considering breeding this season

[Artemisace]

Hi there,
I've been lurking on this site for a while and I've posted a couple times... I think... but I'm considering breeding my normal male bp this season. Now before anyone asks yes I have done all the research on what it entails and I am fully prepared for if I can not sell all the babies, if I decide to sell them all. I'm considering doing one pairing for one clutch because I figure that is a safe bet for a first time breeder. My question is what would be a good morph to start out with? Now I know that is probably a VERY loaded question, but I'm just kinda looking for opinions and I appreciate any response I get. Thank you in advance.

~Artemisace

[MrLang]

A spider or pastel female would not run you a lot of money and would be a good starter morph.

I personally would not encourage breeding a normal male but you are welcome to do as you please.

[liv]

There are a whole bunch of proven breeder females on the market right now... A pinstripe would be a nice, reasonably priced choice

[Artemisace]

Thanks for the advice, but why would you not suggest breeding a normal male? Is it because about half the babies would be normal?

[Eric Alan]

There is nothing inherently wrong with breeding a normal male - I'm sure he'll appreciate the opportunity. Having said that, it does not make economical sense for breeders to do this. Males can be bred to multiple females during breeding season, so it makes more sense to spread a more diverse male's genes around to the less diverse females than the other way around (from a business perspective).

Also, yes, there is the piece of having 50% normals, but you'd end up with those odds in any single-gene x normal pairing regardless of which parent was the morph.

I say go for it. When/if you get a larger collection, then you can worry about genetically greater males vs females. Have fun!

[Artemisace]

I see what you're saying and I was told something similar by the shop owner of the place I got my male sexed at. Although he did say that if I was going to breed the male it would probably be a good idea to go with, in his words, the biggest baddest snake I can afford. He then proceeded to point out a two month old lesser queen bee he had for sale and told me something like that would be a good bet, well when she was old enough to breed anyway. Would that be a better idea than just a single morph female x normal male? Or would single gene male x single or multiple gene female be a better suggestion? I feel like I'm asking a lot of dumb questions lol.

[grcforce327]

two month old lesser queen bee.

It's just called a Queen Bee(lesser/spider/pastel).

[Artemisace]

oh lol thanks, that's the way the guy said it to me so I guess it got stuck in my head that way.

[jms0620]

if you wanted to get into seirous breeding you want yor male to have more genetic power than the female(s) he is going to breed although i have put a two gene male with a three gene female once because i didnt want to stretch my male thin it was his first year but for your first year get a single or double gene female breed your male to her you will get addicted and get a better male next year

[Artemisace]

for your first year get a single or double gene female breed your male to her you will get addicted and get a better male next year

That made me laugh thanks for the advice, I'd like to get a male with more genes but when I bought him I wasn't sure I wanted to breed. I've already kinda fallen in love with ball pythons so I'm sure if I can produce babies my addiction will only grow lol.