Which morph would you suggest?

This is our 10 y/o normal female we just picked up. We are going to an expo in May, and are considering buying our first morph. Something we can breed her to. I'd like suggestions from you folks that know all about selecting the right morph to breed to a normal.

This is our girl. I've taken several pics to try an capture her true color, but have had little luck. She has a wicked brown color with high white sides, and no black. Which morph do you think would utilize her colors and pattern?

http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t...ns/Zena001.jpg

What YOU like and what you can afford.

What is your budget?

Deb is right, getting what you like (and can afford) is what is most important.

But as far as what might complement this girl, I had 2 thoughts almost immediately upon seeing the pic & reading your description. Her brown coloring might pair well with a cinnamon. And if you pair her with a spider that has high white sides as well, you might get some very nice high white spiders. However, since her pattern is not really reduced, they might not be as reduced as most people seem to prefer their spiders.

I'm assuming you mean the Raleigh, NC show in May....It has been my experience that the Raleigh August show has more of a ball python selection...so if you don't find what you want in May then I would hold out until August.

How much does she weigh? It's hard to tell, but from your picture, she looks like she is about 1-2 years old.

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Originally Posted by PythonWallace

How much does she weigh? It's hard to tell, but from your picture, she looks like she is about 1-2 years old.

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Photos can be misleading.
The albino girl in this one is an '06 and the mojave girl is an '08.
All depends on how good an eater they are.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...iles/014-1.jpg

Judging from the build on that one, it may be a male if it is that old. Have you had it sexed?

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Originally Posted by PythonWallace

How much does she weigh? It's hard to tell, but from your picture, she looks like she is about 1-2 years old.

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I know the pic is a little deceiving, she's actually a 10-year-old. She is 4' long and 1587 grams.

KC261 had the word I was looking for; "complement". Which morph would best complement her colors and pattern? Thanks for the suggestion so far.

I think a nice Spider with high white sides would make some purdy babies with her.

I know nothing about this, but I can assume that a spider and anything would have stunning babies. lol

Slim,
Any idea how much a male spider of breeding age would cost at a show.

And...
With her not having any black, would a lemon pastel be something to consider? Would her babies be brighter since she doesn't have any black? And any idea on a price of a male of breeding age at a show?

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Originally Posted by Deborah

What YOU like and what you can afford.

What is your budget?

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We are not rich by any means. But if we find a snake that we both really liked, we would get it. We don't really have a price range. It just depends on the animal.

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Originally Posted by M&J in NC

Slim,
Any idea how much a male spider of breeding age would cost at a show.

And...
With her not having any black, would a lemon pastel be something to consider? Would her babies be brighter since she doesn't have any black? And any idea on a price of a male of breeding age at a show?

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M&J, Lately I've been seeing some early hatch 08' Spider males going for $325-$375. The ones I've seen for that price are in the 350-425 gram range, and should be ready to breed in a few months. I can't recall seeing anything larger than that recently. I'm sure others can chime in with what they've seen recently.

I think a Pastel would be an outstanding choice. Might throw some really nice looking hatchlings. A Pastel should be slightly less expensive than a Spider, but it will depend on the animal. Might want to give Adam at 8 Ball Pythons a call. He produced some nice Pastels this year, and might have some left. The one I got from him is a June hatch and could be ready to breed in couple of months.

I just checked out Adam's site. He has some great stuff. I sent him a PM, now just waiting to hear back from him.

Thanks

maybe a cinnamon/ black pastel?

I would say to breed any Ball Python that has penes, and a paint job that you like. That is the good thing about a Normal female, she can be bred to anything. If it were my girl, I would breed it to a nice Pewter male.

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Originally Posted by SPJ

Judging from the build on that one, it may be a male if it is that old. Have you had it sexed?

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Just out of curiosity, what characteristics did you see in the "build" of that snake that made you deduce that it is a male? I am just curious, because I have never been able to look at a snake and tell the sex, but sure would love to be able to do that.

Like everyone else says, pick the morph YOU like the best. HOWEVER. If she were mine, I'd probably breed her to a cinnamon.

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Originally Posted by muddoc

I would say to breed any Ball Python that has penes, and a paint job that you like. That is the good thing about a Normal female, she can be bred to anything. If it were my girl, I would breed it to a nice Pewter male.



Just out of curiosity, what characteristics did you see in the "build" of that snake that made you deduce that it is a male? I am just curious, because I have never been able to look at a snake and tell the sex, but sure would love to be able to do that.

