What to Start Project With

Hey guys,
I am currently at a crossroads over what to start my project with. I am deciding between either a Sterlingbee Genetic Stripe (CInnamon, Super Pastel, Spider, Genetic Stripe) or a blizzard (super black pastel, albino) to start. The Sterlingbee is $360 cheaper than the blizzard though it seems as if the blizzard is coming from a place where I know it is 100% healthy and high quality while I am 60/40 over the Sterlingbee breeder based off of past reviews. both are beautiful snakes though I dont know what to do. I would appreciate some advice on this

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...62f25ad5-1.jpgThe Blizzard

The Sterlingbee Genetic Stripehttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../unnamed-4.jpg

Well both snakes have recessive genes so unless you buy more genetic stripes or albinos you will end up with all hets. Personally I like the look of albinos, just a straight albino with no other genes mixed in. Super black pastels may have a good market for mixing with pieds to get 'panda pieds' so you may be able to sell them pretty good even without the pied in the mix. You can't go wrong with super pastel, everything will come out beautiful being all pastel, that's a plus. And I think the spider gene is one of the most beautiful out there despite their wobble in some. I'm not a fan of cinnamon per se but I do like some of the cinnamon combos like the coral glow cinnamon. Tough choice. Personally I'd go with the snake with more genes. Every new snake I buy I try to get at least one new gene in the mix. You can make a lot more neat combos down the road if you have more genes in your collection. Personally I'd rather have fewer breeder snakes that have more genes per snake, you get a better variety in your offspring.

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Originally Posted by Wk2278

The Sterlingbee Genetic Stripehttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../unnamed-4.jpg

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I tend to not really care for the stripey ones but that is stunning !!!

We need (or at least I need) more information. Without an idea of where you want to go with the project and the gender of the above animals (I'm assuming they're both males) I can't tell you either way. Personally I'd go with the blizzard (especially if it's a female) because having a 100% chance of producing at least cinnamon albinos when bred to a male albino combo would be amazing. If it's a male and you already have a female the same applies however it would be more difficult (take longer) to go in different directions with the project.

Ultimately though without the genders and an idea of what you want to produce it's tough to answer this question.

I would focus on animals that you really like and have a clear goal in mind. I can't help but think you would be more passionate about animals that you were excited about. Otherwise they are just potential dollar signs.

Cletus that is the issue. I love both of these animals but can only get one to build the project around. I only buy animals I love as I dont want this to be a job, merely a way to pay for a growing collection. Hence my asking for advice. The sterlingbee is a male, the blizzard I would likely get the female with a black pastel het albino male that I could do a lot with by getting many different types of females to breed to the black pastel and get some crazy combos. The sterlingbee breeding would be more straight forward. This whole thing is about loving and taking care of the animals, just really having trouble with which one to build around. The sterlingbee is would come from Fred Kick, who has many bad and good reviews, while the blizzard would come from Justin Kobylka, who I know is very reputable

kxr sterlingbee male, blizzard female. would get black pastel albino or het albino male that I would breed with a variety of females to get nice black pastel combos and a more diverse collection. The sterlingbee I would focus around the fire and super pastel traits with the females, mainly most of the 'bee' morphs

Get the blizzard female. It's better than getting a male and having to buy a female only to have to wait like 2 years-ish to breed that male to that female. With the blizzard female you can plan which male you want when the female blizzard is ready.

i would go Blizzard but i'm partial to red eye, white snakes. it would nice to see one on the forum w/ updates and such. the Blizzard is a project that i also have in the works. :)

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Originally Posted by Wk2278

kxr sterlingbee male, blizzard female. would get black pastel albino or het albino male that I would breed with a variety of females to get nice black pastel combos and a more diverse collection. The sterlingbee I would focus around the fire and super pastel traits with the females, mainly most of the 'bee' morphs

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If I were in your position I'd buy a male butter/enchi albino to breed to her to produce some cool combos. With a cinnamon albino you will only ever produce cinnamon albinos and blizzards (although I guess that's okay if the blizzard is your ultimate goal).

I don't mean to come off as an a$$ (although I probably will) but I wouldn't buy either animal until you have a distinct plan of specific (or vaguely specific) morphs you want to create. If the blizzard is your ultimate goal then go for it. I havent been around for long enough to tell you from first hand experience but from what I've heard people who get into breeding without a plan lose interest waiting for the animal to grow up. Having a goal in mind can help motivate you. If you don't care about the girl becoming an expensive pet then you don't need to wait but if that bothers you I'd reconsider my purchase until I have clear goals in mind.

Another thing you might want to consider is what combos you like will actually sell. I know you said you don't want this to become a business and you're only doing this because you love caring for the animals but how many can you take care of? You need to be (at least somewhat) aware of the market because otherwise you might end up keeping some/all of the babies.

