New ball python owner with extensive reptile experience

Just brought a male pastel BP into my collection and it is the first snake I have owned. Here in central florida ball python morphs and breeders are the norm but I have yet to meet someone with knowledge of what a small time exclusively "high end" breeding setup might bring in $wise yearly i.e coral glow, super bumble bee etc..

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Originally Posted by Pastelioni

Just brought a male pastel BP into my collection and it is the first snake I have owned. Here in central florida ball python morphs and breeders are the norm but I have yet to meet someone with knowledge of what a small time exclusively "high end" breeding setup might bring in $wise yearly i.e coral glow, super bumble bee etc..

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Im trying to figure out what the question is? If your only in this for the money do us all a favor, and [go away]! There is no need to breed for money. This causes flooding of animal no one wants! If this is your goal, look into stocks and bonds...

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Originally Posted by V2 HeX

If your only in this for the money do us all a favor, and [go away]!

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No need to get nasty.


OP, what exactly is your question? Most of us in this hobby would be lucky to break even. And most of us would be ECSTATIC to. You can't get into this for dollar signs. But maybe you can be a little clearer as to what you're asking, exactly.

You, personally, won't "make" money out of this unless you're waltzing in the door with a huge chunk of change to buy up a double het project or some combo bananas.

Realistically you can fund your hobby, but don't count on making a living out of this. You'll be more frustrated than you would be at your 9-5.

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Originally Posted by V2 HeX

Im trying to figure out what the question is? If your only in this for the money do us all a favor, and [go away]! There is no need to breed for money. This causes flooding of animal no one wants! If this is your goal, look into stocks and bonds...

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Please do not take it upon yourself to tell others that they are not welcomed at this site. This will not be a good site for YOU if you can not get along with people that think differently than you do or have different motivations than you do.

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Originally Posted by V2 HeX

Im trying to figure out what the question is? If your only in this for the money do us all a favor, and [go away]! There is no need to breed for money. This causes flooding of animal no one wants! If this is your goal, look into stocks and bonds...

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I thought this site was promoted as the "FRIENDLIEST" online herp community .. because I asked a simple newbie question I don't feel being verbally attacked is justified. That being said I do apologize if I offended you. I was only interested in the making of a productive breeding facility and if it was profitable when EXCLUSIVELY dealing with the high end morphs such as coral glow etc which sell for thousands of dollars. This is not "because I am only seeking to make money" but simply because I am interested in the setup of a reputable breeder and what it entails.

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Originally Posted by Pastelioni

Just brought a male pastel BP into my collection and it is the first snake I have owned. Here in central florida ball python morphs and breeders are the norm but I have yet to meet someone with knowledge of what a small time exclusively "high end" breeding setup might bring in $wise yearly i.e coral glow, super bumble bee etc..

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I don't think anyone could give you the answer you seem to be seeking. How much any individual might make depends entirely on them and their particular circumstances. There is no "formula" for something so variable as ball python breeding as there might be for a typical career field with a salary, or even something as volatile as playing the stock markets over a stretch of years.

Just a FEW of the variables that come into play:

How much money do you have to start out with?
What kinds of connections do you have for buying initial stock and equipment?
What kinds of connections do you have for selling high end animals?
What kind of presence and reputation do you have for selling ANY animals at all?
How much land/space do already have to dedicate to the project?
How handy are you at building/maintaining your own space and equipment?
How savvy are you at spending money wisely?
How savvy are you at knowing WHERE to spend your money in the ball python market?
How good are you at running a smart business?
How would you/do you treat customers?
How good are you at advertising?
How well do you actually work with animals?
What kind of attention to detail do you naturally have?
How many years are you willing to work earning absolutely nothing, with the hopes of one day being able to earn a living?
What size operation do you consider "small"?

And so many more variables that don't even account for the "luck" factor, which plays a fairly significant role, especially in smaller operations. The fewer snakes you work with, the greater the chances of "whiffing out" on breeding seasons. Pairs might not breed. Females might not "catch" or "go". Eggs go bad. And sometimes the odds just don't play in your favor and a large clutch might hatch out nothing but normals and common single-gene babies.

I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to make money from your hobby, but if it's to be successful, it MUST be a passion already AND you have to be seriously skilled and fortunate in a lot of other areas as well.

V2 I understand you whole heartedly and fully agree with your comment.. You apparently a person who loves animals,I'm the same way... Speak your mind,you said nothing wrong bro.

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Originally Posted by JLC

I don't think anyone could give you the answer you seem to be seeking. How much any individual might make depends entirely on them and their particular circumstances. There is no "formula" for something so variable as ball python breeding as there might be for a typical career field with a salary, or even something as volatile as playing the stock markets over a stretch of years.

