Want to start breeding...what morphs to get?

Okay, I currently have 1.0 Normal BP and 1.0 Red Tail Boa, but am interested in getting into breeding Ball Pythons. I have some extra $ and was going to buy a BP morph anyway, but think I might want to try breeding...what morphs are good to begin with? I have around $1400 I can spend on this project. Any ideas or advice is appreciated. Thanks! Oh and by the way - I was looking at a bumblebee or maybe lemon blast...I've seen a few bumblebees for around $700 and lemon blasts for $800-900

its all preference and how much money you have, with 1400 i would invest in a breeding pair of some sort like mojaves, to make some BELs....but like i said its all preference

Use the money to your advantage and pick up a young female morph and raise her up so you have time to learn the ins and outs of the animal. :gj:

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Originally Posted by Turbo Serpent

Use the money to your advantage and pick up a young female morph and raise her up so you have time to learn the ins and outs of the animal. :gj:

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actually your right:gj:

Well, if you wanted to start out with something simple, try getting a female Spider, Pastel, Cinnamon, Mojave, or something simple as that (extra money can be used for supplies).

Don't you have to breed a mojave x lesser platty to get BEL's? You don't think a bumblebee or lemon blast male with 2 normal females 2 would be good? If I got a good price I could probably find both and 2 females for $1400 or a little more...

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Originally Posted by n0t0rIoUs

Don't you have to breed a mojave x lesser platty to get BEL's? You don't think a bumblebee or lemon blast male with 2 normal females 2 would be good? If I got a good price I could probably find both and 2 females for $1400 or a little more...

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yes but a mojave x mojave produces BELs they are just not as clean, grey heads

yea get a bumble bee male if u get a female u have a longer wait and when hes breeding size buy some big females and just let him loose lol

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Originally Posted by Turbo Serpent

Use the money to your advantage and pick up a young female morph and raise her up so you have time to learn the ins and outs of the animal. :gj:

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Would it be more wise to buy a female morph or male morph? I could breed a male morph to 2 or 3 females but could only breed 1 male to a female morph.

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Originally Posted by kris62901

yea get a bumble bee male if u get a female u have a longer wait and when hes breeding size buy some big females and just let him loose lol

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That's what I was thinking lol. But I'm going to wait until next October to begin breeding. I know a male will be plenty big by that time, but is it possible to get females 1200+ grams in about a year?

yea u could but its a longer wait and male is more smart move cause if u get a female u can just breed her to on reg or morph if u get a male u can breed it to a bunch at one time

get a male bumble bee and female pinstripe make some
spiders
pinstripes
spinners
bumble bees
and if ur lucky nice lemon blast!!!!!!!!!
thats what u would get

i doubt it that would be kinda hard unless u buy a already big 08 and 1400gr is a better breeding size

That's an idea - a male bumblebee and female pinstripe sounds like an awesome combo. Would also get another 2 normal females for the bumblebee male to breed as well. Maybe a pastel female too. What would a bumblebee x pastel make? Could it make a killer bee?

i'm not 100% on these percentages, but here goes:

Bumblebee ball python x Pastel ball python

25% pastels
25% bumblebees
12.5% normals
12.5% spiders
12.5% super pastels
12.5% killer bees

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Originally Posted by kris62901

i'm not 100% on these percentages, but here goes:

Bumblebee ball python x Pastel ball python

25% pastels
25% bumblebees
12.5% normals
12.5% spiders
12.5% super pastels
12.5% killer bees

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Look like pretty nice percentages to me - mine as well pay a little more for a pastel female or two rather than normal females. Or maybe 1 pastel female and 1 normal female because I'd definitely like to get a spider or two :)

if it were me breeding and makin my own bee and blast would be much more rewarding. you could always get a male pastel and a female spider and female pin for the same price maybe a little bit more than the bee by itself. but its up to you. enjoy!

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Originally Posted by crbballs

if it were me breeding and makin my own bee and blast would be much more rewarding. you could always get a male pastel and a female spider and female pin for the same price maybe a little bit more than the bee by itself. but its up to you. enjoy!

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This is true - but what are the chances of making a bee or blast? A pastel x spider is 1/4 for a bee right? Is pastel x pin the same odds for making a blast?

I'm also looking to make my $ back the first year...I'm a college student so don't have too much time to sit around and "experiment". Need to make some money back pretty quick - that's why I was thinking bumblebees..if I get even 1 or 2 from the clutches that's already $800-1600 which would cover the cost of everything.

25% pastels
12.5 bumblebees
12.5% normals
25% spiders
12.5% super pastels
12.5% killer bees

would be my guess
..............then i again i would not know.........im trying to make super pastels,and bumblebees this year.........if i can get them up to size..................this is my first year also with bp's
in co-dom /dom
i have 2.0 spider and 1.3 pastels........so it should be interesting............if you have money go for the gusto..........I went with a variety.......with hets too so that way if i dont have certain ones to size or if they dont go i sill have others to try out........because its not 100% the pair you get will breed........and not 100% you will have and hatch a sucessfull clutch......IMO get something you like ......with spiders and pastels they are good base morphs to make a lot of beauts!
i would say
1.1 pastel
1.1 spider
0.1 cinnamon
0.1 lesser

around your $$$ and can make pastels,super pastels,bumble bees,pewters,lesser bees,pastel lesser........then next year.....killer bees,BEL,super cin,etc etc with just that.........just a suggestion............

if u wanna make money quick i dont think u should breed bp cause it takes time and patience i had 6 eggs last year and 3 were slugs so think u should think about it

also think that if u get these animals u have to have place to house them. so if ur limit is 1400 dont spend it all on snakes cuz u will need the extra money for a rack. cuz its will be a waste of money to buy tanks when u will need a rack eventually.

