What should I start with?

I'll be the annoying newbie, and ask a ton of questions. =D

I got excellent advice from a breeder, and he told me that if I wanted to become one, to start breeding what I liked. Well, being the animal lover that I am, his advice brought me to look through all of the ball python morphs that I could find, and of course, now I have a problem, as I want one of each, and that simply isn't the way to start off, especially when I am not rich, and can not afford that many snakes.

Now, I'm not sure of the average going prices of these snakes, so I suppose I need to do more research there, but what would you guys think of a good pair (or two) to start off with? I know in the end I'll have the make the final decision, but some help before I jump too far in over my head would be lovely!

The morphs that I've 'simplified' my list to (and shoved everything else on the 'to be purchased at a later date') are:

• Axanthic (love)
• Piebald
• Pastel
• Super Pastel
• Mojave
• Desert Ghost
• Fire
• Yellow Belly
• Granite
• Queen Bee (but wobble, so pretty though!)
• Clown
• Ghost (though I doubt I'd be able to tell one apart by looking at one yet)

Now, a friend of mine wants a Super Pastel Axanthic... SO. I'm thinking of getting an Axanthic, and a Super Pastel, and then trying to start that line of breeding for him so that I can start that...

However, which one should be male, and which one should be female. o.0; (any tips on Super Pastel Axanthic success?)

Not to mention, what other pairing would look nice, or be something to start off in. I'm probably going to try and Axanthic everything. xD But my partner is leaning towards granite and Desert ghost, possibly Fire... I don't know what to get to pair with hers.

Any ideas on pairings, or what would be a good starting base for someone who will potentially get into breeding?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Khay

Now, a friend of mine wants a Super Pastel Axanthic... SO. I'm thinking of getting an Axanthic, and a Super Pastel, and then trying to start that line of breeding for him so that I can start that...

---

IDK who that friend is, nope >.>

Hai Khay love. I don't have any answers to your questions, but welcome to bp.net anyway :P

You have some expensive morphs on that list.

Something that you should know that the axanthics tend to turn brown as they get older. Some more than others but very few look the same as they do as hatchlings.

Also just to be sure you are aware that axanthics are a recessive gene so it will take 2-3 breedings to get the axanthic super pastel

Genetic Wizard 3.0 calculations by
http://www.worldofballpythons.com/gfx/logo.png




Genetic Wizard 3.0 calculations by
http://www.worldofballpythons.com/gfx/logo.png

Also be aware that there are more than one blood line of axanthics and they aren't all compatable.

Yup! I know it's going to take a few breedings, and that's fine with me...

And yes, expensive morphs. Most of them are my partner's doing. Though a couple are mine. However, I may invest in hets, and then go from there to breed my morphs. It will take a little longer, but it's a little cheaper (hopefully!).

As for the browning, I'm okay with it. I may not be able to make the investment for a nice black and white line, but it'll come.

Which ones of the bunch are the cheaper ones?

I should probably start off with those. Please excuse me while I go do my research properly. xD

Thanks Aaron, I actually wasn't aware that there was more than one bloodline! That's good to know.

And Jazi, of course you don't know this friend... Nope. xD

If your interested in going rates. Check out king snake.com or fauna classifieds. It will give you a rough idea of what animals are going for

I'm currently in the same boat! I think for my first project I want to produce some blue eyed lucy's ad at least for my purposes I'm thinking getting a pastave which in my opinion, is relatively cheap in this hobby for a double morph snake, and breeding it to a normal to start. With those odds, it's a pretty wide array of possible outcomes. Hope this was helpful

EDIT: the array becomes wider in the second generation(hopefully) with pastave x pastave

• Axanthic (love)
• Piebald
• Pastel
• Super Pastel
• Mojave
• Desert Ghost
• Fire
• Yellow Belly
• Granite
• Queen Bee (but wobble, so pretty though!)
• Clown
• Ghost (though I doubt I'd be able to tell one apart by looking at one yet)

Of this list these are the ones that are under $500

Pastel
Mojave
Fire
Yellowbelly

I wouldn't worry about the spider wobble.

For the axanthic I would try to get a VPI axanthic (or het VPI axanthic) they seem to hold their colors pretty well.

Thanks Rob! I'll go take a look now, better than the google search I was doing.

Arogog, nice to see someone else in the same boat! My partner does not want a white snake, and does not like many all 'yellow' snakes. So I'm at a limited collection of what she likes, and what I like. Pastaves seem nice!

Though I think I'm a fan of black and white.


Aaron, I'm currently emailing VPI to see what their rate is for an Axanthic. I could potentially do a payment plan, but I'll definitely be saving away for one from the VPI line. Which reminds me that I need to find housings for these guys. Ah haha.