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I am new to this, I'm not trying to pretend I know what I'm doing. But I did come across this the other day and it may be what you were looking for.

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/6...ythons-sex.htm

troy

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Originally Posted by tdietz87

I am new to this, I'm not trying to pretend I know what I'm doing. But I did come across this the other day and it may be what you were looking for.

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/6...ythons-sex.htm

troy

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Troy,
Thanks for the link. However, I am very aware of how to determine the sex of a Ball Python. I have been doing this for a while now. What I do not know how to do, is look at a snake and determine the sex without touching it. I was just trying to add a bit of knowledge to my never ending quest for more info.

Make sure she is of breeding size and of good health......if you want something thats pretty fast you could by a co-dom. Pastel, Cinny, Pin, Spider, etc. I'd just get what you like the most.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SPJ

Photos can be misleading.
The albino girl in this one is an '06 and the mojave girl is an '08.
All depends on how good an eater they are.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...iles/014-1.jpg

Judging from the build on that one, it may be a male if it is that old. Have you had it sexed?

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I understand, I just would have guessed that the girl in that picture was about 1,000-1,200g or so, so it would have to be a terrible eater for a 10 year old if it is really a female. If that was the case I don't know if I'd recommend breeding her at all. No one else has said anything so I might be over thinking this, but if it took her 10 years to reach a healthy breeding weight, how long would it take her to put that weight back on after laying a clutch of eggs. And I could be wrong about this too, but I remember Jasballs saying that he thought that older females who weren't bred were more likely to become eggbound than a young 1,200g female. I don't know whether or not she is already a proven breeder, so if she is none of that applies, but the weight would still concern me unless she's eating great and is just recovering from laying in '08.

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Originally Posted by M&J in NC

I know the pic is a little deceiving, she's actually a 10-year-old. She is 4' long and 1587 grams.

KC261 had the word I was looking for; "complement". Which morph would best complement her colors and pattern? Thanks for the suggestion so far.

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Cool, I was just wondering because she looked a little small for a girl that old. Do you know whether or not she laid eggs last year? I'd breed her to a cinnamon.

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Originally Posted by tdietz87

I am new to this, I'm not trying to pretend I know what I'm doing. But I did come across this the other day and it may be what you were looking for.

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/6...ythons-sex.htm

troy

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:hijackd: if you are new to this my best advice to you would be to forget about Expert Village and Nicole's videos, they were posted here a while back and sadly Nicole seems to know very little about what she is talking about and it shows in every single videos. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by PythonWallace

I understand, I just would have guessed that the girl in that picture was about 1,000-1,200g or so, so it would have to be a terrible eater for a 10 year old if it is really a female. If that was the case I don't know if I'd recommend breeding her at all. No one else has said anything so I might be over thinking this, but if it took her 10 years to reach a healthy breeding weight, how long would it take her to put that weight back on after laying a clutch of eggs. And I could be wrong about this too, but I remember Jasballs saying that he thought that older females who weren't bred were more likely to become eggbound than a young 1,200g female. I don't know whether or not she is already a proven breeder, so if she is none of that applies, but the weight would still concern me unless she's eating great and is just recovering from laying in '08.

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Jake,
I just wanted to say that I have an 11 year old female that has laid eggs for the last three years. She typically weighs about 1850 to 200 grams. Every year, after laying eggs, she stops eating once she has got back to 2000 grams. I guess that is her happy weight. Also, her eggs average about 140 grams, and she has had 6 eggs every year. Just my experience with a girl that is average size adult even at an older age.

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Originally Posted by muddoc

Jake,
I just wanted to say that I have an 11 year old female that has laid eggs for the last three years. She typically weighs about 1850 to 200 grams. Every year, after laying eggs, she stops eating once she has got back to 2000 grams. I guess that is her happy weight. Also, her eggs average about 140 grams, and she has had 6 eggs every year. Just my experience with a girl that is average size adult even at an older age.

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Thanks Tim. I have a couple girls like that too, but not that old. When I saw the first post I just assumed she had never been bred before. I don't know why the hell I thought that? I guess she just looked like a smaller, younger snake than I was expecting to see when I opened the thread.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

sadly Nicole seems to know very little about what she is talking about and it shows in every single videos.

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I got the same impression when she mentioned the male's hemipenes, then she motion toward the snake's stomach as if that was the direction it is. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't his penes lay toward his tail?

K&J,
You are correct. When his hemipenes are internal, they are situated to the rear of the cloaca facing the tail.