Buying a 4 Figure snake

Hey guys,

I'm on the verge of doing something that I know I want to do, but I am hesitant to pull the trigger.

I've been eye balling Super Banana Females on MM for some time, and one finally popped up that I am super interested in. My only concern is that I've not yet in my life dropped 4 figures on an Animal before.

I've spent multiple hundreds, 300-700 before on my pets. Dogs and Snakes both, but never quite this much.

Anyone have any thoughts that I should run through before I pull this trigger?

Thanks!

Paul

Isn't this why we have credit cards?!
:sarcasm:

You know your finances better than any of us.

In all seriousness, were it me, I'd probably do it. In addition to snake keeping, I also build and fly RC planes. So I've spent four figures a number of times on various projects. There are lots of hobbies that people spend a lot of money on. No excuses are needed so long as you can afford it.

One caveat, just be careful with the breeder and make sure everything is on the up and up, but I'm sure you already knew that.

i have a few 4-figure animals. if u pass up this opportunity, are u willing to wait for the next one to be available? will the price be lower if u wait? is the breeder/seller willing to work on a payment plan? is there something unique about the animal? and most importantly to me, ask yourself how bad do u want the animal?

if u breed, IMO the ROI on a 0.1 female maker Super Banana is worth its wait in gold. even if u don't, it rarity of such a morph is still very tempting.

Jump on it if it makes sense for you financially! Considering the long lifespan it's really not a bad investment for a pet in my opinion.

Only you know your financial situation.

For me personally, a 4 figure snake will only happen if I hit the lottery.

But, if I made more money I could justify spending more money.

As for your situation, only you know if you can afford it. Just make sure the breeder is reputable and trustworthy (but, I would say the same if you were buying a $100 snake)

I was there years ago now I have a hard time imagining spending less than 1K on a BP

It' s all depends on your goals nothing wrong with buying an expensive pet, and if you plan on breeding hopefully you have done your homework and if you did than it should not be an issue.

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Originally Posted by pbenner

Anyone have any thoughts that I should run through before I pull this trigger?

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Devils advocate: Snake morphs worth thousands of dollars ten years ago I can buy at Petco now for $100.

I can afford it. I am planning on breeding and a Super Banana Female was on the list for soon anyways.

This one happens to be about 50% more than I was wanting to spend, but she has 2 more Gene's that I want in her project anyway so she saves me at least one generation of breeding.

Breeder has solid reviews. Am still just on the fence. I won't make an immediate move on her, but if she is there in a couple of weeks I'll probably put a deposit on her.

Was going to spend this quarters bonus on snakes anyways. ^_^

Paul

Go for it so I can live vicariously through you. I’ve been looking at them for days now wishing I had the money!


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Sounds like you reached a conclusion. However, I'll give my two cents anyway and for the benefit of others.

If you can afford it is the first question. If the answer is no, then it doesn't matter. If the answer is yes, then you have to ask yourself the following questions and amortize that amount over the life of the animal, say 20 years, and look at it that way:

1. Will I be okay with a similar animal costing much less in several years, or be angry I didn't wait? In other words, is the price worth the cost of being an early owner of a morph, or in some cases, owning a rare animal?

2. How many animals can I add to my collection and how selective should I be at this point? In other words, should I get what I really, really, want and is available now, or hold off, and wait for something else or to see if this is what I really want, and risk getting something else?

In my case, I spent 4 figures on 3 of my last 4 animals. I can pretty safely say I thought they were all my "last" animal, (all unusual, strikingly beautiful, rare, or some combo), justifying the cost to me. Now, with the collection I have, and a full reptile area, and a good amount of time spent with them and maintenance, but not quite too much, they very well may have been.

I bought a Scaleless Sunglow Motely Red Factor Corn (Solana), the only one in the world with those visual traits currently (at least until next breeding season). I've always wanted a scaleless corn and Solana is stunning and a remarkably personable and cool snake. NO REGRETS. I also remember to tell Figment, my Hypo-Lavender adult male corn that I don't love him any less even though he cost $75 (his shipping was almost as much as he was).

Then Katie/SunshineWalker bought Esmeralda/Ezzy, a Bayonaisse Leachie, the most expensive animal I've ever bought, of any kind. What justified that? Katie loved her and wanted her and was willing to take care of her. Given how far she's come, and how rare and incredibly awesome Ezzy is, I couldn't say no. Also, in her case, her tank setup was pretty inexpensive as it's not too big and she lives at room temp, so caging costs were low, offsetting her costs. No regrets.

Then I decided I needed an arboreal snake and got Yafe, the Albino Irian Jaya (50%)/Darwin (50%) Carpet Python hybrid. Rare, beautiful, and the tamest carpet the breeder had. He was 4 figures as well. No regrets.

I did add a very rare BCC, Feliz, as the last, but he was not 4 figures, but I would have paid that for him, he is so cool.

My mother was a farmer's daughter and I've been happily surrounded by animals my entire life. I've spent over $3,000 for a dog and I once flew from NY to CA to buy a kitten for $2,500. Having confessed to my sins, let me say this...

