Most sought after, and most unwanted morphs

I may start breeding in the future once I get a morph or two (or five...)
What are the most sought after morphs? What are your favorites? What is generally wanted by the BP world?
Also, what morphs does the community not want? Any crosses that are over-done, so people don't want them as much, or anything like that?

I'm sure there will be plenty of folks that will happily give their answers to your questions. But you shouldn't expect any sort of consensus among them. Opinions and tastes differ wildly among all the different BP morphs.

Here is MY opinion on the matter. I believe (very, very firmly believe) that if you want to succeed at breeding these beauties, then you need to breed what YOU are truly passionate about. If you try to breed to please "the market" you'll burn out long before you ever get there.

For one, the market changes and fluctuates over the years. But most importantly, it takes genuine passion for the animals themselves to put up with all the work and effort, cost and heartache that comes along with breeding for profit. And those few that manage to make a profit without the passion do so at the great expense of the animals' well being. That is never pretty.

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Originally Posted by JLC

I'm sure there will be plenty of folks that will happily give their answers to your questions. But you shouldn't expect any sort of consensus among them. Opinions and tastes differ wildly among all the different BP morphs.

Here is MY opinion on the matter. I believe (very, very firmly believe) that if you want to succeed at breeding these beauties, then you need to breed what YOU are truly passionate about. If you try to breed to please "the market" you'll burn out long before you ever get there.

For one, the market changes and fluctuates over the years. But most importantly, it takes genuine passion for the animals themselves to put up with all the work and effort, cost and heartache that comes along with breeding for profit. And those few that manage to make a profit without the passion do so at the great expense of the animals' well being. That is never pretty.

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Good to know, thank you! :)
I have been in the horse industry my whole life, so I know that there are certain breeds of horses that people want for certain riding disciplines, so I didn't know if it was kinda like that in the BP industry. I have always loved BP's and think morphs are absolutely fascinating, so I'm really excited to learn about it all.

The spider combos are my favorites.. once I get into breeding, that's where I'm putting my focus. but not for profit. I want to learn more about the genetics and maybe someday become an artist like those I look up to. I've only been apart of this community for about 3 years and already, I've seen a massive fluctuation of morph prices. SOO, i definitely agree with JLC, find what you love and produce that. After your collection and knowledge has grown, im sure you'll figure it out from there :)

Piedbalds are one of the top morphs most people love, but about what they were saying above, I never plan on owning a pied, they just don't do it for me. So you would never get a sale out of me. If I was looking to have the best stock for selling, I would own pieds, but I could care less.

High quality pastel combos are always in demand. when choosing pastels, be picky about the pastel. Lesser/Butters are pretty sought after also. Enchis jumped it in demand since people found out they make the pieds look better. Actually enchi makes everything cool it seems.

This is a lil odd...but im not a single gene Spider fan,yet ive never come across a spider combo(bee)i didnt love! I have a female spider just for making various bees. Ill be working on bumblebees or flamebees soon,just because thats what I want to produce.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JLC

I'm sure there will be plenty of folks that will happily give their answers to your questions. But you shouldn't expect any sort of consensus among them. Opinions and tastes differ wildly among all the different BP morphs.

Here is MY opinion on the matter. I believe (very, very firmly believe) that if you want to succeed at breeding these beauties, then you need to breed what YOU are truly passionate about. If you try to breed to please "the market" you'll burn out long before you ever get there.

For one, the market changes and fluctuates over the years. But most importantly, it takes genuine passion for the animals themselves to put up with all the work and effort, cost and heartache that comes along with breeding for profit. And those few that manage to make a profit without the passion do so at the great expense of the animals' well being. That is never pretty.

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Words of wisdom right here! :gj: I have a few projects that are both business and personal interests of mine. Almost all of my entire collection is made up of things I personally want to work with moving forward. It's a lot easier to spend time feeding, cleaning, breeding, and building a collection that you're passionate about. You constantly see people entering and exiting this hobby/business because they aren't passionate about what they are doing.

