Why do some reptile enthusiasts have a problem with ball pythons.

I've been listening to a lot of Urban Jungle Radio lately, but I noticed they always make cracks on ball pythons.
And some comments on facebook mention about annoyance to people who keep ball pythons.

I'm assuming it's because of the number of ball python keepers, and that annoys them.
But maybe there's something I don't know.

The biggest complaint I have heard is that they are boring cuz they just ball up. Its like holding a colorful rock is what someone once told me.... Lol.

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Originally Posted by Navy

I've been listening to a lot of Urban Jungle Radio lately, but I noticed they always make cracks on ball pythons.
And some comments on facebook mention about annoyance to people who keep ball pythons.

I'm assuming it's because of the number of ball python keepers, and that annoys them.
But maybe there's something I don't know.

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Pfft yeah their problem is called "jealously" :D

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Most dont understand the pricing and there is almost always a "new fad" every couple months

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Most dont understand the pricing and there is almost always a "new fad" every couple months

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Mind clarifying the "new fad" part? xD

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Originally Posted by Navy

Mind clarifying the "new fad" part? xD

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In th eBP world there is always something new be it color or pattern that everyone wants to have.
Its almost like a race to see who can make the two headed purple people eater LOL

I deal with a couple hard core kingsnake guys and there have been a couple "debates" that have almost come to blows over my balls:O

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

In th eBP world there is always something new be it color or pattern that everyone wants to have.
Its almost like a race to see who can make the two headed purple people eater LOL

I deal with a couple hard core kingsnake guys and there have been a couple "debates" that have almost come to blows over my balls:O

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Ah I understand now.

It's like why people don't like the new Smartphone fad, everyone wants the newest version....
You should know..I have a two headed purple people eater!!:gj:

I am PRO-BP...I searched for the perfect snake. I wanted a couch potato, with a sweet disposition...And my female BP is just that. :)

I think it's because it FEELS like ball pythons are "taking over" the herping community. They're almost always very prevalent at reptile expos, and even tables that focus on other herps will have a few ball pythons. It FEELS like everyone is always talking about the "next great" ball python morph. It SEEMS like general-purpose forums are swamped with ball python pictures. So the colubrid enthusiasts, the boa lovers, the lizard keepers...they feel as if they are not getting the attention they deserve. Not as many people talking about corn snakes, not as many people oohing and ahhing over the latest boa morph or lizard litter.

I can say from a rather broad range of experience that this really isn't the case. I've been to herp shows all over the country, and while there are always lots of ball pythons, there are also TONS of other great stuff that people flock to so thickly you can't squeeze in to see what all the fuss is about. There are tons of very active, busy forums that enthusiastically and lovingly discuss other herps that have nothing to do with ball pythons.

It's just that for some people seem to need some kind of negative thing to focus on, for whatever reason. Something to be righteously indignant about. And for some of those, it's the simple, humble ball python that has risen far above it's perceived niche in the herping world.

I'm guilty at making fun of ball pythons and the mutant, errr morph craze. Never saw the point in buying a snake for $2500 that will be worth $400 in a few years. Seems like a ponzi scheme to me. It's not a reflection on the animals as much as the culture surrounding them.

It's good natured, but for a lot of "serious" people in the hobby who are focused on locality variants and the like, ball pythons represent the foo foo poodle culture of the reptile world.

I personally love ball pythons, they make fat, nutritious and tasty snacks for my drys. They come in yummy flavors like toffee, banana, cinnamon, lemon, caramel, champagne, orange blast, butter, pie(d), vanilla, candy, chocolate, citrus, leche, mimosa. etc. etc. My drys appreciate the many different flavors.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

I'm guilty at making fun of ball pythons and the mutant, errr morph craze. Never saw the point in buying a snake for $2500 that will be worth $400 in a few years. Seems like a ponzi scheme to me. It's not a reflection on the animals as much as the culture surrounding them.

It's good natured, but for a lot of "serious" people in the hobby who are focused on locality variants and the like, ball pythons represent the foo foo poodle culture of the reptile world.

I personally love ball pythons, they make fat, nutritious and tasty snacks for my drys. They come in yummy flavors like toffee, banana, cinnamon, lemon, caramel, champagne, orange blast, butter, pie(d), vanilla, candy, chocolate, citrus, leche, mimosa. etc. etc. My drys appreciate the many different flavors.

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LOL...funny! And an excellent point, too. The feeding frenzy pricing over the latest morph crazes and the outright gushiness over them must seem ridiculous to many, and definitely easy to mock...no doubt about that.

Judy & Skiploader both hit this on the head. Most of the people you see talking smack about ball pythons aren't jealous of the morphs, they're more put off by all the hype & drama & and lack of spotlight on other species, that come with the ball python morph craze. I've had this conversation many more times than I can count, with new keepers and old alike. The common sentiment among "old school" herpetoculturists (and I'm talking about folks who've been the first to breed entire species in captivity, not just the first to make a new morph) is that while ball python morphs are great for attracting people to this hobby, often that's where the interest stops, and many times that interest is wrapped around what is going to make someone the most $$$.

