Opinions on a good starting pair?

Hey BP fans, I owned a normal female way back in high school over ten years ago, and gave her away when I went to college to a good friend (who still has her!). Since then, I've cared for a few BPs in semi-rescue situations, since I breed geckos and people consider me the go-to 'reptile girl' for when they need to give up a pet. I've gotten them all feeding properly and sent them on to different homes. My most recent roommate had a nice pastel male, but she had to move out, and her snake went with, and I was surprised that I missed having an easy handleable reptile, since most of my geckos are 'look but don't touch', aside from the cresties. I started to think I'd like to pick up a snake again, so I got thinking about doing a BP side project.

I find albinos to be the most visually striking, so I thought I'd go with that to start, but I was going to wait til my local expo in January to pick one up. However, there's a pinstripe 2012 girl available locally for $175, so I was considering grabbing her and picking up an albino male at the expo. Would albino/pinstripe be a good 'starter' pair? From what I've read, it looks like a recessive/dominant pairing that would give me a good selection of albinos, pinstripe and maybe albino pinstripe, but I'm new to this, so any tips would help. Also, what's considered a good price for either? If I can find a cheaper female at the expo, should I wait?

Definitely do your homework on the genetics aspect of this hobby. Pinstripe x Albino = Zero Albinos

World of Python has a good genetic wizard and great pics of morphs http://www.worldofballpythons.com/

Owal Reptiles is good as well http://www.owalreptiles.com/

Honestly, you should stick to something that is appealing to you not what you can get a good price on. Good luck in your quest I am sure you will pick up some great bps.

Breeding a pinstripe to a visual albino will give you all het albinos, some may be pinstripe and some may not. You will not get any visual albinos. If you are looking to get albino pins, the cheapest way would be to get an albino and a pinstripe het albino.

You are correct that it is a recessive (albino) and co-dominat (pinstripe) trait. To get a visual recessive trait both parents must carry that specific gene to pass on to their offspring.

There are a ton of websites an links to how the genetics work in ball pythons. I will admit it can be a bit confusing at first but just keep reading and asking questions. Also play with the genetic wizard to see what you can make, I waste too much time on there.

Thanks for the info guys, I'm swamped with stuff to read and it's all confusing and sometimes contradictory!

I would buy an albino male and a female pinstripe het albino. That gives you a chances at producing albino pins, albinos, and pins het albino in your first year breeding.

I've been playing around with the genetic wizard (this is a new addiction, thanks a lot) and I see that if I breed a pastel to a pin, I'll get a possibility of a Lemon Blast, higher if I use a super pastel, and if i breed a lesser to a pin, then I could get a KingPin! That's a lot of beautiful morphs from two relatively common starter animals, so I think I'll definitely grab that pinstripe girl. I'd love to breed my own pretty snake, and the market in my area is barren for good stock, so I'll be researching and spending time reading as much as I can.

Right now my plan is just to start with pastel/pinstripe, or super pastel/pin, and add in albino to any het pins. A lesser and a butter are on the buy list as well. :)

It all depends on your budget and when you want to start breeding. Generally, females take 3 years to mature. Males only need one and a half.

I'm pretty familiar with care and gestation/breeding, but the genetics of the morphs is where I'm lacking. I'm not expecting to breed anything right away. ;)

Banana male and GHI female.

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Originally Posted by Timothy

Banana male and GHI female.

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Ha Yeah if he has $30,000 laying around.

How about a spider het ghost and pastel het ghost. Lots of things can be made with that pair, including a humblebee. Both are pretty reasonably priced too.

Matt

Get a few females before you decide to get a male... Raise the females up a year or 2 before you decide to buy a male... This will give you plenty of time to think of what you want to produce.....

if you plan on getting a super pastel... Get a female

try royal constrictor designs they have good deals on pairs and they're good quality animals

I was thinking a pastel/super pastel female, a pinstripe female, and a lesser male to start. Maybe a pastel het ghost too, that sounds awesome!

I actually have a ton of old 10gs laying around for growout tanks for my gecko hatchlings, as well as UTH and basking bulbs and all that, which makes buying snakes so much easier than it needs to be. Every time I see a new ad on fauna or KS I'm so tempted, so I think I'll take the plunge!

get the male next season!! you wont regret that decision...