Regards,

B

I agree with the admin. There's new morphs being dicovered or created all the time. So find the morphs you like and fiddle around see what you come up with =] when breeding morphs its not all about the money. I look at ball pythons as art, with all the colors and tones, and the different things you get when breeding. They're beautiful :gj:

Albinos will ALWAYS be popular. A big part of that popularity is that they are an affordable morph that even non-breeders love to get just as pets. I think part of the appeal is that you can get an "albino" version of pretty much every kind of pet. It's something that people are familiar with, that they understand.

Piebalds are also pretty popular, but there are some people who love them, and some who don't like them. They're also much more expensive than albinos, which makes them less popular choices for people who aren't into breeding.

Pastels are popular as pets, as they are pretty much the cheapest morph you can get, and they are bright and colorful.

Spiders are also fairly popular as pets, as they are affordable, and have a very unique pattern.

So really I would say that albinos, spiders, and pastels are among the most popular morphs, taking into account the people who buy them as pets (not breeders).

BUT...the beauty of the ball python market is that MANY of your customers will also be breeders, which means that any morph will sell if it's a good example of the morph and the price is reasonable.

So in the end, you should find the ball pythons that really excite you, that you like to look at.

Unless you buy adult breeders (which are pretty expensive), you'll be caring for your snakes for at least 2-3 years before they make any eggs for you. So it's important that you like the snakes you start out with.

Currently, enchi and combos are very popular, along with clowns, pieds and a few others.

By the time you raise a pair or so of each they may be not so popular as people may have thought along the same lines as you and slightly flooded a market all thinking they have what everyone wants... Then you all start competing... Then the price reflects the over saturation and thus no longer desirable.

Find a morph YOU like, hunt down the best examples you can possibly find with a look you like such as reduced pattern, busy pattern. And selectively breed them to eventually create a look that is more unique in a morph market where many look the same.
This will benefit you more in the long term as it shows you are more dedicated than others and you think about which pairings you consider.

Sent from my phone, to the Internet, to your screen.

I myself, LOVE, Champagnes, G-stripes, & Clowns. I bought a Champagne male about 3 months ago, and paid a pretty penny for him. For me though, it's not for $$$. I genuinely love all of my animals. I love watching the miracle of life happen right before my eyes. I have about 70 chickens as well and love watching them hatch too. I honestly don't care if all of my babies come out normals, as long as their healthy babies, I will still love them regardless of what they're worth.

I'd say that Clown Combos are becoming the big hype more and more as the seasons go on. There are so many combos that haven't been made yet. Spider is ...ehh... wobble. I love spider combos too, but watching there heads wobble breaks my heart.

Honestly, like the others said, get something that YOU love. Don't be a conformist and go with what people are snatching off of the shelves. As long as you give 110%, provide proper housing, husbandry, and feeding, your guaranteed to succeed.

Trey

Thanks everyone!
I do love snakes, and I didn't mean to make it sound like I was only in for it because of the money, because that's definitely not it. I would be 10000000% fine with not making any money off of the babies, I would do it just because I love BP's. I just wanted to know if there was any morph specifics that people with a lot of BP knowledge have that I don't know about. I just started doing research on morphs very recently, so I really don't know much at all. I like knowing everyones opinions on the morphs they like, and if there's any certain morphs that are a no-no.

I personally went for Pieds. I'm a silly little college student, so I was only able to afford a pair of 100% Het Pieds, but it was what I wanted - not the market. By the time these babies are old enough to breed, who knows - Pieds could be cheaper than pastels.

If I were in a position to buy more morphs, or multi-gene morphs, I'd go for Albinos, Spiders, Piebalds and Pinstripes.

Albinos - Someone above already outlined the same reasons I'd have for doing Albinos - Pretty much everybody recognizes them, and I don't see them ever going "Out of style" - Plus - they're epic looking. They are my next personal investment.

Spiders - They are adorable on their own - but along with Albinos - you can breed them with Pieds and eventually make Spieds - the name itself makes me want to produce some :P

Piebalds - Mix this with the other two and - SHINYYYY.

