What to look for in a Bumblebee

Hey. I have pretty much decided that my next snake will be a bumblebee. It works well for my breeding plans, and with my love of the spider pattern.

I would probably be looking for a male, so an idea of price range and what a good Bumblebee pattern is would be helpful. (I know that depends on the individual preference, to a certain extent)

Pictures, good breeders, pricing help, and any other info you can think of to help me pick a good snake would be awesome.

Also, do they have a wobble? I know spiders do, and I wasn't sure if it is passed on or not.

I'm not ready to buy quite yet, but I certainly want to keep my eye out, because I would buy if I found the perfect snake. :)


Thanks!

I hatched out 2 bumblebees this year. I have to say, I think one is prettier than the other. Check these pictures out:

Bee 1:
http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...7/SANY0062.jpg

Bee 2:
http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...7/SANY0063.jpg

In my opinion, bee 1 is better looking than bee 2. It has a cleaner pattern.

But, I have to say, Bee 2 is growing up really bright!

Expect to pay about $600 for a nice bumblebee from a breeder. BHB still has some for sale, I think.

Yes, bees may or may not have a wobble. Both of the bees pictured above didn't show any wobble, but you never know if they'll get them as they get older. Their dad (the spider) only has a very slight wobble right before striking its food.

Bee in the main photo is about as perfect as your going to get:

http://www.ballpython.ca/collection/...umble_bee.html
and
http://www.ballpython.ca/collection/...bb_photo1.html
you can see the slight speckling that some will have

Look for a clean pattern, bright yellow colors (if signs of browning are shown as a baby the bee will be brown as an adult)

As for prices look at Kingsnake

Most breeders have bumblebee just have to find the snake you want

ALL spider morphs wobble. If it has spider in it, it wobbles.

2010 bee's are going for around 600. u have to look at a couple of things. u have to find one with light colors, and then the kind of spider pattern u like. its likes pastels, the lighter as a baby the lighter as an adult.

There is alot to look for in the bee's.. there are high white and low white, spots and no spots, clean yellows are good, ther are reduced pattern due to the spider gene. And the wobble is a thing of spiders with any combo, many show either very little or none, many show alot. It's hit or miss, a parent can have alot and the babies have basicaly none or the other way around.

I have a high white that is starting to gain yellow from the bottem up and is looking REAL cool now, before it was straight white from 1/2 way down his body, now a BRIGHT yellow is making cool patterns in the white. Only the very tip top of my bee is browning out, and it more or a light grey then a brown. Depends on the pastel gene that is in it.

There are tons of bees out there for sale, but not many realy good bee's since everyone want to make them.

I should have some this poping out this season too.. lol

As with any morph, it is a personal preference....Look for a bee that makes YOU go :O

how do u look for wobbling I will be attending a show and looking to purchase a male bee or spider. how do i steer clear of wobbleing and or other negative traits. thanks alot. dont mean to steal the thread think that the wobbling thing really is well upsetting

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LOSTCOAST_BALLZ

how do u look for wobbling I will be attending a show and looking to purchase a male bee or spider. how do i steer clear of wobbleing and or other negative traits. thanks alot. dont mean to steal the thread think that the wobbling thing really is well upsetting

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Ask the breeder if you can hold the animal, don't get offended if they ask you to sanitize your hands, if the breeder declines letting you hold it ask the breeder if they will take it out of the display and hold it so you can get a better look. I would only be concerned about a wobble that happens with regular handeling. A wobble while feeding is really no big deal to me, I have never had a spider, or related morph, that had a wobble so bad it stopped them from eating. So, if the animal can be handeled without showing a wobble you should be ok :gj:

Here's some bumblebee males from Bailey & Bailey Reptiles, Tim Bailey is an awesome guy. He's the only one I'll go to now. Also, his prices are decent.

http://www.baileyreptiles.com/10bumblebeeav.html

As for things to look for in a bumblebee, they are all beautiful. There's no way you can go wrong. Just buy one that you like, that's all it boils down to.

All spiders, and anything that carries the gene will wobble. Some more than others, but it does NOT affect their eating, pooping, or life span.

I'm a huge sucker for the Matrix line blonde pastels. And I just so happen to have a matrix blonde bumble bee... he's my favorite type of bee. In the pictures he looks browned out.... He's not at all. That's just the blonde pastel in him. I can guarantee this, everyone that has seen pictures of him and then later saw him in person were completely blown away. My pictures don't do this animal any justice. He's more of a grey color than blonde, but he's gorgeous in my opinion no matter what. He also has some of the highest white sides I've ever seen on a bee. I really like how his white is outlined by a very vivid yellow.

Here he is:
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...r/bee-09-2.jpg
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...r/bee-09-1.jpg

EDIT: Just wanted to show his sides and another head shot.