There are oodles of species that are more challenging/interesting to keep and breed that certainly deserve their day in the sun, but don't among the "mainstream" herp community because those animals don't come in 47 different flavors/colors. Over the years there have been keepers who were fairly well known for producing less-common species who eventually sold out & migrated over to ball pythons, reducing the availability of those other species in herpetoculture. When the ball python bubble initially burst, several of those people got out completely instead of working with the species they were before - kinda sad to see that. Additionally, many neophyte keepers who start with ball pythons are seemingly unaware that there actually are lots of different snake species out there. For example, on several occasions I've posted photos of extremely nice red blood pythons, only to be asked "What kind of ball python is that?" Believe it or not, life does exist outside of ball pythons, but the influx of bp-only keepers into the hobby doesn't often seem to realize that fact.

To top it off, high-dollar animals - no matter what species - have a tendency to bring out the worst in people. I spent nearly 10 years immersed in the ball python morph sector of this industry working at a big facility. Almost ALL of the worst people I've met in my life have been associated with high-dollar ball python morphs. The drama, the ridiculousness, the stories I could tell you, would absolutely blow your mind (industry wide, not just where I worked). Not to say that I haven't met some amazing people through this hobby/industry...some of my very best friends and the love of my life & I came together due to our mutual interest in snakes. All the same, there's been more drama in ball pythons in the past 10-15 years than there ever was on daytime TV. It's a shame some of that energy can't be channeled into more positive conservation & educational efforts, and working together against anti-exotic legislation.

$.02...from someone who likes ball pythons, and likes to rank on them, too. ;)

I'm more of a leopard gecko guy myself, still wading into the balls, but I admit there isn't as much attention or following for Leo's that I've seen. And Leo keepers are more snobby in my opinion, versus ball keepers.

So, as indicated above, it's just jealousy! Like when people cry about more boas on SnakebytesTV haha! ;)


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They are just mad they cant say come look at my balls without it getting werid:P

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Originally Posted by Kodieh

I'm more of a leopard gecko guy myself, still wading into the balls, but I admit there isn't as much attention or following for Leo's that I've seen. And Leo keepers are more snobby in my opinion, versus ball keepers.

So, as indicated above, it's just jealousy! Like when people cry about more boas on SnakebytesTV haha! ;)


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The jealousy and haughty attitudes are legit. Drives me bonkers. Someone locally mocked me openly for not having a boa. I'm like: "Boas are too big for me."

The response? "You can always make room for a boa. You can make it work. Saying you can't is just making excuses. And you can't say that you're a herper until you have something more than some geckos and a corn snake. Until then, maybe leave the serious conversations to us, or come back when you have some experience."

Wowee! Amazing how people can get sometimes. I still don't have a boa :cool: But I do have a BP coming.

This really reminds me of grade 1-6. "What do you mean you don't have ______? Wow. You suck. All of US have that. And YOU don't. Guess we know who the cool person ISN'T!" :rolleyes:

Aside from the species-specific and locale purists, we also annoy morph enthusiasts who work with other species. Imagine this: A lifelong colubrid enthusiast is walking around a herp expo and notices a Super Mojave. Thinks to himself “That’s kind of neat… A pale gray BP with kind of a dorsal stripe thing going on and a darker gray head.” So he asks “What is that?” The vendor along with all the BP enthusiasts gathered around the table proclaim: “BLUE EYED LEUCISTIC!!!”

What??? The only white scale on that snake’s body is on its belly... Leucistic??? Colubrid guy walks away annoyed and shaking his head.

How about our “Ghosts”? To the rest of the world a “Ghost” is a visual combo of axanthic and hypomelanistic. But BP people call our Hypo a “Ghost”. Whatever… It wasn’t really acknowledged by us until someone was about to make the BP combo of “Ghost” and axanthic. Then we had to acknowledge the issue so we decided to call the BP hypo axanthic the “True Ghost”. On the day we collectively accepted the name “True Ghost” did we then acknowledge all the other BP “Ghosts” were a lie? I thought about advertising some of our Hypo stuff from last year as “Lie Ghosts” but I didn’t think most would understand…

-Paul

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Originally Posted by Vasiliki

The jealousy and haughty attitudes are legit. Drives me bonkers. Someone locally mocked me openly for not having a boa. I'm like: "Boas are too big for me."

The response? "You can always make room for a boa. You can make it work. Saying you can't is just making excuses. And you can't say that you're a herper until you have something more than some geckos and a corn snake. Until then, maybe leave the serious conversations to us, or come back when you have some experience."

Wowee! Amazing how people can get sometimes. I still don't have a boa :cool: But I do have a BP coming.

This really reminds me of grade 1-6. "What do you mean you don't have ______? Wow. You suck. All of US have that. And YOU don't. Guess we know who the cool person ISN'T!" :rolleyes:

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And not to be that guy, but we're communally being attacked at the federal level and people have the audacity to be elitist and purist? "oh, we'll, we've been keeping X+ years so leave the politics to the experienced keepers". I hate that, haha.


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With all of the pending legislation to ban exotics, I would think specialty only keepers might be understanding or even appreciative of all the new people that ball pythons bring into the herp world. The eye candy morphs and even normal morphs, draw in crowds at both pet stores and expos, and greatly expands the ranks of herp enthusiasts. Some will go on from the gateway drug known as bps into more advanced species. Even if not, ball python keepers provide votes, support for or against key politicians and political groups, and donations to USARK and other organizations. If all of the ball python, bearded dragon, corn snake, and leopard gecko owners disappeared over night, I have a feeling that other specialty keepers may not be keeping their animals *legally* much longer.