My rationale is quite simple. If I buy a dog for $3,000 and he lives 10 years, s/he only cost me $300 a year. That's less that $1 a day. I can assure you that every one of my babies is worth much, much more that $1 a day.

Beyond that, just make one trip to the veterinarian, take a look at the bill, and you will very quickly forget about how much you paid for your pet.

My bottom line is, if you can afford it, enjoy it.

My advice is make sure the breeder is reputable and well known. Also make sure you pay through Paypal and DO NOT pay through 'friends and family' option. If something goes wrong, Paypal will NOT take any recourse. What i do since the Paypal fee on the breeders end usually is about 10% more i believe, is i split the fee if the breeder mentions it.

And if you use Paypal frequently and have had an account for a long time as well as very low claims, if there is a problem, they will be on it like white on rice. I had a claim once in about 15 years and they immediately got it taken care of within a couple days. This wasnt with an animal though.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

I was there years ago now I have a hard time imagining spending less than 1K on a BP

It' s all depends on your goals nothing wrong with buying an expensive pet, and if you plan on breeding hopefully you have done your homework and if you did than it should not be an issue.

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I'm with Stewart's reptiles... if you want to be a serious collector and a breeder, you need quality animals. If you just want a pet or two, then just get a sweet normal or something, they are all the same as pets. Just some people prefer amazing designer snakes! :D

When it comes to breeding, there is no point at all in breeding extremely common low end snakes like pastels and enchis and such. There are enough of them in the world already and they are going to cost you more money in husbandry and food to breed, than what you can sell them for.

Buy 4 figure animals and you will breed some hatchlings that will command a decent price.

As long as you can afford it and the breeder is reputable, I recommend going for it. There are more things I regret passing on than I regret buying. As the others have said, if this is a breeding animal, then high quality morphs are prefered. You also mentioned that she has additional genes you were planning to add, which in the long run will safe both time and money by being able to skip a generation.

You can have whatever you want as long as you budget for it ahead of time.

As animals go, reptiles aren't all that pricey. With all the $50 snakes out there, yes a grand for a BP seems extravagant, but only in comparison. I've seen tropical fish tanks, heck even goldfish tanks that ran into five figures (don't forget the koi pond). The larger parrots are commonly in the thousands. I once paid over $300 for a kitten, and I was still in my early twenties. No regrets. My budgies are all $20 birds, but I've owned several $100 goldfish. Everything paid for in cash - I stay entirely out of debt.

Buy what you like, as long as you can afford it.

I’ll add another thought about waiting. I’ve been keeping an eye on a particular ball on MM for a few weeks. Not a 4 figure animal, but still more than I’ve spent on a single animal. I finally decided to call on it earlier this afternoon. The breeder just called me back...the snake sold earlier in the week and he hadn’t had a chance to update the website. I’m really wishing I had gone ahead and made the purchase when I initially wanted to, but life goes on. :rolleyes:

Based on everything I read here, I sent the message to put a down payment on the snake and make sure she's securely mine. Am very excited to add her to the collection. When it's all locked in I'll share the details, but she's literally perfect for the project I want to work eventually.

Thanks for all your feedback.

Best,

Paul

Mazel Tov!

Cannot wait to hear more and see pictures!

Congratulations, I’m glad you were able to secure her for your project. We look forward to seeing her pictures.

Unfortunately, I don’t think most of us here are good at talking anyone out of buying something. :D

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Originally Posted by Dianne

Unfortunately, I don’t think most of us here are good at talking anyone out of buying something. :D

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That's one of my favorite things about this site 😂

See below

See Below? O.o Nothing below you post before this one.

Paul

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dianne

Unfortunately, I don’t think most of us here are good at talking anyone out of buying something. :D

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Don't look at me. I am paying $2k for Aurora with no plans for breeding. LMAO. She will be my ultimate display/education animal.

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

Don't look at me. I am paying $2k for Aurora with no plans for breeding. LMAO. She will be my ultimate display/education animal.

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I was seriously looking at a ghost pied ($1,400) with no real plans for breeding. My female normal pied was hatched this year, so even if I planned to breed, it isn’t like it would happen anytime soon. I still haven’t ruled him out. :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dianne

I was seriously looking at a ghost pied ($1,400) with no real plans for breeding. My female normal pied was hatched this year, so even if I planned to breed, it isn’t like it would happen anytime soon. I still haven’t ruled him out. :rolleyes:

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This girl for me is specifically for a breeding project. She is being paired up with a perfectly suited male and am trying to get a specific snake from their pairing. She also saves me 1-2 generations of grow time to be where I want to be project wise, so she's literally perfect.

I'm just waiting on word back from the breeder that he has my deposit and I'll be set to run my mouth. :D

Paul

I haven't yet but it's not off the table. There are def some 4 figure boas out there I'd love to own.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pbenner

This girl for me is specifically for a breeding project. She is being paired up with a perfectly suited male and am trying to get a specific snake from their pairing. She also saves me 1-2 generations of grow time to be where I want to be project wise, so she's literally perfect.

