Morphs as first snakes

I got my first two balls at the same time from an ad of a breeder on CL. I didnt know anything about morphs other then albinos and knew those were way expensive (400-600 is expensive to me). And I got them for 40 bucks for the two. Since then I have sunk lots of money into unexpected things. And had no clue what it took to house and keep a bp healthy when i got into the hobby. I figured a mouse, a tree branch some turf and a warm light was all they needed. Boy was that a mistake. my small investment went in to the 800+ range in a matter of weeks.

I want to breed morphs one day....Oh, the freedom of the dream :oops:

Seriously, is breeding something that you can make considerable money off of? Like, maybe enough to eventually pay off the expenses of proper husbandry? I think it would be fun to try my hand at, regardless, especially if there were some cool morphs to wait and look for :gj:

Most people get the normal morphs because they are the least expensive and easier to find than the other morphs. My first BP was a normal, but I didn't know of any morphs they could come in besides the albino. After I got involved in BPs I found out TONS of BP morphs that were amazing. If you were looking for a cheap morph, and aren't looking to buy a very expensive one, I'd say go for a Pastel, Spider, or a Cinnamon. Those are some great morphs that I soon hope to acquire:)

I paid $1000 for my first ball python! :O :D Go with what you want...what you can afford...and what you feel comfortable risking on the off chance something goes bad somewhere along the way.

I want a blue-eyed Lucy :cool:

Normals usually get picked up at a pet store and start the addiction... Then next thing you know you have a room in your house just for the snakes

I say get what you want all the way. I had 300 bucks saved up for a nice pastel or spider ball python, but then decided not to get a ball python and went and spent all but 45 bucks, then I decided to buy a ball python and a normal was all I can afford. But I knew of different morphs before I got a ball python and my favorite was the bumblebee but I got a ball python a year later because my mom and dad wouldn't allow me. My family was at the store with me and some guy convinced my mom and dad to let me have one, and it was under 5 minutes and he told the exact things I had said to them!It took me one year to try and it didn't work!Undoubtedly I was pissed! But you should get a pastel or a spider ball, maybe even a cinnamon pastel if you dig the dark ball pythons.

buy a honeybee or a pied or a normal :D

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Originally Posted by dc1

buy a honeybee or a pied or a normal :D

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Thats funny dude, I am pretty sure not even half of these people can afford a honeybee or a pied.Silly person :)

Thanks a bunch everyone, this has been really helpful. Based on your advice, I'm thinking that getting a morph first might be a good idea, since as far as I know the only extra cost for a morph is the price of the snake itself, and if I know I can afford the running costs of a BP (which I promise I will check very carefully, I don't want a pet if I can't do a good job with it) I'm perfectly happy to save up for a while to get the snake I really want.

The other benefit is that I'd definitely feel most comfortable getting a first snake from a breeder, especially since I have very limited practical experience with pets so it would be good to know that a) the snake I get is in the best shape possible and b) I have a source of really good information about it. If I want to get normals later, I can then get them from a shelter or rescue. Because I do agree with the idea that you should, if possible, get a pet from a rescue, but finding a morph in a shelter is going to be much more difficult than finding a pretty normal (as most normals are very pretty).