What should I buy?

Hello bp.net... My mom told me for christmas shell buy me my fourth snake. I would really like to breed at some point and im trying to base my next purchase on what i want to breed. I would loveeeee to one day breed/make some albinos or blue eyed luecistics which is making me lean towards starting with a male mojave, male lesser, or a male albino. Since my budget is around 300 to 350 $ (she hasnt told me the exact amount shes going to give me) to spend on a nice looking hatchling male - then sometime around next year getting an adult female to pair with my male (if i get one) and hopefully he would be big enough to breed by then (making sure by then i fully know everything about breeding). So what morph should I look into and what do you think about my plan to breed my first snakes? Thanks

I think it's awesome that you're getting into breeding! When choosing snakes, it's best to go by what you like. If you like Mojave's, get a Mojave; if you like lessers, get a lesser; remember that the snake that you ultimately breed won't only throw what you were breeding for, so in a clutch that you bred for blue eyed leucies, you will also get whatever the parents were, so it's better if you like them. If I were in your place I would go for the blue eyed leucistic project first because it's a shorter term project to start with. Really though, it's up to you.

Well if your budget is $300-350 you get probably get 2 snakes. If I were you I'd look for females first. And you can definitely find a female mojave for less than $300.

I'm (supposedly) getting a female lesser for Christmas. The girl I'm looking at is $325 and I wont have to pay shipping since the breeder is local. I originally was dead set on my first ball being a black pastel but with winter coming up I don't want to ship. So I looked at 2 local breeders and found a girl I liked and now hopefully she will be my Christmas present :]

I picked up a male cinnamon and mojo for 350 granted I got mine from a local breeder

I go with lexxielightning for this one, go with the one you like most, in terms of color, pattern, and potential offspring since you're planning to engage in breeding in the future. But I suggest you start with a female. Specially if you're eyeing for a lucy. Since females take a long time to mature than males plus the fact that they are rather more expensive as adults compared to males. Well, that's just my 2 cents on this one. Happy thanksgiving!

I agree...get what you want! I currently have a female Black Pastel and am getting a femal Lesser for x-mas! I also have been told it would be better to get a female then in a year get a male. So, they should be ready to breed about the same time. If you try and buy a female ready to breed, you're going to pay a LOT!!!! I also want to breed a blue eyed lucy!!!!! Good luck!

i was thinking of getting a male hatchling of whatever morph because i was hoping by the time i raise enough money to buy a breeder female he would be able to bred with her. I dont want to buy a hatchling female and have to wait a few years for her to be of size id rather just save up after i get a male. Happy thanksgiving and keep the opinions coming please and thanks lol

I also agree with getting what you are attracted to since you will be caring and looking at it everyday. If you want to breed then get a female first because they take 2-3 years to reach breeding size! Male can be breeding size in 6-12 months! Good luck! It's always hard to pick a new morph!

Here's another vote for a female. You're going to pay a LOT more for a breeder sized female than for a male - even a male of breeding size. Trust those here with more experience - the cheaper and more efficient way to go is to start with a girl. For $300 or so you could potentially get a female a little older than a hatchling so she might be ready in just a year or two. And you can find a good male at 1-2 years old that won't break your budget and he could be ready that same season. So getting the female first does not necessarily mean you'd have a longer wait to breed.

As far as what to get, I'd also go with what you like. Here's a thought though - from your siggy it looks like you already have a female pastel (correct me if I'm wrong) and if that's the case, I would consider getting a female mojave now and then a male lesser later on. That way you can breed lesser x mojave for your BELs and also do lesser x pastel. Pastel lessers are COOL! Just a thought.....

I also agree with getting what you are attracted to. Females first. And spend wisely.

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Here's another vote for a female. You're going to pay a LOT more for a breeder sized female than for a male - even a male of breeding size. Trust those here with more experience - the cheaper and more efficient way to go is to start with a girl. For $300 or so you could potentially get a female a little older than a hatchling so she might be ready in just a year or two. And you can find a good male at 1-2 years old that won't break your budget and he could be ready that same season. So getting the female first does not necessarily mean you'd have a longer wait to breed.