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Originally Posted by kxr

If I were in your position I'd buy a male butter/enchi albino to breed to her to produce some cool combos. With a cinnamon albino you will only ever produce cinnamon albinos and blizzards (although I guess that's okay if the blizzard is your ultimate goal).

I don't mean to come off as an a$$ (although I probably will) but I wouldn't buy either animal until you have a distinct plan of specific (or vaguely specific) morphs you want to create. If the blizzard is your ultimate goal then go for it. I havent been around for long enough to tell you from first hand experience but from what I've heard people who get into breeding without a plan lose interest waiting for the animal to grow up. Having a goal in mind can help motivate you. If you don't care about the girl becoming an expensive pet then you don't need to wait but if that bothers you I'd reconsider my purchase until I have clear goals in mind.

Another thing you might want to consider is what combos you like will actually sell. I know you said you don't want this to become a business and you're only doing this because you love caring for the animals but how many can you take care of? You need to be (at least somewhat) aware of the market because otherwise you might end up keeping some/all of the babies.

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you are right that I need a plan and I do in fact have one.

Plan for the blizzard:
Black Pastel Project:Black Pastel het Albino male
Blizzard female
Banana Pastave female
GHI Mohave female
Orange Dream Spider Yellowbelly female
those are all to be bred in a black Pastel project

sterlingbee plan:
Sterlingbee Genetic Stripe male
Cinnamon female
Stingerbee female
Killer Hornet female

i am looking at this as a way to pay for the snakes in the collection I am building up. In looking at what I am planning I have taken into account what possible outcomes I can get and what they do sell for in the market. This is my first project in a while as I did a little breeding before college but am now rebooting my collection. I will eventually be going for panda pied later down the road and highway Pastel to keep. Maybe someday sunset if the price drops low enough. In general there are only a handful of morphs that I would keep. I don't plan on having my collection of breeders at higher than 50 at any point. So yes, it will run into a small buisiness, a second job as you will. I am just taking it slow to start up. I am wanting to get super black pastels. I could get a black Pastel female to breed to the male and get the albino butter Enchi to get those nice results with the blizzard as well, a little more expensive, but 5 years down the road would pay huge dividends both in good looking animals to keep and in diversity of animals I would sell

Personally I'm a much bigger fan of your black pastel group so I'd go that route in your position


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I think any breeding plans change over the years, I'm already selling some of my very first snakes to 'upgrade' to snakes that I'm more interested in now that I would like to breed. I also bought a couple adult ball pythons when I first started to 'test the water' in breeding, not really interested in those morphs long term but I wanted to try it out as I waited a couple years for my babies to grow up. Any snake purchase is not a permanent part of your long term breeding goals, you can change and buy / sell snakes at any time. I doubt that you will ever really get stuck with a whole bunch of snakes you can't get rid of, just mark them down real cheap and they will sell. Even pet stores will pick them up at wholesale prices and take them off of your hands, or better yet exchange them for merchandise.

Hey guys,
Just wanted to let you know that I purchased the oreo blizzard from Justin. I will be posting her progression on her as soon as she arrives and I will continue to keep that thread going with updates on her

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Originally Posted by Wk2278

Hey guys,
Just wanted to let you know that I purchased the oreo blizzard from Justin. I will be posting her progression on her as soon as she arrives and I will continue to keep that thread going with updates on her

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bamp!

pix and update plz!!

:)

I have a g-stripe. I bought him as a pet. There's hardly a market for it. I dunno. I would go a different route unless you really like that gene.

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Originally Posted by ringorock

I have a g-stripe. I bought him as a pet. There's hardly a market for it. I dunno. I would go a different route unless you really like that gene.

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i think the market for G-Stripes is good. i previously made this post last October:

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Originally Posted by Ax01

i think G-Stripes are gorgeous. i just checked MorphMarket and this is what i found:

For Sale
Possible Het - 33
Het - 109
Visuals - 208

Previously Sold
Possible Het - 12
Het - 145
Visuals - 223

i think 380 total sold is good. i assume not all were sold on MorphMarket, but the number reflect the sales of the ones listed since it went live last year (?). also i don't think everyone who a G-Stripe might not breed them tho, they were jsut bought to have in the collection.

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in this thread: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...Genetic-Stripe

taking a look at MorphMarket now, the previously sold numbers are:

Previously Sold
Possible Het - 45
Het - 272
Visuals - 428

that's 127 more het G-Stripes and 205 more visuals sold since my post. or its a increase of 46.7% and 47.9% respectively. seems like solid sales to me.

Alyson from American Made Exotics recently posted some G-Stripe clutches. other well know breeders like Dave Green and Garrick DeMeyer still work with G-Stripe as well. being a recessive gene, it's an investment that not all breeders or hobbyists are willing to make. but i think the G-Stripe market is fine.