why are GTP's so expensive???

Expensive? I thought of the Ball market myself when I read that. Just a few years ago there were ball pythons being sold for $75k. I think $500-600 is a good price for a true CBB chondro. Price can be reflected by appearance, lineage, locale, age, etc.

If you knew all the work it takes to get hatchlings going you would also understand why breeders ask the prices they do. I've lost entire clutches just because babies flat out refused to eat anything I offered.....and I don't beleive in force feeding baby chondros. They are too fragile. When most people think of baby pythons, they imagine something like a burm or a ball.....something with mass. Baby chondros hatch from eggs the size of a gumball. They are TINY, on average 10-12 grams.

Here is a pair I have going right now. Prices will probably be in the $2000-4000 range depending on color as hatchling, but none will be sold until they are around a year old....which by this time they are feeding on adult mice. The Sire is Calico Kid from Greg Maxwell's calico line, and the Dam is a HY Sedgewick Zoo animal I produced in 2004. The potential for this pairing is exceptional.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/DSCF8450.jpg
I have another pairing with a semi-HY Biak and a Biak X Highland. Those will be priced around $450-600.

Not that a healthy cheap import can't be found, but it is recommended by most to get CBB from a dedicated breeder as your first animal. At least you know the breeder is there to help solve any problems that may come up. Just be sure to do your homework and get to know the breeder you are buying from. I've been keeping chondros since 1995, and I'll be the first to say I've lost a lot of animals, and most have been imports. Feeding issues seem to be one of the biggest problems for new keepers.....with the exception of Biaks. There are lots of tricks to getting them to strike at food. Some baby chondros can be snappy, but in my experience, most are shy and very reserved. This is what causes the feeding issues. I like mean, snappy babies. ;)

Ask yourself again, what is expensive? :salute:

Brandon

well put brandon and congrats again on your pairing!

Brandon, I'm glad you stepped in on this one. The best advice I can give anyone on a chondro is buy an adult first! This is all my opinion, but everyone I've got to do it really enjoys them more. Babies are fragile, and this has nothing to do with price really. You can't hold them, they aren't hardy, and stress easily. I have some bushmaster babies and they are doing very well! However, for farm bred stock I wouldn't go with anyone else. To the nay-sayers with online bought babies and no linage; Congrats! you too probably have a bushmaster baby! Wild caughts shouldn't be too big an issue. They are hardly seen in the trade now (with GTPs, ETB's are a whole other story).

When it goes back to the original question, "why are they expensive" it's because an individual has (A) taken time to grow it up (refer to signalherp.com) (B) it was bred by them and will probably have all the charts you expect, along with linage, ect. Paying 400 for a solid animal from a reputable person is way better than 300 from a shady guy at the show.

David, while I don't necessarily agree that all babies are not hardy, those found on dealer tables at most show are not hardy babies. I don't even consider selling animals less than 6 months old and with a minimum of 15-20 meals. Unless it's going to someone I know really has the experience with chondros, I usually don't sell anything under a year of age. By this time they are solid feeders on adult mice and you have a better idea of what stresses them, if anything, and what their temperments are like. I think once a breeder gets around 10 meals in a hatchling, they are fairly hardy by that time.

Brandon

Defiantly not Brandon. However, I have some friends who got a Sorong and it has taken 3 or 4 meals in the past 6 months. It's not even interested in food anymore. Experienced people have been tending to this neo for the past 4 or 5 with no luck. They are now completely turned off to chondros. I think for a lasting impression buying a solid animal is the best bet.Not saying any neo isn't solid, but your chances are much higher. I got my sorongxcyclopse home and he ate that night! he's turned down one meal and shed the next day. Some are gonna work, and others will be a PITA, like my regular Sorong. He took his 5th meal in 2 months last night. Took me a month before he ate the first time. He's doing well now though.

I think someone needs to make a video on how to feed chondros. I have several tricks that work very well. A friend of mine who recently got into chondros sent one home with me that was very sporadic and had not fed in a few months. It ate the very first time I tried feeding. So, he had another small neo he picked up in Daytona that he couldn't get to strike. Again, it fed the very first time and it had wrapped it's food within 10 seconds of me trying. There are lots of tricks some don't think of. I read of the suggestion of nose-bumping to get a strike......this is not a good choice in my opinion. Rubbing the sides of the mouth seem to work great though. When it comes to babies, people are afraid to get aggressive with the feeding trials. Yes they are delicate, but sometimes the need to push them to bite is what is needed. They are not a snake that you can just put a pinky in front of and expect it to know what to do. They have to be trained. Older juvies and up are another story. You have to have some distance between you and the food. lol.

David, if your friends need any pointers, just have them email me. Experience with snakes is totally different than experience with chondros. They probably just need to look at it from a different angle.

Brandon

I rub the side of the body. Chick down is also a GREAT tool! The snake is being kept by Chris Montgomery(now) if that rings a bell.

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Originally Posted by Brandon Osborne

Experience with snakes is totally different than experience with chondros. Brandon

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HAHAHA, i like that Brandon!

Judd, you and I both know, it's all so true.

David, rubbing the side of the body, tickling the tail, quick movements to and from the snake, offering from below, pinching the back, breathing on the snake, bumping the outside bend of the front 1/3 of the body, rubbing the sides of the mouth on the lower heat pits......etc. Believe it or not, the quick movements seem to really get them going. I've only had luck with chick down on a handful of babies. I've also heard that Russian hampsters are a great jumpstarter.

I know I've heard of Chris before.....just can't think of when. Like I said, experience with snakes is different than experience with chondros. They are a different ballgame when it comes to feeding babies. They are the gray-banded kings of the python world. Once they get going, they are bullet-proof.

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If you knew all the work it takes to get hatchlings going you would also understand why breeders ask the prices they do. I've lost entire clutches just because babies flat out refused to eat anything I offered.....

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Exactly what I was going to say.