The price/value of normal breeding females

I have been looking around and was just curious what you guys thought/input was. As far as normal females go, what is the average price for one??? and are they really that valuable that breeders don't want to part with them? I'm talking about a normal, average female, but a breeding size (2000g) adult female. Wouldn't breeders rather have het and pure morph females than just normal females??? I have been poking around, and have seen prices metioned of $500 to upwards of over $1000. Is this accurate or just a bunch of baloney??? And what about gravid WC females??? I seen those at a show two years ago for $695......or maybe it was $995....I can't remember. I mean, in my opinion, I think every BP regardless of color or genes is special. but it seems to me like some breeders shun normals, as "inferiors".

waitin for adam to chime in .... !

When you have co-dominate morphs like Lessers, Pinstripes, Spiders, etc in your collection, normal adult females are GOLD! ... Why would I sell a 2200 gram normal female for even $1,000.00 when I can breed that girl to a Pinstripe, get 7 eggs with 3 pins @ $8,000.00 each??? ... Prices for normal girls aren't high enough! ... I've turned down 2K for adult females ... not worth it.

WC adult's are a different story ... Personally, I'd never buy one ... Lots of importers price the gravid girls high and try to justify the cost with a "it could be a clutch of yellow bellies" or "it could be a clutch of spiders" sales pitch ... sure it could skippy ... WC's are a gamble ... lots of work to get them to eat ... 50/50 chance that they'll ever breed in captivity ... health problems ... etc ... not for me ... I'd rather use the rack space on a sure thing.

The other thing that I like to point out about adult girls is this ... To a ball python breeder, an adult female is priceless .... I would never sell a single one, but if I did for some crazy reason "need the money", there are dozens of people that I am friendly with that I could call up and move adult females to very quickly and very quietly for fast cash ... the "good ones" are are just that valuable ... I wouldn't need to run an ad on KS or take them to a show ... unless I didn't want to screw over another breeder by dumping garbage on them ... You see, lots of the adult females you see for sale on KS and at shows are someone else problems that are safer for the dirt bags to pawn off on the general public than risk taking a beating at the next show they attend by selling junk to someone that they know ... some girls just don't breed ... ever ... other girls throw slugs year after year ... some girls just constantly get RI every season that you can't get rid of until it clears up on it's own in the spring (meanwhile the male she was bred to gets sick and dies from it) ... there are TONS of things that could be wrong with an adult female that you buy on the internet or at a show that you won't even know about until many months later when you try to breed her and your male gets sick, or you wear out your male trying to breed him to a female that has been bred 4 years in a row and has never laid an egg.

I'm not saying don't buy adult girls off the net or at shows ... not at all ... I've done it ... and I'm sure I'll do it again ... I'm just pointing out that things aren't always what they seem, and there is more people out there selling their problems than healthy animals when it comes to adult girls.

(end adult female rant)

-adam

Adam, your well-spoken response brings up a question: Have you personally ever raised up a female to breeding size, only to have her never breed or consistently throw slugs? If so...what do you do with her? Do you try to find someone with no intention of breeding and sell her at a "pet price?" Or....?

I'm just really curious about how you might handle that situation.

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Originally Posted by JLC

Adam, your well-spoken response brings up a question: Have you personally ever raised up a female to breeding size, only to have her never breed or consistently throw slugs? If so...what do you do with her? Do you try to find someone with no intention of breeding and sell her at a "pet price?" Or....?

I'm just really curious about how you might handle that situation.

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I have, and I keep them .... I have all kinds of "clunkers" around my shop ... males and females that don't eat right ... sluggers ... animals that are "tweaked" and can never be used in a breeding program ... males with no hemipenes ... normal males that are just cool looking, but nothing I would ever breed ... I'm just a nut for ball pythons, so I don't mind hanging on to them ... they're all my little friends. :D

-adam

Awwwwwww! Now there's a sure sign of a breeder who loves his snakes! If there was ever a doubt left (there wasn't! LOL) then that would certainly prove to me you're not just in it for the money.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

animals that are "tweaked" and can never be used in a breeding program
-adam

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In layman's terms - that is????? Or was that what you listed after the part I quoted?

All good information and certainly book-mark worthy for me to go back and re-read later! ;)

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Originally Posted by JLC

Awwwwwww! Now there's a sure sign of a breeder who loves his snakes! If there was ever a doubt left (there wasn't! LOL) then that would certainly prove to me you're not just in it for the money.

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Yeah ... well it still stinks when Vaughn comes over and makes fun of me for all of the "clunkers" I have hanging around. :(

:rolleye2:

-adam

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Originally Posted by rabernet

In layman's terms - that is?????

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You'll know it when you see it. Not all baby ball pythons are born "perfect".

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Yeah ... well it still stinks when Vaughn comes over and makes fun of me for all of the "clunkers" I have hanging around. :(

:rolleye2:

-adam

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Well, honey! If your friends can't play nicely, don't invite them over any more. Remember - stick and stones......... :neener: