what would you do?

so I want to breed my bp's. Looking to start it within 2yrs, but i'm torn on which way to go. what I have so far
1.0 pastel
1.0 normal
1.0 albino
0.2 normals

Now I know I need more females for starters. I plan to purchase some adults when the time comes. I want to get at least one spider, but I'm hard up for cash right now. So what would you do in the current situation. Also If we threw a spider in the mix what would you do male or female which would be better?

Get your females first. The males only need a year, and chances are prices may be slightly lower on males in 2 years, so you'll save money there.

Morph females are always a great investment. Starting off buying the males doesn't really make a whole lot of sense if breeding is your only focus.

Moreover, its not easy to find breedable adult females. No reputable breeder would part with their breeder girls (they are worth their weight in gold) and if you do find someone willing to sell one, chances are 1) you'll pay out the wazoo for her or 2) Its a girl that has thrown duds or never laid at all or some other issue that makes them not worth keeping.

*edit

Did you mean that you have those males already or that's what you wanted to start with? Sorry for the confusion...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by viper94bite

what I have so far
1.0 pastel
1.0 normal
1.0 albino
0.2 normals

---

how big are they all right now?
just curious...

they all have atleast 1-2 yrs to be breeding size. My current females are about 600g and the male are all about 200-250g as of right now. So I have awhile.

I mean, what morphs do you like?

With what you have, you could get a female spider and make bees, female het albino and make more albinos, female pastels could give you super pastels, etc etc.

Do something that you like. I couldn't imagine feeding and cleaning up after an animal, male or female, that I didn't genuinely enjoy keeping.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by viper94bite

so I want to breed my bp's. Looking to start it within 2yrs, but i'm torn on which way to go. what I have so far
1.0 pastel
1.0 normal
1.0 albino
0.2 normals

Now I know I need more females for starters. I plan to purchase some adults when the time comes. I want to get at least one spider, but I'm hard up for cash right now. So what would you do in the current situation. Also If we threw a spider in the mix what would you do male or female which would be better?

---

If I was you I would try to get 1 or 2 het albino females, one pastel female and if you can 1 spider female that would allow you if you are lucky and the odds are with you to have a nice little start.

Females are all important. I'd get some small to mid-size now. I've discovered that buying a grown female you can get screwed. I bought 5 adults, and when I recieved them, they had all JUST laid. Were even still slack-bellied. So I could not breed them last year when I got them(which is why I bought adults) and some or all may not go this year either. And this is after paying top dollar. At least I know for certain they are all females!
Getting some smaller females now, that makes a great deal of sense, raising them up yourself.
I'll echo the above,
Get het albino females, a spider female(she will give you more spiders, pastels, and bumblebees when bred to your male pastel, AND female spiders are cheaper than males anyway!) and some nice normals or pastels too. If you can afford to get hets or morphs, do that instead. Co-dom breeders will give you more bang for your buck than plain normals.
Example:
Pastel male x spider female = pastels, spiders,bumblebees
Pastel male x het pied female = pastels 50% het pied, 50% het pieds
Etc etc. Even if you don't have a male of that particular het, you'll still be ahead of the game getting possible hets, instead of definate normals.
Wolfy

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by elevatethis

I mean, what morphs do you like?

With what you have, you could get a female spider and make bees, female het albino and make more albinos, female pastels could give you super pastels, etc etc.

Do something that you like. I couldn't imagine feeding and cleaning up after an animal, male or female, that I didn't genuinely enjoy keeping.

---

problem is I like them all. Even the normals. Only thing with normals is you really don't get anything out of them to make it worth you while other then practice. Every spider morph out there is beautiful, as are the albinos and pastels. I would love to get Pie's but thats an expensive one to get into. I am hoping to breed some to get money for a piebald.

well, personally if i were buying a spider i would go with a male, just because you can breed a male to 5 females. that is alot of spiders to produce. But with what you have right now, i'd buy a 100% het albino female, and a few more normal females.

then you could start off by producing more pastels and you could then keep all the female pastel's and use them to make designer morphs, and then make albino's also.

If your givnig yourself 2 years before you start, you can get as many normal females right now as you can. That way in 2 years, they are sexually mature, or maybe a year off.

Once you have your females growing, somewhere in the next year or so you can pick up that spider if you still want it.

In the short term you could try and find the biggest female you can afford, and at least make some pastels, or albinos hets within the next year or so.

im in the same boat..mine are all young..except zeua and hera ,they are breedable and zeus is proven.havin a spider female..if i breed her to male normal will it work the same way as a male spider to a normal????

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by elevatethis

Do something that you like. I couldn't imagine feeding and cleaning up after an animal, male or female, that I didn't genuinely enjoy keeping.

---

Right on.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GA_Ball_Pythons

If I was you I would try to get 1 or 2 het albino females, one pastel female and if you can 1 spider female that would allow you if you are lucky and the odds are with you to have a nice little start.

---

I agree with GA BP's. I am in the process of bringing up several morph females as a matter of fact I am expecting a female pastel this morning from EdClark. I have two het albinos ready to go this year and a reduced pattern which is currently breeding with my pastel male. I want to make reduced pastels and then make bumbles from that. Usually when you buy a het female you have to by a het male too(almost free) but having a back up is a good idea. Just because you have a male morph doesn't mean he will breed. Back ups are a good idea if you have room and can afford them. But females, females, females you can't have too many!

I am stocking up on normal females now so I will be able to breed them to a pastel male and a het albino male next year. I already have 2 females over a thousand, 1 at 600, and hopefully acquiring 3 more between 600-700 in the next few weeks.

I think I am going to focus on getting some more females. and breeding them to my pastel. I'm going to look into buying an adult female and if my pastel is ready next year use them as a practice clutch while the others are growing still. I'll see about getting a spider in the spring time and raise him up. Then I can attempt to breed him with the females when he is ready. Unless I come into some money then thngs may change and i'd get the spider sooner or possibly a 1:1 spider pair? Thanks for the ideas.

im uping my females as well..i have 3 comming in all over 700 plus..and a pair of yellowbellies...someone please stop me!!!!!!!!