2 new bps for breeding what would you get?

Hello,

I am possibly starting a new breeding project soon...

I have around $500~700 to spend on purchasing a breeding pair/trio
I am not looking to breed until the fall of 11 to the spring of 12...

What morphs/genetics would you choose for a breeding pair/trio?

The purpose of the project is to gain experience breeding snakes and to be able to expand the project in the future and be able to sell offspring to essentially cover the costs of keeping the breeding project going. I do not plan on recovering the cost of the orginial bps just be able to help cover the cost of keeping them alive and in breeding condition...in 3~4 years I might be interested in making this into a part-time business once my Ph.D is done.

So what morph/genetics?...how many? Where to get them from? How old/big should they be to be ready by the time specified? (note I do understand the genetics behind most of the morphs/vocab so technical is fine)

Ultimately I am looking to invest in something that in 2~3 years time will still be worth a decent amount ($250~$1500ea)...

Thank you in advance for your advice/opinions
Zack

However lets not turn this into a flaming contest of which morph is better I am looking for long term economic viability and within the price range.

Are you including caging costs?

I'd get a pastel female and another co-dom male most likely. If your budget was higher I'd consider a bee, since those are getting to be pretty darn affordable.

Hello the $500~$700 is just for the actual snakes...everything else is already taken care of...

This is not my first rodeo...just first time breeding project for bps

Set a goal to produce something that not everyone else is producing and work your way towards that goal.

Example, I want to make Yellow belly clowns, lesserbelly clowns, and a couple other clown projects down the road.
We started by breeding yellow bellys and holding some back, traded for a couple lesser females, purchased a breedable male clown, and next year will be making co-dom het clowns to hold back for furthering the project.
This combo will pay for itself and then some.

The main thing is staying focused on a project and don't get sidetracked with how many other projects are out there.

Fire
Lesser

:rolleyes:Totally not what I have or anything XD

You could get a pair of lessers, I think.

I would get a 1.1 or 1.2 het pied and then a 0.1 albino. start em growing and breed the het pieds. if you get a male pied keep him back and sell the rest of the offspring as well as the male you just proved out. if you only get a female try to trade her for a male. then breed the male pied to your female albino as well as your het pied. From the albino keep back a 1.2 if you get em for another project.

Oh and I'm expecting the Lesser Fires to be worth 1000+ by the time I produce them (based on current Fire Butter costs).

Really the price of snakes is going to drop a lot, especially with your starting amount. It may be better to get a 700$ female, get her bigger, then buy a male later, this will get you higher value offspring in the long run.

For 500-700 you should be able to pick up a nice female pastel and male mojave/or lesser.

Thanks guys for the replies so far...

Going along with "snakesRkewl"...I do think that producing something that no one else is currently is definately a strong goal...with that said what do you guys think about this...

1.1 het for clown (usually runs around $300~400)

Ultimately to produce super pastel pied clowns...

1.1 het pied

Ultimately to produce panda pied (Super Black Pastel x pied)

Other ideas are V.P.I Axanthic crossed with pied/clowns...or a pair of lessers for BEL

Also just an idea along with Oxylepy if I bought a single $700 female what would you choose?

What do you guys think about these ideas and also the main problem with the hets is that even at 100% I only have a 25% chance of getting a visual and honestly if in the first 1~2 years I do not get a visual I wont be able to keep going without putting in more money...

I think several people are going after panda pied they just havent hit it yet. The other thing is that with what you listed your missing parts of what you will need. I would get your females now and then go after your males next year. It will save you on feeding costs as well as theres always a chance the snake your goin after will be a little cheaper when you get your male. for the lesser BEL I would get a female Mojo and then a male lesser as that combo will produce a clean BEL

Another option is to get a female Orange ghost and a male spider. Breed em and keep back a femal spider her ghost. Breed them and go for honey bees. Ive noticed tho alot of what your looking at was recessive. what are your thoughts about dom and co-dom genes

I think the getting the females now would be a good idea should i go for 09 or 10 females? I was under the impression that you need a 3 year old female or more in order to increase the chance for successful breeding? That is one of my issues is that I think my timeframe might have to be increased as big females cost a ton...

I do not have alot of background knowledge with the whole bee thing...

I do not mind co-dom and dom (the genetic part of it is rather easy) but what I really want to try to do is produce something that others are not mass producing...that is one think shying me away from lucys is that they are starting to become more commonly produced and their price is already dropping...which is why the clown project seemed like a better decision

However with a lesser x mojave for BEL 75% of the offspring would be worth something rather than with 1.1 het clown only 25% of the offspring is really worth anything as 66% het clown is basically worthless...

What is the going price for honey bees?

I know it may sound like I am going for money...I am really not but at the same time I do necessarily have $5k to lose...

honey bees are around 1000. I would recomend getting to know the snakes and all that. Meet some breeders and make contacts. then look into breeding if you want to. Alot of times once you make contacts you can get stuff a bit cheaper. But the fact is if your wanting to breed something no one else is your looking at 20k plus a snake. There will always be other people out there breeding the same stuff as you are. Remember that theres a reason so many people ar breeding bees, BELs and all that. Because they are morphs people want. One last thing. You want your female to be 1200+ grams (some people say 1000) But a good place to see whats out there and how much they are going for is kingsnake.com and Fauna Classifieds.

Thank you for the advice raverthug...

Ok I think I am going to be able to go to the National Breeder Expo in Daytona, FL

So I think I will just pick-up the bps there right now I am thinking

0.1 '10/'09 Pastel
0.1 '10/'09 Enchi
0.1 '10/'09 Mojave

I will only get one for right now and then expand...Of course if I get there and someone has an amazing deal it might just have to come home too...
Out of these three choices which would be your top and why? Also I have been looking at prices and kingsnake seems to be highly variable if anyone could give a more set price range that doesnt span $100's obviously the '09 will be more....

Also if anyone is local to florida and is a small breeder of the above and has a good deal hit me on pm

the thing is be it on KS or at a show prices will always vary. You have to take ALOT into consideration with the price. Quality and lines, size, proven breeder or not feeding response ect ect. There no kelly blue book for snakes saying that x morph will cost x amount. All you can do is look to see whats for sale to get an idea

Breed for what you like, dont ever look at breeding as something profitable the best you can hope for is to make enough money to cover the cost of raising the snakes you have. So my advise is to go on kingsnake see what you like and go to couple of shows and talk to some breeders then spend your money on the best examples of whatever you fall for.

I would get a $1000 gram super dom female if possible for the $700 like a super pastel, female or an ivory, and scrape together 100 buh for a male yb neonate. By the time your boy is ready she may be. That may not fit into your time frame but it would for your 2-3 year goal. I dont know what you could do for $700 that you can breed next year. Maybe find a adult male pj for $150 and a 1000 gram female pj for 500? and make super pjs .. Good luck

like ed said, breed for what you like. This isnt really a business you can jump into for little money and make it big. Most people who breed do it as a hobby and it helps pay for there expenses. Your not going to jump in and become the next BHB or anything like that in 3 years. Something else to consider. Get a male codom or dom and several breeding sized normals. But ultimately breed what you like and breed for yourself. not for the money.

I am definately doing this for me and not money but something that is economically viable versus breeding normals or whatever makes more sense to me...Ultimately I am doing this for experience just like all my other breeding projects...

Thanks everyone for their help...I will let you know how it goes...