I'm just waiting on word back from the breeder that he has my deposit and I'll be set to run my mouth. :D

Paul

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The one I missed out on was one I wanted for breeding...just waited too long. :(

We’re looking forward to the good news and pictures once you have your confirmation. :D

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Originally Posted by pbenner

See Below? O.o Nothing below you post before this one.

Paul

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I did duplicate post and decided to edit the first one :)

Didn't work out too well . :)


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My wife has been on my case to reduce my snake collection so the other day she was overjoyed to learn that I'd traded 8 of my snakes for ONE snake ( a four figure one ) .

Sooooo I'm down to just 7 snakes which makes feeding time soooo much easier :)


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

My wife has been on my case to reduce my snake collection so the other day she was overjoyed to learn that I'd traded 8 of my snakes for ONE snake ( a four figure one ) .

Sooooo I'm down to just 7 snakes which makes feeding time soooo much easier :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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HAHAHAHA - This is EPIC. lol.

10/10.

It's like the sign I saw at Tinley. "For an additional $4.95, we will provide a second receipt for your purchase that shows the price you told you wife you paid for your purchase."

The other one I like is: "My biggest fear is that I'll die, and my wife will sell my Snakes for what I told her I paid for them...."

Paul

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Originally Posted by pbenner

HAHAHAHA - This is EPIC. lol.

10/10.

It's like the sign I saw at Tinley. "For an additional $4.95, we will provide a second receipt for your purchase that shows the price you told you wife you paid for your purchase."

The other one I like is: "My biggest fear is that I'll die, and my wife will sell my Snakes for what I told her I paid for them...."

Paul

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Two really funny comments ..


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by pbenner

HAHAHAHA - This is EPIC. lol.

10/10.

It's like the sign I saw at Tinley. "For an additional $4.95, we will provide a second receipt for your purchase that shows the price you told you wife you paid for your purchase."

The other one I like is: "My biggest fear is that I'll die, and my wife will sell my Snakes for what I told her I paid for them...."

Paul

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I've just floated the idea to my significant other that I'm wanting another boa. Nothing really expensive and I never have to hide costs or anything, but it's going to be a process. I've already whipped out the chapstick. Let the ass kissing begin!!

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Originally Posted by cletus

I've just floated the idea to my significant other that I'm wanting another boa. Nothing really expensive and I never have to hide costs or anything, but it's going to be a process. I've already whipped out the chapstick. Let the ass kissing begin!!

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My sister is my "partner" in this venture and is the Money Authority. She is my gatekeeper. Luckily, she understands that there are certain snakes that passing them up is silly. The girl in question here literally saves me 3-6 years of grow time on subsequent generations. So it was a no brainer despite wanting reassurances.

We're (6) Snakes in, ranging from under $100 to now over 4 figures, but we've got a good spread growing. She already knows that the next couple of buys will be "cheaper" animals, as I'm in the market for some Het Clown females around the time Tinley is here again.

Paul

I just purchased my second 4 figure snake for my projects, but I plan on making that back in the next year.

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Originally Posted by bmwood

I just purchased my second 4 figure snake for my projects, but I plan on making that back in the next year.

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I won't make mine back nearly so quick as I'm buying a hatchling, but if I'm going to breed snakes, I want to make sure what I'm producing has value and will be wanted. Similar boat to you, I know.

I'm going to come and get some Het Clown girls from you before much longer. :)

Paul

Deposit is in, and here she is. This is a breeder picture;

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...394fe42f45.jpg

Truffle. The Super Banana Black Pastel 100% Het Hypo little girl. She is *possibly* Pastel, but breeder isn't sure. I don't care too much either way, but we'll see what she produces in a couple years.

:D

Thanks for being a "bad" influence on me, forum team! :D

<3

Paul

Just like the song Thunderstruck. You knew once you entered here you would be struck with the urge to move forward. LOL

What a stunner!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pbenner

Deposit is in, and here she is. This is a breeder picture;

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...394fe42f45.jpg

Truffle. The Super Banana Black Pastel 100% Het Hypo little girl. She is *possibly* Pastel, but breeder isn't sure. I don't care too much either way, but we'll see what she produces in a couple years.

:D

Thanks for being a "bad" influence on me, forum team! :D

<3

Paul

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Looks like a four figure snake to me! Congrats!

Stunning! Looking forward to seeing your pictures once she arrives. Definitely worth it in my opinion. :D

OMG stunning!!! I just got my banana girl. Hoping for some supers way down the road, hopefully with clown.

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Originally Posted by chakup

OMG stunning!!! I just got my banana girl. Hoping for some supers way down the road, hopefully with clown.

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Thank you. I had been checking MM for this snake for weeks before she posted. She hadn't been online for 6 hours when I saw her and lasted less than 48.

She will be paired up against my Banana Enchi Orange Ghost (Male Maker). Both breeders agree that the Hypos should be compatible so am hoping to see a Super Banana Black Pastel Enchi Orange Ghost Male and a Banana Black Pastel Enchi Orange Ghost Female. I'm praying to hit the 6% lottery and get a Super Banana Female out of it, but not holding my breath.

Year end bonus cant come soon enough. I want this girl here. ^_^