As far as what to get, I'd also go with what you like. Here's a thought though - from your siggy it looks like you already have a female pastel (correct me if I'm wrong) and if that's the case, I would consider getting a female mojave now and then a male lesser later on. That way you can breed lesser x mojave for your BELs and also do lesser x pastel. Pastel lessers are COOL! Just a thought.....

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yes i have a female pastel and thats a pretty good idea i might do that but i still dont understand the whole female first thing but thanku

The whole female first is so that you can raise it and know how healthy it really is. Plus if you buy a hatchling Lesser you're going to spend around $400. If you buy that same female as a mature ready to breed female. You're going to spend around $1,600. Just food for thought...also, if you raise them both then you have the satisfaction of knowing you have been there since day ONE with both snakes. Breeding is going to take time. It's not something you can rush into. I just got the idea of breeding BP's and Crested Gecko's. I picked up 7 cresties and am going to have to wait a couple of years before I get eggs. Same with BP's, I got a Black Pastel female and am getting a Lesser female before X-mas. I'm going to feed them and get them up and ready so in two years they will be ready to breed. I'll pick me up a male next summer. So, they'll be ready around the same time to breed. Just my :2cent:! Trust me, I understand wanting to have babies RIGHT NOW! But, it will come with time!!!! I've spoke with a few breeders before I finally realized they're ALL giving me the same advice!

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Originally Posted by shorty54

The whole female first is so that you can raise it and know how healthy it really is. Plus if you buy a hatchling Lesser you're going to spend around $400. If you buy that same female as a mature ready to breed female. You're going to spend around $1,600. Just food for thought...also, if you raise them both then you have the satisfaction of knowing you have been there since day ONE with both snakes. Breeding is going to take time. It's not something you can rush into. I just got the idea of breeding BP's and Crested Gecko's. I picked up 7 cresties and am going to have to wait a couple of years before I get eggs. Same with BP's, I got a Black Pastel female and am getting a Lesser female before X-mas. I'm going to feed them and get them up and ready so in two years they will be ready to breed. I'll pick me up a male next summer. So, they'll be ready around the same time to breed. Just my :2cent:! Trust me, I understand wanting to have babies RIGHT NOW! But, it will come with time!!!! I've spoke with a few breeders before I finally realized they're ALL giving me the same advice!

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Well said. Shorty pretty much said it :gj:. The older the female the steeper the price. It would cost you a pretty penny for a breeder female. It is also very rewarding to breed adults that you raised. Keep us posted on what you decide and goodluck :banana:

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Originally Posted by shorty54

The whole female first is so that you can raise it and know how healthy it really is. Plus if you buy a hatchling Lesser you're going to spend around $400. If you buy that same female as a mature ready to breed female. You're going to spend around $1,600. Just food for thought...also, if you raise them both then you have the satisfaction of knowing you have been there since day ONE with both snakes. Breeding is going to take time. It's not something you can rush into. I just got the idea of breeding BP's and Crested Gecko's. I picked up 7 cresties and am going to have to wait a couple of years before I get eggs. Same with BP's, I got a Black Pastel female and am getting a Lesser female before X-mas. I'm going to feed them and get them up and ready so in two years they will be ready to breed. I'll pick me up a male next summer. So, they'll be ready around the same time to breed. Just my :2cent:! Trust me, I understand wanting to have babies RIGHT NOW! But, it will come with time!!!! I've spoke with a few breeders before I finally realized they're ALL giving me the same advice!

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Exactly. One should never rush into breeding. There are hundreds of bp breeders out there. What if you can't "get rid of" all the babies you produce? Are you prepared to keep them? There's lots to consider and I for one am not going to turn this thread into should you or shouldn't you breed - I'm interested in doing so myself sometime in the future - but these things DO take time. And if you want to be respected in this hobby, you do need to take your time to do it correctly and ethically. There are some stickies under the breeding forum you should look through.

There are reasons you need to start with females. Do you really want to pay 4 times as much for a female once it's reached breeding weight??? Why not look for a yearling now and save ooodles??? Yearling males are not much more $$ than hatchlings and may be able to breed that same season. But the ladies go up and up and up in price.

Again, this is just food for thought. But you are being given advice from some really experienced people who've been there done that. We are here to help you and we're trying to do that by recommending the best course of action for you - one that will best further your breeding aspirations. Take that for what it is and do what you feel is best and good luck to you! :cool:

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