The effects of ball pythons on the reptile community

One possibility is that people are getting "smarter" about keeping reptiles, in the sense that a larger percentage of new keepers are getting species that are appropriate for new keepers, such as BPs instead of burms.

While I agree it is sad if a certain species becomes totally extinct within the US reptile trade, I think it is a good thing if difficult to keep species represent only a very small percentage.

However, this doesn't explain why BPs and their morphs have become SO overwhelming. Even corn snakes, which are just as good for beginning keepers, and have just as many beautiful morphs and combos, are few and far between at reptile shows in comparison to BPs.

lol lets see if I can post this the way my brain works and people understand it.
ball pythons are a gateway drug for reptiles owners ( they start out nice and cheap single animal then they find out there are the high end morphs. and the prices go up with them.) unlike a corn the bp is a more calm snake snake and will not freak out. heck I know I started out with wild caught native snakes then seen a bp I was so in love it started my true reptile habit lol..

Well, ball pythons really are ideal investment animals--that's why they've become so overwhelmingly popular.

Breeding ball pythons enables people to keep a few other species that are more demanding...without having to put money into the hobby that it isn't making for itself.

Also, the secret is, you really can make money breeding ball pythons, if you do it the right way. You don't even have to have a lot of them. A lot of people hobby breed them on the side, and within 3 years they're making a profit, as long as they don't keep expanding without consideration.

It's difficult to fail with ball pythons. There really isn't a single snake species out there that's easier to breed.
Consider--they do not require cooling, or even artificial adjustment of day hours, as long as you're using ambient window light for them. They usually readily eat frozen/thawed rats. Hatchlings are not particularly difficult to start (the majority of the time).
All you have to do is start throwing them together fall through spring, and feed them up when they'll eat, and you get a clutch of eggs every year.

Corn snakes, whatever else they may have going for them, need to be cooled. Plus, they lay large clutches, and can be double-clutched occasionally. With the potential for one female to produce 60 eggs in a single year, that's an animal that's going to have just unstable a value as leopard geckos do. Corn snakes may be just as suitable, or moreso, to keep as pets, but they're definitely not nearly as simple to breed for profit.