"Normal" Ball Pythons

[JKPCONSTRICTORS]

I'd like to hear some feedback from other ball python breeders about the pricing of normals...

Anytime I see it mentioned that somebody purchased a ball python from a pet shop somebody inevitably responds and tells them they basically wasted their money and could have just gotten one from a breeder for free, $5, $10, or some other ridiculously low price. I'm just curious as to how many breeders actually sell their normals this cheap. I've given babies to FRIENDS for free, but my standard price to the general public has always been $35 or $40 depending on age/sex/size/weight. I've never once had somebody inquire about purchasing one and decline over that being too high of a price. I think it's a little bogus for so many people to have the impression that normals are worthless.

So, breeders, how do you price your normals? What is fair and competitive in the current market? Have they lost so much value that they should just be given away?

[bsash]

Depends on how big of a normal and sex. I sell my male normals for $40 almost always no matter how big, unless they have a really nice pattern then maybe $50. Females $50 as babies, and any 1500 grams and over for $100. I think it really depends on your area, and the availability on nice females rather than males. Most of the normals people are really looking for are females, not many people want normal males so sometimes you have to drop their price a bit if you need to move them.

[satomi325]

I got my female normal as a baby for $20.

I plan on charging something similar for my normal hatchlings.

Sub-adult/adult females will be worth more of course. ($75-150)

[HaikyFin]

We got our first snake, a normal male, for $10 at a show.

[Libby]

I'm not a breeder, but recently purchased a normal female.

She was priced at $20, but the breeder simply included the baby normals as part of a "starter kit" with a basic cage set up. It seemed like a really good idea to me, since that way he was both building in some profit and insuring that the noobs like me had the basic requirements to keep his babies healthy. He also offers to let you trade the enclosure in toward the next size up when the baby outgrows it. He did say though, that usually when that time comes, the customers usually get a larger cage for the first snake and simply get a new baby to put in the old cage!

You could also see it from a relationship/supplier perspective, since isn't the first taste almost always free?

[stickyalvinroll]

It's all about weight and the sex of the snake.but hatchlings generally go for 15,20 dollars a breedable female is at least a hundred dollars. Also I'll give them away I'd the customer bits more than one snake from me

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I don't sell normal hatchlings to the public anymore. Since I don't do shows and people are not really willing to pay $55 to $75 in shipping for a $20/$30 animal I simply wholesale them locally for $10 a piece, this way I don't sit on them for months.

I will also offer free normal females with the purchase of any snake when available.

Now as when adult females are replaced by single, double and triple gene females, I usually let them go for $100/$150.

So here is how I price normal, in the end it really depends on the market around you, whether you do shows or sell online and whether or not you want to hold on normal and how long you are willing to hold on to them for.

[BciJoe]

depends where you are and what part of year..

i'm in south florida, where there are lots of reptile shows, lots of importers, wholesalers, dealers, distributors, etc.

when you have a couple hundred thousand baby balls imported in early summer, and are being sold in 10-100 lots for $6-$8, they are priced indivudally at shows for $10, and if you can get one of these for $10, why would you pay more for a CBB baby. Of course there are many reasons, but most customers don't understand or see the difference... it's our job to educate them.

many of them talk about having had experiences with balls and them being problematic feeders. IMO this is because 90% or more of the baby BPs sold in pet stores are imports, even though they guarantee them to be CBB, and their distributors guarantee them to be CBB. I have first hand expeience with this.

Breeding snakes is not cheap. But for the small breeder to get $30-$40 for his normals, he will sit on them for a long time, which means housing, cleaning, feeding, etc. Most morph breeders don't want to do that with normals when they have valuable morphs to raise. Most wholesale the normals cheap. That $10-$20 difference is nothing when you consider months of raising and feeding each one.

towards the end of summer when babies are not being imported anymore, prices go up and those CBB are now more valuable. Low price at a show may be $20. and in the fall, when babies are simply not around, who ever has them gets $25-$30 easy, even for wholesale lots.

right now I can easily find males for $10 and females for $10-$15 at shows. next month they will be $20 easy.

many people around here purchase large lots (500-5000) in early summer and raise them slowly, on the cheap, so they have them when there are none to be found in the fall.

if you are in an area like this, I would suggest to either wholesale, or not try to sell them until late summer/fall, when you can get alot more.

I would imagine in other areas with less availability you can get more for them easily. If you can, by all means do so, do not 'give them away'.

[BFE Pets]

Im a hobby breeder. I sell my normals for $30 to anyone that responds to my ads. I sell them to the local pet store for $15. That is hatchling prices. I normally throw in a free normal to anyone trying to haggle for a better deal when they are buying a morph. Opposite sex course. But any normal female 1350g and up go for $100. My normal males over 500g I sell for $40. But I rarely have them around.

[Ryan Chin]

this thread is helpful, I recently picked up a normal in a craigslist ad. I was only trying to buy fish tanks but the snake came with it and I really don't have any intentions on keeping the lil guy. I feel kinda bad, I did sex him and he's in perfect health...I just don't have the space, time or money to keep him at this point.

I had put up an ad on CL but around here it seems like BP's aren't to popular compared to other regions. Maybe it's just me though.