Do you have photos of all your snake's parents?

Not very important. I have asked for pictures of the parents before when I bought my axanthic pastel just to kind of judge how that line's silver holds up against browning out.

In this hobby paperwork really means nothing.
Honesty there is no point in keeping it either.
I have photos of my collection and provide them if asked. (Sadly you cant/don't want to send people photos that are not watermarked)

I've got "paperwork" on one of my snakes which is just a cue card with its name and sex and what supposed genetics are in the snake.

Ps it was supposed to be male according to the "paperwork". It's female. Do your homework and buy from trusted sources, especially with recessive animals.


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Except for het guarantee, i dont think paperwork is necessary either...I mean, you can clearly see what morph an animal is by looking at it. With hets, having some type of document with the breeders guarantee gives me a little peace of mind. Now, regardless of why someone wants pics of their hatchlings parents, a good breeder should be able to provide pics of them with no problem.I mean come one now...it takes just as long to take a few selfies as it does to snap a pic of two snakes.

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I keep records for all my balls. Where they came from, when they eat, when they shed etc. I think its always good to keep record of everything and its fairly easy to do.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I don't keep BPs but I do have extensive lineage information on my carpet pythons. I think a reputable breeder should have this information available.

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Somewhere, I have pictures of my JCP's parents. If and when I get around to producing carpets, I certainly will maintain visual pedigrees. That said, right or wrong, breeding ball pythons and breeding carpets is not quite the same.

As far as snakes I produce, yes, I happily provide photos of their parents. And people do ask. The parents (name, year born, morph) are listed on a quick info sheet that I throw together for all babies. I think of it as just a nice reference. The parents names and year the clutch was laid form the clutch ID, so I can always keep the breedings straight -- that's more for me and possible hets/double het stuff than for a buyer -- and it seems like a logical way to label clutches for me.

I'll tell you a story about my first experience with paperwork in this hobby and my take on this topic.

A couple years ago I came across one of those "too good to be true" deals that you hear about but never happens to you. It was a steal of a price for animals that were said to have originally come from a very well-respected breeder. During the process of doing my homework, I contacted that breeder directly. He not only verified that yes, the animals did come from him, but he also provided me with paperwork for every animal of his that was to be included in the deal. Based on that information, i went ahead and pulled the string on the deal and added some fantastic animals to my collection. Was I the well-respected breeder's direct customer? No. Did he have to do any of that for me? No. Did he 100% earn my respect and business going forward? Absolutely. It showed beyond a shadow of a doubt just how much pride he has in his collection and how confident he is in the animals he produces.

I take pride in my record keeping and strive to provide my own customers with as much information/paperwork as they request. I don't think that's a waste of time at all.

It doesn't seem very important at all for ball pythons (can't speak for other species), just nice to have. If a breeder does have it, it really shows that they are a careful breeder.

The reason why pedigree is important for dogs is because it really determines almost all of the dog's adult temperament and how well they will excel at whatever it is their line is being bred for- whether appearance is in consideration or not. It varies vastly between breeds, but whether it is for herding, bitework, ratting, or showlines for conformation. There are working lines and there are show lines. From first-hand experience, 90% of a dog's temperament (nerves, drive, confidence, stability, etc) is genetic. Strong breeding and reputable breeders, knowing the parents, knowing the pedigree is extremely important in the outcome of a dog. Especially assuming you are getting a dog for a specific purpose... then you NEED to go to a reputable breeder with dogs with pedigree, meeting the parents, discussing the parent's temperament with the breeder, etc. Otherwise, it is a total crapshoot and you are taking a chance for dogs with no pedigree. It may turn out well, or it may turn out poor. Pedigree is much more than just knowing "this is a breeder with nice and recorded dogs".

Urr... end the info about dogs. I guess my point is that since there is no particular temperament necessity in ball pythons, since they are quite a primitive species with limited temperament variation to begin with... it is not really the single only of a reputable/trustworthy breeder or not in ball pythons. Though a very observational and careful reputable breeder may have records, which is just awesome.