Does quality matter to you ?

drool.....unlimited budget :tears:

I've paid over market value more than once for the snake that is right for me... whether it be a proven or unproven morph. :)

Quality is a backbone of any respectable anything!

It should be the first thing on ones mind if you choose to represent it as your own in the future.

I would pay more for an a+ specimen but it also depends on the type and age of the snake and also what you're trying to achieve.

Pattern and color are two different animals. Whereas pattern is constant throughout an animal's life color is not.

I had a customer buy his first pastel from me. It wasn't the best looking pastel (and was priced accordingly) but it was nice. He also purchased a female at the same show from another breeder and she was a screamer! 2 years later my male pastel blows her away.

I purchased a super pastel male. The breeder told me that it wasn't the best looking super he'd seen but he was nice. I thought it looked great (beauty is in the eye of the beholder) and today it rivals any baby pictures out there. It's gotten brighter with age...go figure.

So when it comes to colors and quality; are we breeding for what the babies will look like so we can sell them or are we looking for the best possible looking adult? Babies are great but the snake you'll be looking at for ~20 years isn't going to be the baby you bought.

It's better to ere on the side of caution and get the best possible animal that you can afford with the best pattern. As for color, a picture of the parents may give you a better idea of what its potential is.

There are exceptions and some morphs are more/less prone to change as they mature.

I think we need to inbreed our snakes more to know exactly what were getting. <-Kidding!!! LOL ;-)

Denis
DenJenn Reptiles
www.pythonregius.ca

With me I like value and quality, I do have a budget and when Im looking for an animal I look around a lot and find the best animal I can afford. If I dont find one I like and can afford I wait, one will turn up eventually....

Price only matters if I can't afford it. Quality in color is WAY more important.

When I was looking for a spider it took me forever to find the right one, and when I did it did not have a price tag. So what did I do? I OFFERED three times over the market value to get him. Could I have asked how much he was selling him for? Sure, but if he had said no im keeping him Id feel like an idiot offering something again.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...r/IMG_1636.jpg

I do not mind paying extra for a nice snake... I am on a very limited budget and so it means that I do not acquire snakes near as fast as some of my counterparts.

Sucks for me... seriously. It sucks for me. :(

But when I have found the "perfect" snake I have not regretted it for a second. :)

Again, my paying more than market is not even close to what some others can, and do, manage to pay.

But I also think that says something about foresight. If you know what projects you want to pursue, and you can get an ideo for how the snakes, age, combine, and what role selective breeding plays, you are better equipped to decide what traits are worth paying extra for.

I would rather take the time and spend the money, even it if means being a year - or worse - two or three behind in my projects, than spending 2-3 seasons selectively breeding to achieve the snake that I wanted in the first place.

Bruce

PS: If this is the clown I am thinking of... it is one of the nicest clowns I have seen. Put me down for 1.1 - in about *cough* ten years from now. :)