Just a FEW of the variables that come into play:

How much money do you have to start out with?
What kinds of connections do you have for buying initial stock and equipment?
What kinds of connections do you have for selling high end animals?
What kind of presence and reputation do you have for selling ANY animals at all?
How much land/space do already have to dedicate to the project?
How handy are you at building/maintaining your own space and equipment?
How savvy are you at spending money wisely?
How savvy are you at knowing WHERE to spend your money in the ball python market?
How good are you at running a smart business?
How would you/do you treat customers?
How good are you at advertising?
How well do you actually work with animals?
What kind of attention to detail do you naturally have?
How many years are you willing to work earning absolutely nothing, with the hopes of one day being able to earn a living?
What size operation do you consider "small"?

And so many more variables that don't even account for the "luck" factor, which plays a fairly significant role, especially in smaller operations. The fewer snakes you work with, the greater the chances of "whiffing out" on breeding seasons. Pairs might not breed. Females might not "catch" or "go". Eggs go bad. And sometimes the odds just don't play in your favor and a large clutch might hatch out nothing but normals and common single-gene babies.

I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to make money from your hobby, but if it's to be successful, it MUST be a passion already AND you have to be seriously skilled and fortunate in a lot of other areas as well.

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Thank you, Judy for such a well presented and thoughtful response. I must admit I do agree in that my question is not quite one that is able to be answered in hindsight and after thinking it through. I guess I just got excited with my new little friend and it lead me to this site with some dead end questions. Thanks for being forgiving with my ignorance on the subject.

On another note I have noticed where he has some small pieces of shed left from his short lived time with his former owner (who was a kid and had him in very low humidity) they are very small pieces towrd his neck are but what can I do to helphim get these off ??? I have proper humidity but he still a few tiny spots left ??

Waiting until the next shed will be best, but you can soak him for a few minutes, 15 or so, in warm (not hot) water. Then use a warm wash cloth to help the pieces come off. They normally will rub off very easily.

You can always let him crawl through a damp washcloth. As long as the skin is not connected completely around his neck it will come off with his next shed. I would not advise removing the skin by hand. I have seen patients come in with subcutaneous tissue separated from the underlying muscle because an owner pulled on a piece that was not ready (pretty sure something else was going on but we were not authorized to do further diagnostics).

umm, i would say the main difference between BP breeding and other reptiles is the amount of morphs and the size of the market.

some morphs are expensive, most are not, and normals are not worth much at all.

if you breed some rare chameleons or green tree pythons or spiders or land turtles, you simply have a certain price tag for the offspring and its easy to see how much you make when you produce. and there are few morphs. and that price tag, for just healthy and well-started normals, can be quite high.

with ball pythons you have a price range and if you would produce just normals, or stuff like single-gene pastels, you will have trouble ever breaking even. Depending on genetics and quality the price range for a well-started one can be from like 30 dollars (no way to break even) to 30000 dollars (but you need to invest EVEN MORE upfront and have to deal with drastic price drops every year).

if you just want to breed something and break even and have fun and keep it simple, maybe with the low price for normals and the insane amount of morphs you might pick a different species. as i said, maybe green tree pythons maybe chameleons, here captive bred quality normals already have a nice and constant quite high price tag.

While I think normal BPs are beautiful they only sell for $25-$50 at expos.which is a great price,I was toning to buy one yesterday but went with a black pastel hatchling..hope I made the right choice,cause the guy looks a bit small,sorry to get off topic...

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Originally Posted by KasiRVT

You can always let him crawl through a damp washcloth. As long as the skin is not connected completely around his neck it will come off with his next shed. I would not advise removing the skin by hand. I have seen patients come in with subcutaneous tissue separated from the underlying muscle because an owner pulled on a piece that was not ready (pretty sure something else was going on but we were not authorized to do further diagnostics).

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Originally Posted by Pythonfriend

umm, i would say the main difference between BP breeding and other reptiles is the amount of morphs and the size of the market.

some morphs are expensive, most are not, and normals are not worth much at all.

if you breed some rare chameleons or green tree pythons or spiders or land turtles, you simply have a certain price tag for the offspring and its easy to see how much you make when you produce. and there are few morphs. and that price tag, for just healthy and well-started normals, can be quite high.

with ball pythons you have a price range and if you would produce just normals, or stuff like single-gene pastels, you will have trouble ever breaking even. Depending on genetics and quality the price range for a well-started one can be from like 30 dollars (no way to break even) to 30000 dollars (but you need to invest EVEN MORE upfront and have to deal with drastic price drops every year).

if you just want to breed something and break even and have fun and keep it simple, maybe with the low price for normals and the insane amount of morphs you might pick a different species. as i said, maybe green tree pythons maybe chameleons, here captive bred quality normals already have a nice and constant quite high price tag.

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If did do the breeding thing I would just drop the money on a couple of proven breeders with HIGHLY desirable genes from a local breeder. I live in central florida so there are ALOT of them and a very high demand for pet snakes.