beginner morphs

ok. I have recently started breeding leos and i love it. Its loads of fun with all the leo morphs. I have had just a normal ball for like 3 years now, she was my first snake....im getting interseted in breeding balls now...

Im a 13 year old kid so it might seem kinda, i dont know, cant find the word....anyways i dont have loads of money to spend on high end morphs but i will be making some money this summer soo....

Out of the many many morphs out there, what should i start out with? I like pastels, and they are fairly cheap, but is there any other morphs that are in the 100-250 range?

Also, i have a rack bulit for my leos. I have 1 specific qt tub that i use for hatchlings-adults. Is there a certain qt tub thats good for hatchling-adult balls? I would prefer to not have to build multiple racks but its no big deal if i do.

thanks in advance,

Justan Kellogg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by justan

ok. I have recently started breeding leos and i love it. Its loads of fun with all the leo morphs. I have had just a normal ball for like 3 years now, she was my first snake....im getting interseted in breeding balls now...

Im a 13 year old kid so it might seem kinda, i dont know, cant find the word....anyways i dont have loads of money to spend on high end morphs but i will be making some money this summer soo....

Out of the many many morphs out there, what should i start out with? I like pastels, and they are fairly cheap, but is there any other morphs that are in the 100-250 range?

Also, i have a rack bulit for my leos. I have 1 specific qt tub that i use for hatchlings-adults. Is there a certain qt tub thats good for hatchling-adult balls? I would prefer to not have to build multiple racks but its no big deal if i do.

thanks in advance,

Justan Kellogg

---

Pastels are definitely a beginners morph. I think mojaves are also on the cheaper side as well as Cinn. Pastels. Most hets. are cheaper so you could have fun with the baby lotto with those as well! I don't know the market all that well but I'm sure plenty of the breeders on here could give you some ideas on that.
Since your starting out and your so young, remember your going to have to find a female (or male depending on what your already have) and you most likely will have to raise it.. unless you want to invest more in an adult. Of course don't forget about the incubator cost and all that. :]
Don't forget the incubator and all!

Mojaves are really cool. Ill have to take a look on some sites and see whats going on.

Incubators...whats the best brand? For my leos i have a home made one that works really well but im sure a real incubator would be better. What brand do you suggest?

i havnt bred, and im not much older than you...
but id just get hets, like, mojave, maybe albinos, if you can find them cheap...
just look around...

craigslist, and stuff like that....
good luck!

I bet you could find a pair of het albinos or ghost for less than 250. Craigslist is also a good place to pick up good deals.

pic up a good book like the complete ball python before you invest any money in snakes.

pastels and spiders. you could make super pastels and/or bees. you could prob get a pair of pastels and a spider for under 500$ if you got them all from the same breeder

pastels and spiders. you could make super pastels and/or bees. you could prob get a pair of pastels and a spider for under 500$ if you got them all from the same breeder

A couple of people have mentioned getting hets. A good way to get the ability to produce morphs without paying a lot of money up front. But only if the snake actually turns out to be the het the seller is claiming. Don't buy hets from anyone but a reputable breeder, unless the price is so good the snake is worth it even if it proves out to be not het for anything.

A couple of people have mentioned craigslist. Sometimes a place to find good deals, but often a place to find people who want $200 for their normal male because that is how much they spent on the snake & stuff at a pet store, but that doesn't make the snake or the supplies worth that price.

As far as you being a 13 yr old kid, I'm not sure what you were getting at, but some 13 yr olds take better care of their animals than many adults. Nothing wrong with someone starting out in a hobby like this when they are young.

Depends on what you like the most...

I am a sucker for most of the recessives... axanthics, ghosts (hypos), albinos, pieds, etc.

If you already have a female you can get a good priced male het. Breed him to your female, hold back all the daughters, and when they are breeding age you breed them back to dad to get homozygous recessive offspring.

If the odds gods were kind and you produced het females that is (nothing in guaranteed).

It may take you 3 years... but *meh* that is part of the fun. :D

Doms and co-doms you will most likely see as offspring in your first breeding season (pastels, mojaves, etc.).

So again, it depends on what you like.

Once you find a snake that you do like (esp with doms and codoms), look at lots of pics of that morph as well. Each morph has traits that make it more attractive and you want to find an example of that snake that you like.

The variance within Pastels, cinnies, mojaves, etc. is amazing!

Bruce

everyone is making very good points. i would say go wit the co dom and dom traits. i dont know bout you but when i was younger i wanted instant gratification. hets take a lot more time when trying to produce an animal which sometime makes them cheaper. a pair of mojaves would make you very happy in a few years. lucys are freakin HOT! my biggest piece of advice is... dont settle on an animal. wait until you find exactly what you want cuz it makes having that animal so so so much better. good luck buddy :gj:

First off :welcome:

I suggest pastels, mojaves, or spiders. Spiders may be a little more than you want to spend though. You will also need to buy at least one female to breed him too.

I keep my babies in a 6qt tub rack, then move them into at 32qt tub rack when they are about two to three hundred grams.

Hope this helps.

very great helpful thread, figured i'd commend everyone. i don't have any professional suggestions as to racks and whatnot, but i've been doing my homework as to what i'd like to start with when i decide to breed (i'm 23, but have already decided that i'm going to wait a few years, and when my man and i move into a house, i will start investing in Ball Pythons more :) ) i think the suggestion of getting a het pair would be good simpley because they're not as expensive as a straight up morph itself. for example, on NERD, an albino BP would be 1000 dollars, and a het pair would be 600...

andwhy6 did mention that it takes longer with hets, but that would be my suggestion to keep your breeding less expensive :) goodluck and keep us posted on what you decide on :)

yay!
someone who is close to my age lol

the snakes i have right now are a male pastel and spider, 100% het albino male(that will be breeding a het female on loan this year!), and an older female normal that hopefully next year i can breed my spider to

just thought i would throw that out

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Yellowbellys. I started with a pastel and would recomend that to most who like them.

I am just starting out, and as of Yesterday, I am going to be expanding my collection with a Spider female. That is my first morph, and I think I can get some cool stuf out of it. Heather's Herps is where I went (THANK YOU HEATHER) and I think this will be a fun and exciting adventure.

... and I am 20 ... I feel old in this thread.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cuda

I am just starting out, and as of Yesterday, I am going to be expanding my collection with a Spider female. That is my first morph, and I think I can get some cool stuf out of it. Heather's Herps is where I went (THANK YOU HEATHER) and I think this will be a fun and exciting adventure.

... and I am 20 ... I feel old in this thread.

---

Me too Cuda

wow..thanks for all the responses guys! i wasnt expecting so many so soon lol. Seems like spiders, pastels, and mojaves are the way to go for a beginner. Sounds pretty cool. Im gonna try to go to an expo in august(the closest one....5 hrs away....bleh!) and ive seen some pretty sweet deals at expos...maybe i can pick up a pair of pastels for a good price:D Once again thanks for all the replies and ill get back to you all soon. thanks,

Justan

Just keep in mind...a $100 snake craps just as much as a $10,000 snake. Get what like, save up if you can't afford it yet. Your going to be cleaning this snake for 20+ years.
Also, if you invest in some 08 girls, you will be about 16 yrs old before you will get any eggs out of them....and I was 16yrs old once, and I had things on my mind other than snakes!....