lesser female is a great way to go, they look great when combined with anything and if you produce a lucy you never have to have a normal hatchling unless you want to.

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Originally Posted by kylearmbar

If you want only a small number I'd rule out pied, because if you want to mix it, you will be looking at holding back hatclings to breed back with the parents or even eachother since it is recessive. A lesser female is a great way to go, they look great when combined with anything and if you produce a lucy you never have to have a normal hatchling unless you want to.

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Can't go wrong with a Lesser....and Lucy's are amazing...:gj: