Building a ball Python collection

I was just curious about how many people breed just to add to their collection, moreso than to make a profit? I've been interested in these guys for only about 4 or 5 months, and recently got a Het for albino male, about 6-9 months in age.

I've done a lot of research, and continue to do a lot of research, and have started the beginnings of a rat colony. I live in a large house and have plenty of room, and wouldnt mind setting aside one of the rooms/areas as a snake room. Right now I think I would like to have a collection of about 4-8 snakes when all is said and done, but im attracted to several rare morphs that I can't expect to obtain any time soon, partially because of price, and partially because of availability.

I decided my first step (in the future, still thinking/planning) would be to try to make an albino for my collection, as i already have a male het for this trait, and it seems to be one of the more affordable starts... Has anyone else started out this way and if so , what direction did you go?

I was trying to compare some of my options, and it seems like I have a few (depending on available funds).

Have: 1 Het for albino male

1 Albino female babies- price (I think ive seen 2-4k? for these)

or

1 or 2 100% Het for albino female babies - price (Ive seen 600-1k)

or

2-4 66% het for albino female babies - price (unsure)


I'm leaning towards the 100% or 66% het options due to price, but Im really not sure what my options are as far as price.availablility go on some of these as ive only visited some of the big names sites.... are many people honest in other trade/sale forums when it comes to hets?

Thanks for any input.

If you want to find the info on any one check www.faunaclassifieds.com. This is the perfect site to check the good and bad info.You do have to register thier but you will be unable to post unless you become a paid member.I went with a pair of 100% het albinos instead of the 66%ers as i do not like the slight differance on the odds:) .If you spend 3yrs raising up a 66%er and do not hit the odds right it could frustrate some.Like everyone here says keep or breed what you like as it will be more enjoyable in the long run.

Hrm, I found 1.2 high contrast Albino setup for $1k , that is kind of tempting for the price, even though I already have a het for albino male.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

I was just curious about how many people breed just to add to their collection, moreso than to make a profit?

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When you think about it... isn't it mostly the same thing? I mean, just from this forum... I know many people that have hets... And a few that have some homozygous morphs....

What's the problem with producing the morph that you WANT from a couple of hets, and then selling the siblings to recover the price of the hets? You're not really making much of a profit in that first year of breeding anyway.. Just recovering from expenses, and the orriginal cost of the animal.

If you're only looking to have 4-8 snakes in the long run, and you want something other than Albinos, you're going to have to wind up getting rid of a lot of hets and poss. hets and even some morphs in order to stay around 4-8 if you're breeding those 4 snakes to produce Albinos, Hypos, whatever.

Just my thoughts on it....

And to answer your other question as to what I would do... I would buy a homozygous MALE albino, and breed him to a het female... much more cost efficient. :) A het pair is also a cost effective way to go.

If you DO get into poss. hets at all, I would buy a few from the same clutch. If they're all 66% Poss, you have the best odds raising up three or four of them... I've heard there's nothing quite like proving a possible... but like was mentioned previously, it's also frustrating after a 3 year wait to have them NOT prove.... so just stick with the odds, and get a few...

Yeah, I understand that I would be selling/giving away some normals and hets in my quest for certain other snakes, and possibly trading to get new morphs. My question was the motivation, IE I wouldnt be doing this to make money/goal to make money on the side, but as a goal to build a collection.

Shades of intent i know ;) it all ends up being almost the same anyhoo.

I was thinking about the Albino male + Het Females, but that ends up being a more expensive route i think? If I was just going to buy the homozygous male albino then I could skip the whole breeding thing because i would already have an albino and could try for another morph ;)

Maybe im just being silly


The other thing about 66% poss hets are that I cant seem to find them on any reliable sites. I would be willing to invest the time/care into 4 66%'s if I knew there was a chance of at least 1 being het heh (assuming it was price equivalent to a het)

My thoughts when it comes to hets are this, buy from a reliable source. That doesn't have to mean a big breeder, but for me anyways it means a breeder I either know, have a prior relationship with or have been referred to. When we bought Malachi, our 100% het for albino, because his genetics are not visually apparent we basically "bought" Adam's reputation. In other words, we fully trust Adam's reputation and record keeping and am confident Malachi is what he was presented to be. We just couldn't be comfortable buying any het whatever the percentage from someone we didn't have confidence in.

We will likely breed Mal to our normal females and raise all his daughters. We also want to buy a female 100% het for albino for his eventual mate. We want to produce our own albino, not only because we want to own one but the thrill of producing it ourselves is so tempting.

Last thought, if the deal is "too good to believe"....well personally I wouldn't believe it! LOL Why would any reputable breeder basically dump snakes with good genetics for a lot less than the market value. I love a good deal any day of the week but when I see a lot of these "killer deals" online, well I just smile and go back to looking at the sites of breeders I trust to do right by Mike and I and be there after the deal is struck and the snake shipped.


~~Jo~~

Have you yet looked into dominant or co-dominant traits that you like? Whats cool about co-doms is that you sort of get "instant gratification", producing visibile morphs your first time around even when one of the parents is completely normal. Male pastels are very affordable nowadays, and if you were to produce a few pastels, you could easily trade for a homozygous albino or hypo.

There are plenty of folks on this board who either have the stock to sell or will recommend someone they trust, thus widening that circle of trust (with a repeat customer):). If money is the primary concern and time is not an issue, I would buy the het pair (100%). Initial investment is low. This morph is not going away anytime soon:no:. There are too many double and triple het possibilities still untapped;). Hope it helps. Good luck.

I have the same goal, I currently have 30+ adult & sub adult Boas and wanted to add BP's to my collection.

I dived into BP's by acquiring 10 CBB females that are 7-8 months old, I'll be raising those up slowly. Hopefully this year end I can buy 1-2 real nice top of the line Pastels to breed to a few normals to produce Pastels, I'll be keeping all the Pastels and get to work on future Supers. I also plan on purchasing a nice 1-2 Albino males and set a side a few females to produce 100% Hets, I'll keep all the females and get to work on some Albinos.


This is my introduction into BP's.

i'm building a small collection to make money and to add more morphs also. alot of the morphs, i can't afford but with some time/work i will be able to acquire.


vaughn