Looking for a new snake

I'm posting this for my little sister, she's about to turn 13 and has recently started looking into getting a ball python. Problem is, she wants one that is a little more brightly colored. I have a normal ball that I've had since August of last year, he's got mainly black coloring. She loves the heck out of him and thats what got her started. She's looked at spider balls and they do have them decently priced at Aligator Alley in Oklahoma City, which is where I go for my mice. Until she makes decision for sure, I was wondering if anybody knew of other morphs she might like. Pictures and advice on care would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

What kind of price range are we talking? How much is the spider at the pet store?

Lesser or Butter!

Well The pirce at the store is 99$ for a male, which is what she wants cause they dont get as big, and I'm thinking even that may be a stretch. My dad payed 80$ for my normal so talking him into something more expensive may be a stretch.

80 for a normal? Was it at least an adult?

No, I was told it was under a year old.

99 for a male spider is decent. I got my lesser aka butter for a good deal and love his colors way more then normals

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I think $100 for a male Spider is reasonable from a "pet store" - baby normals here at Petsmart and Petco are around $80 by themselves.

Pastels might be an option too, though poor quality ones will brown out. Male baby pastels can be found for $100 and under.

Here's my pastel female when she was smaller:

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3.../Feb620122.jpg

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Originally Posted by Capray

80 for a normal? Was it at least an adult?

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All the normals I see at per stores are 60-100

However u can get them for 15-25 at an expo or from a breeder

Cheaper morphs I have seen.. Like 100$ or less

Yellow belly, pastel, Mojave, and spider. All were males at expos and although I don't have the eye that u pros have I easily could have mistaken all but the spider for a normal if it wasn't stamped on their box what it was.. And the spider had some good wobble..

For the op - so far what I have seen males are almost always cheaper and your best prices will be at a reptile show.. Or from an online breeder... I tend to see a lot higher end ones on the classifieds but if a breeder is selling a killer blast axanthic clown or something crazy chances are they have plenty of single gene morphs available as well but done pay for the advertising slot for a 100$ snake

Go to world of ball pythons Thu have ins of pics with what they are

Or I found this http://www.regiusco.com/collection/ball%20pythons.html site the other day which has a few diff ones

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Originally Posted by Daybreaker

I think $100 for a male Spider is reasonable from a "pet store" - baby normals here at Petsmart and Petco are around $80 by themselves.

Pastels might be an option too, though poor quality ones will brown out. Male baby pastels can be found for $100 and under.

Here's my pastel female when she was smaller:

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3.../Feb620122.jpg

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Wow that female is gorgeous

Check this link out. It shows examples of everything.

http://www.worldofballpythons.com/morphs/

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Originally Posted by BoostedMX3

All the normals I see at per stores are 60-100

However u can get them for 15-25 at an expo or from a breeder

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this^^ the pet stores in my town sell normals for $100. you can get them at a reptile show for $25. search in google for reptile shows in your state and get the money together. you'll be able to find a snake for a lot cheaper at a show than a pet store, and you'll have a lot more to choose from.

^ and they will be better quality.. And way better health overall.. I've seen one snake at a pet store that I would have contemplated buying. Usually they are all stuck shed n bones

Really pretty, will look into those as well.

I've been pretty happy with my little guy. He was a lot smaller when I got him then he is now, but I've fed him up good and never had a problem. I could have gotten lucky though.

i would consider going for higher quality and investing a bit more.

consider how much the food costs each year, and you will have the snake for maybe 20 years.

maybe an albino or something like that? or a 2-gene animal like bee (pastel spider), or a nice single-gene like butter or lesser or enchi.

If she's willing to go female, a wonderful, beautiful pet (Not for breeding, ever.) that you could get for a song would be a desert female. They are absolutely beautiful, but cannot lay viable eggs, so breeders are willing to let them go for VERY reasonable prices. Just a thought!

As for males, if she's wanting different, Spider's, pin's, BRIGHT pastels (Those are harder to find though), lessers/butters, mojaves (They're darker than normals usually, but different for sure).

Definitely buy from a breeder or expo for your best price. Pet stores like to make people pay a pretty penny for snakes usually (although 99 for a spider is a good price, so maybe your store is better).

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Originally Posted by Capray

80 for a normal? Was it at least an adult?

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I work at an exotic pet store, and sadly we have to jack up the prices to make money off of it.

So to the OP, I would go to a breeder and skip the middle man.

The petco near where I live occasionally run sales bumping the $79 down to around $45-46, but the animals always look to be a bit on the thin side to me. Also, I've never seen a morph at one of the chain pet stores, I'd be a little wary of it having some genetic or health difficulty if one were to show up honestly. But that's just me and my good friend paranoia.

I think that, especially if you are looking to buy just one snake, an expo or nearby reputable breeder will be your best bet to get a good quality animal. You can buy from some breeders online, but oftentimes you'll be looking at $50-60 in shipping costs, and hoping the weather decides not to nose dive below the 40's. Most good breeders won't ship if it's forecasted, but when has the weatherman ever been 100%? ;)


Also, that snake was very pretty. :D