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Originally Posted by kris62901

if u wanna make money quick i dont think u should breed bp cause it takes time and patience i had 6 eggs last year and 3 were slugs so think u should think about it

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Not too worried about the quick $, but would rather invest in breeding morphs that would potentially sell for more. Don't get me wrong, I'm not only in it for the money, I'm very interested in breeding for the learning experience and think it will be a fun task.

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Originally Posted by crbballs

also think that if u get these animals u have to have place to house them. so if ur limit is 1400 dont spend it all on snakes cuz u will need the extra money for a rack. cuz its will be a waste of money to buy tanks when u will need a rack eventually.

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I understand this - that's why I'm not going to breed until 2010/2011 breeding season. And I am in the process of building a rack to hold 4 adult BP's. I only own 1 as of now so that opens up room for 3 more adults. And once I begin breeding I'm going to build or buy another rack for 16 or so hatchlings...

also if ur looking to breed them this year u have to expect to pay more for breeder than u would baby/juvy balls. and to go with the housin u need the money for a incubator also. ur best bet is to plan ur expences on the snakes, housing, and breeding

You're going to need a rack and a good thermostat to breed. A good breeding setup will cost you a couple hundred so if you're on a budget don't forget about everything you will need - it adds up!

Bumblebee male + 2 normals and 1 pastel female - should get you started nicely.

If you are going to breed the snakes make sure you pick up nice specimines. I just ended up trading one of my snakes because i decided i dind't want to produce below average offspring.

Nice bumblebee male ($700)
2 Normal females ($200)
1 Pastel ($500)
=$1400

If you dont have a rack and t-stat - add about $400 to that

ok cool im glad ur interested in breeding. its alot of fun and it does get addictive. lol any one on here can tell ya that. this was my first year breeding and its very exciting! so make ur adult rack is stackable cuz chances r u will need more than 4.

And don't forget you will have to buy/make an incubator! That just might be a little important.:rolleye2:

This is what I am doing, and this is just me. No hard fast rules here. I have a few normals, and I decided I want to start breeding. I built a rack to hold a lot of snakes. I felt it better to do that than need more rack later on. I bought a pair of real nice mojaves to start with. I got them young enough that it will give me time to get an incubator.

My rack has enough room to expand to a few more breeders later on, and a place to house hatchlings/yearlings until I sell them. As big as it is it will only hold 18 adults and 18 sets of babies, and I have a lot of space taken up by this.

Most of my money went to a rack, heating element, tubs, thermostat (you need it so get a good one), temp gun, thermometer, hygrometer, water dishes, hides, substrate (gets changed a lot), cleaning solutions (used at least 3 times a week), provent-a-mite (you need it so get it before you get mites), feeding tongs, feeders (buy in bulk now, it is cheaper), and a few books.

Most of it all was cheap, but having to re-buy most everything ten times (once for each snake) gets pricey fast. Not to mention having a little extra set aside for vet bills just in case.

I use paper towels for substrate, it is easy to clean and will show you if you have any mites or not. I clean individual cages probably three times a week because of the snakes pooping or peeing, or spilling water out of their bowls. Each time I throughly clean the cage and replace the paper towels. I use latex gloves when I do this too so you can see the expense of the paper towels and gloves and cleaning solution.

I will not start getting a return on any of this investment for at least two years, then it is going to be a guessing game on what I get. I will hopefully have normals next year, but that is a small drop in the bucket to what I am spending. I am not doing this to make money, but because I like it. If I were going to make this into a lucrative business then I would get a business loan and buy into a breeding business that will start producing some good morphs for me now.

This is just my opinion of course. YMMV

Also, my next morphs will be a pastel, a spider, and maybe a lesser. When I decide to go with piebalds (which will be next in line) I will proably get one nice male pied and some 100% het females, but that will be a while from now.

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Originally Posted by DM1975

Also, my next morphs will be a pastel, a spider, and maybe a lesser. When I decide to go with piebalds (which will be next in line) I will proably get one nice male pied and some 100% het females, but that will be a while from now.

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how much do pieds go for?

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Originally Posted by luna13

how much do pieds go for?

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$1200-$1700 for babies

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Originally Posted by Pulcher

$1200-$1700 for babies

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nice, and for 100 hets

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Originally Posted by luna13

how much do pieds go for?

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Depending on the amount of white and the sex, they can go for anything from $800.00 to over $2000.00 and more. Just depends on the breeder and the pattern.

Well guys - I went to a local breeder's house today and he showed me some magnificent snakes. I went in looking for a bumblebee and came out with a new female bumblebee as well as a new male pinstripe. Both snakes are amazing and I got an awesome deal. $800 for both! Bumblebees usually go for that much alone if not more! I'll post pics tomorrow, I'm letting them settle into their new home right now. Hopefully they will be ready to breed in the 2010/2011 season :)

Congrats on your hatchlings! :gj:

Thanks - only thing I'm worried about is the bumblebee has a mild wobble. She might just be stressed from moving to a new home, but I know this is very common with any spider morph. Should I be worried or do you think she'll grow out of it?

I would not wry. like you said its common in spiders. both my bees do it

If it was me and I had 700+ dollars to spend I'd look for a super pastel female. Grow her up and then figure out what males to pick up to put with her.

Personally I'd use 1400$ to get 2 Fires (m/f) and a Lemon Pastel (f).

its possible to get them that big in a year but it doesnt depend on the snake.

Great Deal! Good luck breeding!!!!:gj:

Thanks! I'm gonna take them out tomorrow or the next day and get some pictures