Which is better? Different morphs of 1 species or collecting multiple species?

Okay, so I figured I would see what everyone thought about this particular question. When it comes to collecting reptiles there are two goals; having multiple morphs of one species (like say, ball pythons) or having multiple types of animals or species. I suppose some people just collect snakes of various kinds, while others try to collect all kinds, or even all kinds of reptiles or even animals in general.
For myself I kinda care more about having multiple varieties of animals. I know my signature doesn't present as so, but I have 2 balls, a corn, 2 ribbon snakes, 1 leo, 1 crested, 1 pinktoe, an sideneck turtle, and a tiger salamander. I don't want to get any heat for this because it's just my particular goal in reptile keeping, but I like species variety over morph variety. Don't get me wrong, if I could have a "money is no object" animal collection I would have everything...literally. But considering my means I have to limit my animal overhead.
I know many on here love having multiple morphs of the same species so I just want to get a talk going. What do others think about their collections and what they like in terms of the the animals they have? Do you care more about covering the bases in terms of morph or species diversity? Or, maybe someone out there collects only one morph of ball python. Who knows?

I like to have an assortment of animals but have a concentration of bloods that I hope to breed one day.

I think, ultimately, your interests govern the makeup of your collection.

Initially I was interested in a lot of different species and areas but the more I found out and kept them I gradually decided to cut back on the number of species simply because space is limited and ball pythons really were the ones I couldn't see past. :)

I still get my head turned by nice examples of other species at times but, realistically, I can only house one to be able to breed the morphs I want to own personally.

I get what I like, and I like a lot. I have 11 different species right now and I'd like to add another species of carpet and two boa constrictors, but I am focusing on bulking up my bp morph load for me and my bf's projects.

Good topic-- I often battle myself on whether I want more balls or other species.

I think ultimately, for me, I like a somewhat diverse collection. I have mostly ball pythons, but also some leos, a crestie, a boa and some colubrids. The other species spice up my routine with their different temperaments and requirements, and the balls give me the predictability (and adorableness) that make a nice backbone for my collection.

I just have 1 ball python at the moment because it's all I can afford to equip and feed right now. My next snake will be a rainbow boa because I just love them. I used to have an iguana, but I had to give him away because my ex was terrified of him and wouldn't allow him out of his tank which was rapidly getting too small. I am totally enamored of the idea of having a large dinosaur-looking lizard roaming around my house and would like to get another one. Thats about all the responsibility I can handle, so I'd have to stop there.

On the other hand, there's some really gorgeous bp morphs and I would love to have babies... So I might change my mind someday.

I like all types of constrictor snakes but when it comes to owning one I stick to ball pythons because of their smaller size as adults and how docile they are.

I think its up to personal preference what you like to keep.

My girlfriend and I have a fairly diverse collection, 13 BPs, 2 Boas(BCI and BCC), 4 Leos, 3 Cresties, 1 Leachie, and 1 Beardie. Also can't forget about my feeder roach colony which I care for as well.
I find each animal we keep fascinating each with its own personality. The day to day care for each makes for a very interesting experience and I find that there is never a dull moment when keeping them. I take great pride and joy in keeping each species and learning more about them through each interaction.

I know some people like to focus on one specific species, and that's awesome too. The diversity of animals you can keep as well as the different husbandry requirements need to keep them make for endless ways to keep yourself fascinated and interested in the hobby. Whatever floats your boat I guess.

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I think if you only have one room to keep everything in, it's in the best interest of the animals to keep species that have similar husbandry requirements. For instance, I keep ball pythons and boa constrictors because they have similar heat and humidity preferences. I would like to get back into colubrids, but I feel it wouldn't be fair to stick them in a climate that is far too warm and humid for them to be comfortable.

I know this is about personal preference, but there also has to be some more reasoning behind these choices. I mean, this isn't picking different flavors of ice cream; these choices on what animals to keep are usually long term commitments.
I guess it might also stem from what excites the given individual the most about reptile keeping. For me, I like watching reptiles eat, especially snakes (although the meanest animal I have is the turtle, who is a sadist to crickets (ha)) So when I have different types of animals I get watch all different kinds of eating behaviors. One of my favorite examples is with crested geckos, because they'll lick crestie diet right off your finger and it feels like a mini-cat tongue.
Then again, I'll go to a reptile expo and see a table with an assortment of ball morphs and wish it was my birthday all the time forever.

I would love to have a monitor and watch them pile through bugs though. Then again, a chameleon would be spectacular to watch eat.

But that's my take; people have the animals they have because those animals best match their main attractions to the hobby.

There is no better. It's about what you want and what you can afford in both time and money.

I current have ball pythons, BCI, Dumeril's boa, western hognose, coastal carpet python, red blood pythons and crested geckos. In the past I have also had leopard geckos, crocodile skinks, corn snakes, and Kenyan sand boas.

I'm kind of in the middle of the spectrum. I not only want a variety of species, but I want to breed almost ever species I currently have. Balls male up the bulk of my collection at the Monet due to space and financial constraints.


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I was big into the Ball pythons, but I am slowly moving away, still plan on keeping a couple, but my interests have moved to venomous and some of the more rare colubrids. Not necessarily in that order. Im working on sourcing some stuff.