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...r/bee-09-4.jpg
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...r/bee-09-3.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LOSTCOAST_BALLZ

how do u look for wobbling I will be attending a show and looking to purchase a male bee or spider. how do i steer clear of wobbleing and or other negative traits. thanks alot. dont mean to steal the thread think that the wobbling thing really is well upsetting

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If you were to ask Kevin McCurley (the guy who produced and proved the first spiders) if every spider has a wobble he would say yes (I've heard it come out of his mouth). Some wobbles are more noticeable than others, but the fact remains that every spider has a wobble. I hatched out 11 spiders last year and each and every one of them had a wobble. The father wasn't related to any of the females he bred and has a very slight wobble (his wobble was very hard to notice and he usually only did it when he was hungry). Some of the offspring had almost uncontrollable wobbles and others had wobbles that you could barely notice. The point I'm trying to make is that no matter if you get a spider that has only a slight wobble or one that has a horrible wobble, either way you will have a 100% chance of producing spiders with a wobble (no matter what the severity, and the severity will most definitely vary per spider). So with that being said... If I were in the market for a spider, the amount of wobble wouldn't matter to me, but the fact that it could thrive or not would. So as long as it was thriving with no troubles I wouldn't have a problem purchasing it or breeding it.

my bumble bee is a little darker then most out there but I like that. Its like most people out there say, its all up to you and what you like. My guy has a slight wobble but its only right before he strikes his food. Now when I had my male spider he didn't have a wobble until he hit months and it was only right before he ate not to bad. Just take your time in what your looking for and if possible see if you can find one at a local show so you can see for yourself.

I try and look for the least amount of brown scales on the sides of the dorsal. If there are a lot of brown scale, the snake will brown out a ton over time. So i look for the brightest yellows and darkest blacks aside from the black speckles.

i prefer reduced pattern, no spots(pattern spots) less speckling the better. dont really care if its high white or not. high white is nice though. wobble doesnt bother me as long as it isnt so bad it looks retarded and is corkscrewing all over the place.
the pastel line it comes from does make a differance. nerds lemon pastel line makes really nice yellow pastels. ive seen some adult bees look like normal spiders they have browned out so much. all spiders will brown out to a point. their is no way to tell how much one will brown out from looking at it as a baby.
seeing pictures of parents and knowing what pastel line will be your best help in guessing what it will look like as an adult.
adam jeffery

When looking for a 'good' bee look for one that isn't dirty. The dirtiness will just enhance with age, because like all others they dull/darken with age.

Anything with the spider gene has the possibility to wobble. Just like with Spiders you can get one with a horrible wobble who has babies with very minimal wobble or a one with minimal wobble who has babies with horrible wobble, it's a roll of the dice. Wobble really doesn't effect the snake, it will thrive just like any other. Of course there are extreme cases, but those are usually found when mixing lots of genes (the woma is especially known for that).

My spider doesn't have a noticeable wobble to the untrained eye but he's a little.... slow, to put it nicely. He's been a real bitter lately, I think he's lost it :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

When looking for a 'good' bee look for one that isn't dirty. The dirtiness will just enhance with age, because like all others they dull/darken with age.

Anything with the spider gene has the possibility to wobble. Just like with Spiders you can get one with a horrible wobble who has babies with very minimal wobble or a one with minimal wobble who has babies with horrible wobble, it's a roll of the dice. Wobble really doesn't effect the snake, it will thrive just like any other. Of course there are extreme cases, but those are usually found when mixing lots of genes (the woma is especially known for that).

My spider doesn't have a noticeable wobble to the untrained eye but he's a little.... slow, to put it nicely. He's been a real bitter lately, I think he's lost it :P

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Very well put!

i like the high white with bright yellow sides. it also looks really nice when the black lines create a x and o board with yellow bordering the blacks. but that is just my opinion :D here is my bee i think its perfect!http://s1133.photobucket.com/albums/...t_action=album

Thanks for the info. This is very helpful!

here is the pic i was trying to post hope it works this time http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...9/SANY1207.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PassionsPythons

If you were to ask Kevin McCurley (the guy who produced and proved the first spiders) if every spider has a wobble he would say yes (I've heard it come out of his mouth). Some wobbles are more noticeable than others, but the fact remains that every spider has a wobble. I hatched out 11 spiders last year and each and every one of them had a wobble. The father wasn't related to any of the females he bred and has a very slight wobble (his wobble was very hard to notice and he usually only did it when he was hungry). Some of the offspring had almost uncontrollable wobbles and others had wobbles that you could barely notice. The point I'm trying to make is that no matter if you get a spider that has only a slight wobble or one that has a horrible wobble, either way you will have a 100% chance of producing spiders with a wobble (no matter what the severity, and the severity will most definitely vary per spider). So with that being said... If I were in the market for a spider, the amount of wobble wouldn't matter to me, but the fact that it could thrive or not would. So as long as it was thriving with no troubles I wouldn't have a problem purchasing it or breeding it.

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Agreed - he was showing me a new mutation when I was up there visiting and it had a wobble and he made the comment - "well, as you can see spider is one of the genes in the mix". Of course this was a 4 or 5 gene animal. Makes no difference - if there's spider in it, it will wobble.