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Originally Posted by LCH Reptiles

I was thinking a pastel/super pastel female, a pinstripe female, and a lesser male to start. Maybe a pastel het ghost too, that sounds awesome!

I actually have a ton of old 10gs laying around for growout tanks for my gecko hatchlings, as well as UTH and basking bulbs and all that, which makes buying snakes so much easier than it needs to be. Every time I see a new ad on fauna or KS I'm so tempted, so I think I'll take the plunge!

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Got extra thermostats too?

Check out Bob Clark or Ben Siegal. On Facebook they'll have auctions and sometimes some really nice pairs of bps come up and you get a good deal.

;) and welcome to the addiction haha

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Originally Posted by Bobbafett

Got extra thermostats too?

Check out Bob Clark or Ben Siegal. On Facebook they'll have auctions and sometimes some really nice pairs of bps come up and you get a good deal.

;) and welcome to the addiction haha

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Two heat guns and six digital probes. I keep chameleons so I'm a paranoid nerd on those temp requirements. :)

I've got Bob Clark friended already, and I was checking royal constrictor designs as I posted this thread, so it seems great minds think alike! Do you know of any forum members/good breeders active in the Portland, OR area? When I was just starting out with chams and geckos I got lucky with a local mentor to help me through the process, and it'd be good to have someone local who can evaluate my stock/breeding plans.

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Originally Posted by Bobbafett

Got extra thermostats too?

Check out Bob Clark or Ben Siegal. On Facebook they'll have auctions and sometimes some really nice pairs of bps come up and you get a good deal.

;) and welcome to the addiction haha

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I won a cinnamon male from ben on fb only paid 85 for a 2012 also try craigslist you might find something on there 2. I picked up a Bumblebee female from there from a lady that is in the army. Currently I am going to pick up a Calico female and a Butter male

Those are thermometers. You need to have a thermoSTAT to regulate temperature.

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Originally Posted by lovepig78

get the male next season!! you wont regret that decision...

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+1

The best advice I can give (which I wish I could tell me myself back when I was getting started) is to just get your females now. Get some nice single gene females. Pinstripes, Black Pastels and Lesser Platinum are always nice but it comes down to personal preference. Be very picky and looks for good examples of the morphs. Ask to see pictures of the parents so you can see how they hold their color. Any good BP breeder will be able to provide you with pictures of the parents. Also make sure the animal is a good feeder (rats!). This will save you from years of frustration.

When you girls hit around 1000g then start to look for a male. This could be a 1-2 years down the road. Take this time to research and think about what genes you want in him. The genes in the male are the most important genes in your project since his genes will be going around to all (or at least a bunch) of your females. This is also why I highly recommend saving and getting a 2 gene male such as a King Pin, Lesser Bee or Black Platinum (which I think are a really unappreciated morph). By having a two gene male you open up so many more possibility to create some truly amazing animals.

Also here is an article about BP genetics and the odds you get when breeding that you may or may not find interesting: http://ballpythonbreeder.com/2010/10...large-numbers/

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Originally Posted by Timothy

Banana male and GHI female.

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Dang, beat me to it!

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Originally Posted by Bobbafett

Those are thermometers. You need to have a thermoSTAT to regulate temperature.

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I have rheostats, is this what you're talking about? I'm pretty accustomed to finicky temperature regulation and I have a fully set-up reptile room with racks for gecko breeding, so I have supplies upon supplies, as I'm sure anybody in this hobby begins to accumulate quite a hoard after time. I have a bunch of rheostats lying around that I test every six months, and I automatically use one for every tank, since that's always prereq, and it's doubly important in my state's moody climate. :)

I am hearing a lot of great advice re: buying females first. I will definitely wait on a male! I have my eye on a pinstripe female, as I said, but am totally open to options as far as other females. I have no problems waiting until they're a healthy weight and in good condition, and it does give me time to size up stock and select a good male. I've had more than a few BPs of varying morphs offered to me in trades for other animals I've bred and I've mostly turned them down because I didn't know what I was looking at as far as worth, and I know the market has a ton of variability. I'll keep reading and if I'm offered another I'll consider it.

If I had these males, what would you personally pair with them, and why? Price is no object; I can bide my time and wait for the right females to come along.

KingPin

Lavender Albino

Spinner Blast

Clown

Killer Bee

I know people love to throw Enchi into the lines; why is this, if you don't mind my asking? Is this to increase color or offer better pattern?