Yeah, breeding hasn't been something I've wanted to tackle yet. I can see for those wanting to breed why focusing on one species makes sense, but I feel daunted by the work involved and just don't know if I have the resources and time right now. I know everyone who does breed balls is looking for that next magic morph that will become the sensation of the generation in herp nation.

When the breeders produce a blue ball python (I mean BLUE, not grayish reminiscent of blue, or black/gray with blue iridescence) I'll probably jump on that morph. It's like George Carlin said, where's the blue food? Well, where's the blue balls :)

Since I don't plan on breeding anytime soon, I hope to collect multiple species. There are so many species of reptiles that I would like to own. Right now I just have a BP and 2 RTBs though.

I am someone who has a lot of different species. I have 2 corns, 3 ball pythons, 4 boas, 2 hog islands, 3 retics, 2 carpets, 1 hognose, 1 Angolan, 1 Macklot, 1 sand boa, 2 crested geckos, 1 blue tongue skink, 1 leopard gecko, and 1 bearded dragon.

I started out with ball pythons, really enjoyed the morphs however didn't really enjoy the species. Once I had my first boa I was hooked. I sold most of my ball pythons for larger constrictors.

I keep what makes me happy and what I like. I LOVE the albino gene so I have a lot of albinos. I love pure hog islands so I have a pair of those. I have a hognose I picked up because I like them and love how quirky he is.

Keep what you love and love what you keep. If you enjoy the animals you have it isn't a chore to clean up with them or spend time with them. I love them all for their own quirks and personalities.

There have been some really good answers here!

I also keep several species. I have 2 balls, 1 Dumerils boa, 2 Green Tree Pythons, 2 Angolan pythons, 9 boa constrictors, 5 crested geckos, and 1 Leachie gecko. That's 7 different species! I used to keep and breed tortoises and colubrids years back and I wouldn't mind getting back into a few colubrid species again - specifically Mussurana, False Water Cobras, and Drymarchon...... :P

I started out with balls, but didn't really like how they tend to stress so easily. I like to interact with my kids! When I got my first boa, I was totally hooked on their intelligence and outgoing, stress-free personalities. I love what I have and am very privileged to have such a nice collection. While amassing a nice assortment of the species I'd like to keep, I have managed to place a priority and concentration on my boas and Angolan pythons. These are the 2 species in which I'd like to specialize on a professional level. :gj:

4 balls, 1 hognose, 1 cali king, 1 grey's treefrog, and soon to be 1 crested.

Started out with balls, turned my nose up at colubrids, and now I'm totally opposite. xD I mean, don't get me wrong, I still love my little pythons, but exploring various species is bringing me a lot of joy. I suppose eventually I'll settle down and breed again, but right now I'm just spreading my wings and getting a taste of all sorts of things in the herp world.

We have 1 ball, 1 corn, 1 beardie and two leos. I like the variety for the personalities. Sure, if you have 4 snakes, they may all have different personalities, too...to an extent. I love admiring my ball, keeping up with my corn, snuggling my beardie and laughing at my leos. Totally different species, totally different interactions. We may be getting a tortoise soon!

Personally I work with what I love and in my case it means various species.

Ball Pythons represent the bulk of my collection which to me are the eye candy, however there are other species I enjoy as well and that are now small side projects such as Bullsnakes, Hognose, Carpet Pythons, Brooks Kingsnakes, Crested Geckos (I was out and got back into it) and I have a pet Blood Pythons that I have no intention to breed as well.

It all comes down to what makes you happy :gj:

I am quite new to keeping snakes. But for me it is about enjoying the snakes. Whether it be for breeding, selling or just be satisfied with few snakes. my goal in this hobby is to breed some beautiful morphs :)

On some level I really love species diversity, but it's led me to having a lot of 'singles' without partners for future breeding. I don't really want to breed everything anyway, so it's not that much of a problem. I find that it's pretty easy to keep some leopard geckos, hognose, and the ball pythons in the same area since they have fairly similar warm ambient temp requirements. I don't have too much of a problem with keeping the ball pythons at a higher humidity than the others since they're in a rack on cypress mulch.

I am very focused on ball pythons, but I also have a couple other species that I enjoy keeping and would like to try breeding someday. I really do love arboreal pythons and boas and I would love to get more! But on the other hand, the handleability of ball pythons keeps me coming back :) they are just sweet hearts and their colors are amazing!

I enjoy collecting different species or snakes vs. multiple of the same kind. I like to see the differences in appearance and personality. I currently own two ball pythons, a Mojave and a normal. They are the only pair I have (both male), I like having the contrast to show people when they come over, and I plan on getting a normal red tail to do the same. I constantly run into new species that I want to add to my collection.. I don't know if I could settle on just one :P

I only own two normal balls, but that's simply because of my parents and money constraints. That's about to change though, and instead of numerous ball python morphs, I see macklot's, blood, and carpet pythons, as well as red tailed and viper boas in my future. I do plan on breeding some, including my balls, but only normals. I find myself simply wanting to play naturalist boid zookeeper as opposed to a balling businessman.

Great thread. :gj:

My collection has grown on a diverse scale and I couldn't be happier(except if I had more snakes). It has made me appreciate different types of snakes and gain experiences that others may not have. My sig has my list which will become more diverse as it grows with a couple different boas and pythons I would like to add. I know later on I would like to attempt breeding but I will get a specific pair for a project and it will be for pleasure and not profit. :)