Should I Jump On This Normal Female?

I don't have any pictures yet, I will be receiving some tonight, but....A lady who breeds locally in the state I live in offered me a 1,300 gram normal female for $80. I was told by the breeder I normally get my animals off of (who is a very responsible, genuine guy) that she's a great lady and takes very good care of her animals. She's been very prompt with emailing me back answering every question I have. Right now I own a female Lesser hatchling and a male pastel almost up to breeding size. My dad thinks I shouldn't buy her because she's "just a normal" and once she gets a little bigger, the only thing I have to breed to her is a pastel. IMO I think every collection should have a normal but that's just me. What do you guys think?

ya y not?

You breed the pastel to that normal and each egg would have a 50% chance of being pastel. Not to mention that you could get yourself another male (mojave, pinstripe, cinny) to breed to her and get the same odds per egg. In my op, it is not a bad deal at all.

i have around 50 ball pythons and 20 of them are normal girls. some hav e different patterns or are darker or lighter than others. so having normals benefits greatly. i have 3 blurry girls and when bred to a lessor they make some really light colored lessors i have a adult femal lessor to prove it

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Originally Posted by mpkeelee

ya y not?

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Because I'm afraid its going to be impossible to sell baby normals. I know you can get normals with any clutch but a normal to pastel there's a 50% chance.

2 out of my 3 clutches hit 50% odds, and my other was 100% normals. These odds are just odds, nothing set in stone. If your worried about get too many normals and selling offspring simple answer is don't breed.

Also, normals are good to have in any collection specifically if you intend on breeding anything with co-dominant genetics. Not to mention are awesome in terms of pattern variation and are just plain cool to look at in most cases. Depends on your goals really.

Well,

I'm just starting to realize that Normals are important if you are breeding. Because if you have a male you can breed it to a normal to get some females. Instead of buying a female yourself. I'm not into it just for the money but I think normals are very helpful. Just my thoughts and can you beat a Adult Snake for $80?:taz:

If you plan on breeding, it is a good price for that size female. Just make sure to check any feed back you can find on the seller.

I am going to play the devils advocate. Don't buy her just to buy her. Look at her carefully. Do you LIKE her? Does she have a pattern that will go with what you are breeding for? Granted you could always feed her up and sell her, but that is besides the point. Can you afford another mouth to feed? Are you set up to breed and incubate the eggs? Can you afford a vet bill for her? Is she an easy keeper? What do you want from her?

With that said: 89.977% (this is not a scientific estimate) of collections like normals. They are useful, but don't buy just to buy. Look at your long term goal and look at how she will enhance it, THEN buy ;)

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Originally Posted by akaangela

I am going to play the devils advocate. Don't buy her just to buy her. Look at her carefully. Do you LIKE her? Does she have a pattern that will go with what you are breeding for? Granted you could always feed her up and sell her, but that is besides the point. Can you afford another mouth to feed? Are you set up to breed and incubate the eggs? Can you afford a vet bill for her? Is she an easy keeper? What do you want from her?

With that said: 89.977% (this is not a scientific estimate) of collections like normals. They are useful, but don't buy just to buy. Look at your long term goal and look at how she will enhance it, THEN buy ;)

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Your right. And I DO want her. I think its a great idea to have a normal. I think I was just second guessing myself because of my dad. Thanks everyone :) I'll post pics as soon as I get them!

I have never seen 2 ball pythons that have the same pattern. So I would say there are no standards that would consider a snake to be "Normal". I would say if you like the snake get it. There are some really great looking "Normals" out there. I know we call them normal but they are all different.

This touches on a subject that has been bugging me for a while now. the question is whether or not to buy her just because she is a "normal"? Ok, if you are just going to breed her, just leave her in a tub somewhere and never handle her, then no, don't buy her. But if you are going to welcome her as an addition to your family, give her a good home and a good life, then get her.

I think what irritates me the most is that I am constantly reading on here about the quality of a snake for breeding purposes, how about the quality of a snake period? We have 11 snakes total, 7 BP and 4 BCI, 1 of our BP is a hatchling pastel that we just picked up at the daytona show, 1 is 100% het ghost and 1 is a fancy, the rest are (gasp) NORMAL. but they all have very distinct personalities!! In fact, our big boy Fred is a normal 7 year old, 5 ft male who has the sweetest disposition of any of our snakes. I would never rehome him or shove him away in a tub somewhere just because he's a NORMAL.

Bottom line, ask yourself this, are you JUST a breeder, or are you a pet owner?