Getting Started

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Originally Posted by FIREball

If you had 3k to spend on strictly balls for breeding what would you buy? Male, Female, Normals, Morphs?

Also I was looking at some of the rack systems and was curious if I started out with say 3-5 snakes should I just start with a level or two and build it up in the future or get an entire rack and prepare for the future?


Thanks for any information,
Jeremy

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EASY! I'd get the best piebald I could for $3k. Preferably female, but a male could breed sooner.... then I'd start saving for another pieb or a het pie. :)

Wow! What a great position to be in! Do your research up front and then decide which snakes you really like.


I agree that you need to go ahead and purchase a rack and the other husbandry requirements (thermostat, temp gun or thermometer, humidity gage, hides if you decide to use them in a rack, water bowls, tub cleaner, substrate, etc.) before your snakes. Set it all up at least 4-5 days before you buy your first ball - a wekk or two would be even better. Then you can make sure everything is on target.

If you eventually want to breed, I would suggest getting females of the recessive morphs (pieds or albinos), normal females and maybe a co-dominant male or two (pastels, spiders, lessers, butters, etc.) next year. The females will take a couple of years to grow up before they are ready to breed. Don't forget that if you buy multiple snakes from one person, you can usually negotiate a pretty good deal on a package.

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

For the morphs you want to work with here's what I would do:

Rack, T-stat & accessories - 500ish
spider male - 500
pastel female - 300
het albino female - 400
het pied female - 800

With the remaining 500 you can get some normal females. Maybe one adult so you can try your hand at breeding the spider male next year. Rest hatchlings to grow up. Next year you can get males to plug into your albino and pied projects. Hets or if you have the money visuals. These prices are just off the top of my head. You can probably get better deals. Then with the extra money you can get an extra pastel female or maybe a spider female. Hope this helps.

So this is what Im thinking (went over budget, but what Im shooting for)

Males : Albino, Pastel
Females: Pied, Spider,Het Albino, Normal

Figured I could breed the Albino to the Pied and Het Albino and the Pastel to the Spider and Normal.

What do you guys think?

With 3k, you're probably only going to be able to afford a female pied and a male albino if you find a good deal. Female pieds are usually in the 2.5-3k range, and male albino's are ~$800-1k, depending on the breeder. I would much rather spend more money from a reputable breeder that would help me if something goes wrong than your average joe that's 'trying to get rid of his collection'. I would personally get a het pair for caramel albinos, and a spider female then a rack system, then a pair of het albinos and a pair of axanthics.

I was just originally quoting 3k, I know the prices and can spend more than that I was just trying to get some opinions. I like the albinos, pieds, and bees so figured this would be a nice start. Figure females and rack this year, males the next, and breed the 3rd.

FIREball, I'd definitely take my time doing a lot of research. After all that's one of the most exciting parts shopping around and day dreaming about what to get. Remember your going to be the one taking care of these animals for many years to come so buy what attracts you the most cause that's whats really important.

Happy hunting.