Strategy advice needed

[sullitf]

I got my first bp a few years ago (3 maybe?), she's a normal I got as a pet. As is often the case, I got bit by the bug and have wanted to try my hand at breeding for a couple years now. I've managed to hold off as I haven't been in a spot to really make the commitment (racks, space, time, feeders, incubators, on and on) but think I'm finally at a point in my life where I can make the jump and feel confident that I can really give what it takes to be a responsible breeder.

That said, I've been kicking around ideas for my first breeding project and could use some advice to make sure I don't make a costly mistake. I've been extremely lucky in the last few years and found myself in a spot now where I have a decent amount of money that I can invest in a project, around $10k or so for snakes if necessary. Its kind of an interesting spot because numbers-wise as I want to ease myself into breeding with a small number of snakes (6 snakes or so) but financially that means I could invest in some really quality snakes. I would like to have eggs next season so I'll be looking for 2011 or early females, I'd be fine if a few produce next year and a few hold off for the season after next.

My question relates to the morphs I should plan on buying. I'm thinking right now about investing a large portion of money into a couple powerhouse snakes, 1 male and 1 female, plus a double or triple morph male and a few more females. I have my eye on the powerhouse snakes now and don't want to give too much away, but the male is a 5 gene hypo and the female is 4 gene (5 if you count a Super as 2). Added to them would probably be a hypo black pewter male and a few hypo females (hypo + codom if the money works out).

My thought is I would breed the two powerhouse animals hoping to get some seriously powerful het hypo babies. The two males would then be split across the other females depending on the specific female morphs and the snakes interest in breeding. Worst case scenario would be the male powerhouse isn't ready to breed next year or isn't interested in locking with most of the females. This would hopefully be mitigated by having a second male, the hypo black pewter male would still make nice combos with hypo females (especially if they are hypo spiders, hypo pastels, etc.)

Does this seem like a reasonable plan to you all or do you have recommendations for more interesting/financially better plans? I know there is always concern with breeding visual recessive to non-recessive snakes, anyone see a red flag with my plan? Any other issues jump out at anyone that I haven't thought of? Last thing I want is to spend this kind of money on a project and find out 6 months or a year later that I made a pretty major mistake in snake selection or timing.


Thanks in advance!

[sullitf]

Nothing???
Let me put it this way, if you had 10,000 to start a new breeding project what would you buy?

[snakesRkewl]

Do you think if you made 5-6 gene snakes you could tell what you are producing, or even a 6-7 gene?

If I were you I wouldn't invest in a powerhouse male that includes all of the highest produced snakes around.
If the power house male you're looking at is a super pastel pinstripe spider hypo for example, you'll be making a ton of the same morphs that are already being produced in high numbers.

You might be better off getting a 2-3 gene male that includes genetics that not everyone has, and adding a few rarer females too.

It really matters mostly what you like because you have to open those tubs everyday

[csagen]

Buy this.... http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=374861

(not advertising, just giving advice... I have nothing to gain from that, no relation what so ever)

It is a handful of some good genetics potentially and would get you rolling... Honestly though, I would start slow, breeding takes a lot of energy and time, it is not just taking care of one snake... I am not trying to be rude so please don't take this the wrong way, but you need to keep track of everything they do from poop habits to food weights and pairings. It isn't a walk in the park.

I am jealous that you have that kind of money to put into projects and I think you can make some great things with it, but I would look into things that aren't to commonly produced. If you really wan't to make some sweet stuff, I would say a double recessive. Axanthic Clown would be my first choice, but for 10K you probably won't be able to pick one up, but maybe look for something along the recessive line if you can. They hold their value.

Either way, like the post above pointed out, when you get into the 5 gene animals, you really can't visually tell what you have. Maybe for codom I would think enchi, fire, lesser.... I like those... Breed that thing to a Clown or Axanthic and it will be a longer project but well worth it I would say...

Sorry for the babbling, I would just say stick to recessive if you can, and really think it out. Good Luck. Keep us posted on what your decissions are. I am curious to see what you decide.

Good Luck

Calder

[sullitf]

Thanks guys! I think my first post sounded a little like I had too much cash to throw at a project and thought "I have a snake already, how hard can breeding be?" but that's not it at all.

I've been looking into breeding off and on for a couple years now but I expect there will still be a lot more work than I think. That's mainly why I want to limit myself to 6 snakes or so to really get my hands dirty and learn what I'm in for. I've thought about a few different project from clowns to gravels/yellow bellies to bananas and have recently found myself leaning towards multi-gene projects. That's why I wanted to bring it to everyone here now though, I've spent plenty of time researching but that only gets me so far

I'm definitely big on sticking with recessive genes as a main theme for the project and have been leaning towards hypo but that's partly where the multi-gene idea comes in to play since hypo combos are pretty common. Think I'll look more into clowns and yellow belly complex animals and see what I come up with for project ideas there.

Any other ideas out there? Beyond my own project ideas I think its really interesting to hear how people would spend the money themselves! What projects would you want to start or what would you add to existing projects you have going?

[Capray]

Cool! Always start off with 1-2 clutches though so you don't overwhelm yourself. They can lay more eggs than you'd think.