You can get VPI bloodline axanthics elsewhere as well so keep an eye on kingsnake classifieds.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

Of this list these are the ones that are under $500

Pastel
Mojave
Fire
Yellowbelly

---

I'd add axanthic, granite, super pastel, and ghost to that...

You can always start off with a pair of pastel het axanthics...that would give you the absolute quickest chance of hitting your goal. If not that, I'd start with a pastel het axanthic male and an axanthic female, or maybe a super pastel male to an axanthic female.

Before you think of getting the breeding game there is alot more then just buying animals. I have seen people in the past dump truckloads of money into aninals without knowing or thinking about everything you need to know. First off to keep a stable collection its very expensive to do it right. And if you dont do it right its gonna cost you alot more money to do it wrong. Also if your getting into it from a breeding standpoint then you have to look at it from a buisness standpoint. You dont want to be producing animals that are in a falling market. You also need to know what lines are compatible especially with axanthics. Also keep in mind combos sell better then singles. And the biggest thing. You have to be set up to be able to house the biproducts of breeding meabing all the surplus babies and normals you produce. Not everything you produce are going to sell easy. But even before you breed you need to know how to incubate. Theres alot to know and learn and isnt an overbight success. I have dealt with alot of trial and error over the past 15 years breeding snakes so you need to be prepared for those trials and errors.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Khay

Thanks Rob! I'll go take a look now, better than the google search I was doing. My partner does not want a white snake

---

No problem. Hey just to let you know. white snakes are very popular and bring in a pretty penny. So since you and your partner are looking to sell what you breed, Bel's are a great choice.

X2 solid snakes sell quick. Solid white and super blacks and super cinnies sell like wildfire. Those are the first to sell for me

I suppose bottom line on what to start with boils down to your budget. There was a lot of pricey snakes on your list. Better to get females first so they can grow out, add males later as they don't take as long.

My advise to you is to see how you like keeping BPs before you begin a long term and expensive breeding project. Next, why not build your breeding experience with some less expensive co-dom animals? And finally, please be prepaired to keep anything you hatch out for life. There are no guarantees you will sell anything.

Welcome to BP.net!

X2 with drdolittle. females take 2-3 years to mature and be able to breed so get your females now raise them(like me) and when your almost ready for breeding, buy your males, you will save money by not having to feed a male that you have no use for right now, and the price on the morph your looking for. example i have a pastel lesser which i will be getting a killer bee to breed to her and no sense wasting $1000+ on the male and still have to feed it, when most likely in 2 years i can get one for 700-900 and only have to feed it for a year or so.
best of luck and remember breed what you like not what everyone else wants because you will be the one looking at them.
and get an albino also some of the albino mixes hold their price tag because not a lot of people work with them and their amazing!

I know this isn't my thread but for me at least I'm just planning on breeding for pleasure and if I happen to sell a few, great. if not I'll have a pretty cool rack full of awesome pets

Talk is just talk right now. These snakes are what I'd like to have (a dream, one could say!), and where I may buy two to start off with, realistically speaking, one is likely to be a normal or a het, and one potentially to be something that I'd really love to own.

Before I get a snake, I'm going to make sure that I do have everything down pact to ensure that it is kept safe, and if I do choose to actually breed, I will take the necessary actions to learn what has to be done from there.

However, I won't be able to buy these snakes all at once. So, likely, I'll be buying something cheaper first, and then going from there. I'll definitely know whether I want to breed or not by the time I can afford the second / third snake, and I'll know how much I like owning one. As much as I probably make it sound like I'm going to jump out and buy 20 instantly, that isn't reality, and nothing more than zeal.

However, on with more zeal! As I want to take in this information like a sponge. <3

Thanks Snake Lab! I'll be sure to slow down a bit, and warn people that though I am running through these threads with zeal and 'I want this now!', I'll definitely slow down and calculate things through when all of this actually comes closer to happening.

I never thought of getting the females first, and you definitely just saved me! But yes, I'll stop and think about which ones I want to have as females, and let them grow.

For now, my starting off 'four' set is the set that I'll be adding one by one, and not splurging out a few thousand dollars on at once. (Maaaaybe if I win the lottery).

The reality is that I live in a small town, where shipping is expensive, and that I'd be paying about 100-160 dollars for a normal unless I want to take the car and drive about three hours out to a bigger city. If I'm paying that much, I'm in the mindset that I'll just pay for a snake that I want. (The reptile places around here are quite sketchy, to my knowledge... 3 months of mites, and BPs that are stressed out and just miserable and sickly thin? Not interested. As much as I want to take them in just to give them proper caring... I can't pay 120 dollars each for a sickly snake.)

And since I forgot what I was writing, I'm going to re-read the thread, and edit. XD