Pinstripes - I haven't seen a single one of these that wasn't fantastic looking.

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Originally Posted by SeeTheCityLights

Thanks everyone!
I do love snakes, and I didn't mean to make it sound like I was only in for it because of the money, because that's definitely not it. I would be 10000000% fine with not making any money off of the babies, I would do it just because I love BP's. I just wanted to know if there was any morph specifics that people with a lot of BP knowledge have that I don't know about. I just started doing research on morphs very recently, so I really don't know much at all. I like knowing everyones opinions on the morphs they like, and if there's any certain morphs that are a no-no.

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Some people choose not to breed spiders because they have a neurological condition called a "wobble." Other people choose not to breed caramel albinos because they can have a genetic defect that causes spine kinking. Some cinnamons can have an issue called "duck billing" where the snout is flared out like a duck's bill. Right now it appears as though desert females have fertility/growth issues, but it's a fairly new morph, so people are still working with them.

Those are the four I can think of off the top of my head.

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Originally Posted by SeeTheCityLights

I like knowing everyones opinions on the morphs they like, and if there's any certain morphs that are a no-no.

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I don't think any morph is a no-no...as more people are breeding and more of the basic morphs are continually produced, they may be harder to sell. But then again, the ball python hobby is growing, and there are more people coming into it that will buy those morphs, being as they are very affordable. And if it comes down to it, if you have problems selling your stock, there's always someone who won't have so much trouble selling it that will buy them up from you...of course you won't get the price you would like to should you go that route. Point being, however you go about it, it's highly unlikely you'll be sitting on a huge pile of snakes and not be able to move them one way or another.

I went with the BEL complex for the most part. But that is what I like. I will have a Banana Enchi one day though.....

I personally love cinnamons and most other morphs you can pair them with create cool offspring. Cinnamons with pastels, pins, mojaves, lessers and butters all make amazing combos imo. Also the super cinnamon is awesome too!

Enchi's and female mojaves are in high demand in the uk.
I picked up a nice 600g female enchi for £375, I was offered £1200 a week later.
I didn't sell though, she's gorgeous.
Personally, I want a sugar and a champagne. I'm gonna wait a tad longer, as champ prices seem to be coming down a bit recently.

I picked up an enchi but i plan on picking up 1 recessive female, and 1 male possibly enchi. Then i will have a breeding group of 1 male enchi and my females: enchi, killerbee, pinstripe, and that unknown recessive ;). Im nit a fan of pieds, but enchi piedsmare sweet! I hope to produce some enchi pied combos in the future just because i HOPEA they look awesome!!!

Piebalds and albinos are favorites. Spiders also sell fast. Even though I didn't produce any this year, I had people asking for them anyhow! You will never have trouble selling a female pastel, but you may have a hard time selling the males.

Orange ghosts, surprisingly, don't seem to be in high demand. I have no idea why, they're spectacularly beautiful, particularly in person. Orange ghost combos are another story.

Womas have ups and downs. There are a lot of misconceptions about them, perhaps, and also a lot of ugly ones out there, which people think are representative of the morph, so they don't look harder.

I've sold out of babies every year so far, and have only a handful left now--chances are, they'll be sold before I have more eggs in the incubators, just as they did last year.

I've had a surprisingly difficult time selling lessers this year, but I think it was just the bad luck of LOTS of people producing lessers as well, this year, and I produced more of them than any other morph.

At this stage, I seem to be selling the lowest end animals first--the normals and het males are all gone, to people who wanted pets. Apparently, word is getting around that pet stores aren't fantastic places to buy pet ball pythons, so folks are looking for local breeders to get them from. So, even normals are selling well.

Still, my advice if you want to get into breeding for a reasonably stable return, is get yourself a pied male, and some het pied girls.
Pied has held a high price better than virtually any other morph, and it drops less than the vast majority each year.

my normals are always the ones i sell out of first.
adam jeffery