The Ball Hype!

[Wh00h0069]

I think that hype will last until people stop making money one them. Then very few people will want them. There will not be many breeders at that point. If you have ever noticed, people always want the more expensive ball morphs.

[mommanessy247]

i know im a little late in this convo but i 2nd bpelizabeth, lol.

[cdnmike2009]

I have a theory on the topic...and it hinges on these two facts:

(A) In the 1970's albino cornsnakes were in the $10,000 realm. Today they sell for the same price as normals, about $20.

(B) I breed a type of dog that was "invented" in the early 1800's, the price of these puppies have been increasing every year and in 2010 sold for $2500-$5500 based on color and type. This breed has 8-14 puppies a year.

My suggestion is expect to see ball pythons follow A rather than B.

The difference between your animals becoming an A rather than a B has to do with your breeding strategey. In the early 1800's my breed's originators split into two factions one was focused on the dollar and the other focused on the "love on the breed".

Group 1: Mass produced their animals, bred any two of the breed together regardless of type, kept multiple females bred to a single non type male, they bred females at their first heat and and bred animals regardless of temperment and health status. These breeders sold this hot new breed hand over fist and the money flowed. The consumer just wanted a X-dog and didn't care about the fine print. These Group 1 breeders noticed though as each successive year went by the price went lower and lower, they started culling a lot of unsold puppies that were now too expensive to feed and most eventually dropped out of breeding completly. These breeders still exist and you can still find their puppies 200 years later in your nearest petstore, online ads or in the back of the newspaper.

Group 2: Enjoyed dogs. They organized themselved into breeder goups to share stock and knowledge. They organized events where they competed to exhibit the most typey animals in look and behaviour. As veterinary science progressed they kept pace and refused to breed animals which in the long run would damage their lines. They limited their breedings to "best to best" and only bred litters that were pre-sold or that they believed would be sold within the 7 weeks following birth. They marketed themselves as superior to the breeders in Group 1 and the consumer began to accept the Group 2 breeders as the only acceptable source for breed X. The breeders noticed that while the money was slow to come in, it was consistant and the price of their puppies actually increased with each generation. These breeders stuck with it, partly because they loved the animals and partly because they could make a living, not a "get rich quick living" but a 30-40 year career on breeding this breed. Some breeders who excelled at producing the most typey, healthiest and were the best at marketing actually made a very good living.

My argument is that the snake hobby, regardless of species, has focused on a Group 1 style and will eventually run itself into the ground. Yes, granted, it will take 20-30 years or more but I promise you that even your mocha choca locata het for skin a ma rink e do will eventually sell for under $100.

And I know some people are thinking, well in 20-30 years I will have my money made and my stock sold off by then...pulling your money out because you think that your "industry" has a lifespan in the definition of a pyramid scheme.

[LotsaBalls]

I never got into corns, but I've seen a number of them in stores. Is there the number of morphs and combos available that BP have?

[LeviBP]

I'm liking the inputs! Intriguing to think about

[darkbloodwyvern]

I never got into corns, but I've seen a number of them in stores. Is there the number of morphs and combos available that BP have?

YES! My friend has a motley-hurricane girl she bought for around $75 at the local petstore. LOVELY snake and good eater. And if we bred her, she may be het for something as well. A lot of corns are double or triple morphs! The doubles nowadays are pretty common, but still sell for a little more than normals. Corns have HUGE clutches, so they depreciate faster than balls and smaller clutched snakes. I think there may be MORE corn morphs, or at least as many as BPs. A lot of them are combos, just like BPs. I haven't kept up with corns as much, but the have genetic strips, ghosts and hypos as well as other patterns that are a little different than bp morphs.