what's the point ?

What's the point of buying some ball pythons for thousands of dollars when you can have them for so much cheaper and are still really nice?My one snake is normal and the other one is normal with a cool lip mark and i love them so much.I know its cool to have different morphs that are really awesome, but I think its a waist of a lot of money.

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Originally Posted by conakry cobra

What's the point of buying some ball pythons for thousands of dollars when you can have them for so much cheaper and are still really nice?My one snake is normal and the other one is normal with a cool lip mark and i love them so much.I know its cool to have different morphs that are really awesome, but I think its a waist of a lot of money.

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Thats the great part about this hobby there is something for everyone to enjoy from really awesome normals to thousand dollar morphs..You can literally find a Ball Python to fit every taste and budget..

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Originally Posted by conakry cobra

What's the point of buying some ball pythons for thousands of dollars when you can have them for so much cheaper and are still really nice?My one snake is normal and the other one is normal with a cool lip mark and i love them so much.I know its cool to have different morphs that are really awesome, but I think its a waist of a lot of money.

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Because, no matter how much you look. You will never find a normal that looks like a BEL. Gorgeous animals, and worth every penny. Also, every single super known, will never look like any normal out there.

Normals are great, but you just can't beat the look of some of the co-dom combos. I will gladly spend the extra to see those gene's that make you drool.

Some people but show quality dogs that come with huge price tags instead of buying a mutt for $50.
Some people buy $1000 exotic cats instead of getting a kitten from a private party for $20.

Different strokes for different folks :)

People have asked me the same about my horses. I have one who was free to a good home, she's an amazing horse to ride, sweet as can be, but will never breed or show. On the other hand, I have a $6,000 purebred, champion show-line Tennessee walking horse who was sold to me cheaper (believe it or not) because she was only half-broken in, but she will produce some INCREDIBLE top of the line offspring to keep and sell. Plus, I get to own a huge, gorgeous pure black walking horse who is smoother to ride than most ;)

Some people start out with snakes as simple pets and some of us want to give breeding a try.

The reason why the prices get so high is the rare factor on a few morphs (think under 10 in the whole country and the years it took to breed against 1/64 odds) or the genetics. If one snake has 3 or more genetic traits the price soars because it has more to offer in the way of breeding a variety of different morphs.

snakesRkewl's comment fits perfectly. Some people are perfectly happy having a snake for a pet and others go on to become hobbyist breeders. Just depends on how the addiction bites you :)

like how some people drive corollas and some drive imprezas, there are a lot more things you can do with the impreza than the daily driver

i love normals though, OG!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by conakry cobra

What's the point of buying some ball pythons for thousands of dollars when you can have them for so much cheaper and are still really nice?My one snake is normal and the other one is normal with a cool lip mark and i love them so much.I know its cool to have different morphs that are really awesome, but I think its a waist of a lot of money.

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In my case, it's all personal tastes. I don't have the room or set up to breed a bunch of snakes. If my plans work out and I end up with the room and set up to breed a bunch of snakes, I don't have the time to breed dozens of clutches. I'll be lucky to breed a couple of snakes a year. Maybe enough to do some trading for what I don't have but like.....:)

In my personal estimation, nothing is prettier than a piebald ball python. It was the ball python morph that captured my imagination when I had 3 pet normals. It's no longer the hottest newest latest bestest morph out there. But it appeals to me, more so than anything else. I guess it's kinda like why I like red shirts a whole lot more than I like green ones.

One of my snakes is a pied, about 50% or so white. The other is a ringer that is het for pied and cool looking in her own right. I paid more for these snakes upfront because I chose a morph and a het over normals.

But that is only a one time cost. My caging, vet bills, and the rats I feed them aren't going to cost any more over the years than it would cost for me to care for a couple of 40 buck pet store normals. My snakes will live for many years if I care for them well. So for about the price of a pack of gum per day I get to spend many years looking at exactly what pleases my eye. To me that is not a waste of money. Not when I'm going to be looking at them for a long time.

We each get to go for what we want. My pied girl and ringer don't have the sale value of a quad codom super something or whatever. But they please my eye. Some folks want showdogs, some want mutts. I've had both and each has it's own charm. It's just darn nice that there's something out there for just about everyone.

lol we live in Africa and paid 25 bucks for both! IDK but I think that one is granite maybe.

I like normals, but sometimes I see some morphs and my jaw drops! Unless it was a good deal and I wanted something to show visitors I wouldnt spend thousands on a snake or an animal in general.

I like Kimberli's connection she made to her horses. Part of the appeal is that you have (and can produce) living art, not just the same "pet" that wholesales across the world. I have two beautiful normals that I handle and show people just as frequently as my morphs, but I'm also on the edge of my seat waiting for their eggs to hatch and see what cool babies poke their heads through (morph or not!)!

Mmmmmm I would it's eye candy to me. Nothing amazes me more then some of the crazy morphs out there. I mean nature made these. We put them together and look what happens. That is the true concept to me NATURAL ART. I guess some see it one way and others see it another. Would I pay 1000000 for a picaso, maybe but probably not. Would I pay 10000000 if I had it for the 1 snake in the world like it. Oh absolutely. Theres nothing in the world that can compare to this http://tapatalk.com/mu/47a9936d-21d9-be45.jpg
Or this
http://tapatalk.com/mu/47a9936d-21ef-b2dc.jpg
Or this
http://tapatalk.com/mu/47a9936d-2206-35ab.jpg
Or this
http://tapatalk.com/mu/47a9936d-2232-1456.jpg
These are pretty basic morphs and while a few of them were costly and amazing in they're own right I think there are others that blow them out of the water.
IMO it all depends on the person. Once I hatched out my first pastels I was hooked. I am frankly amazed by the things good or bad their genetics can do. I'd personally like to have all of them in my collection just to be able to touch them and look at them daily. I love my wild types to do not get me wrong. But there is so much unknown in the morphs and I guess it's intriguing to me.

Might as well ask why my husband likes sports cars! I don't know why he needs to spend that much money on a sports car so he can drive around orange cones every weekend, but I take it on faith that he thinks it's awesome and it means something to him. And in return he lets me have *mumble mumble* number of snakes in the house, and turns a blind eye while I spend silly amounts of money on breeding projects and supplies and mice.

In addition to all the great comments above, it really is just about law of supply and demand. If there is a new morph that's been just made, you can be sure there would be thousands of hobbiests who are willing to pay top dollars to get one. I am just glad that you aren't one of them so maybe I will get my chance to get one too. :D

cinner mentioned what I was thinking. Automobiles


Some drive cars with hand crank windows and manuel door locks. Others spend a whole lot more cash and get all the bells and whistles.
Why waste all that money? You could probably get both with the same paint job and look.

Choices! I guess everyone gets to choose.

BTW Nothing wrong with a good ole normal!

I understand both sides of the argument... the BEL's and Pieds are awesome and I would love one, but the price jump is HUGE. People keep comparing dogs, horses, etc... I have a quality dog with papers that I could show, he still cost less than 1k. Meanwhile, you can pick up a normal BP for $15 and some morphs go for over 20k!! Unless you are a breeder that is nuts!.. and no matter hue awesome they look I coukd/would never afford one.

Well the only reason you'd be interested in a 20k animal IS if you are a breeder. Or else a collector I see reason in that too. But the average bp owner no probably doesn't care about the morphs or isn't willing to drop the $ on them. The only reason as a breeder I would do it is because in the long run it's an investment. Short term It's just a ridiculously expensive cool animal to show off and play with.

Its the same in every pet. Why did I pay more for a Percheron Paint Horse than a normal brown horse. Because I wanted too!!!