Future Bumble Bee price?

[mainbutter]

Think about it this way.. compare BPs to two other very popular and easy to care for reptiles: corn snakes and leopard geckos.

You can find morphs of both for EXTRAORDINARILY cheap. $25 for an amel corn? Not unheard of.

recessive morphs and double dom/co-dom morphs for BPs will probably bottom out at $100-200, simply because BPs aren't as prolific as corns and leopard geckos. This will take a while, but I think they will eventually get there and maybe even cheaper.

As people always say though, a quality animal can command a much higher price. Think about the extraordinary normal females out there that a breeder wouldn't part with at all, because of how important she is to a specific breeding project.

[RhacHead]

I love Striped Spiders! Some of the best looking spiders out there IMO.

[DemmBalls]

Here are the male (Pastel) and female (Spider) I plan on using. Any thoughts on the quality of these two or the young they may produce? They are both very young still, but I am very pleased with them (and I guess that's what's most important).

[Serpent_Nirvana]

Here are the male (Pastel) and female (Spider) I plan on using. Any thoughts on the quality of these two or the young they may produce? They are both very young still, but I am very pleased with them (and I guess that's what's most important).

I like your spider a lot. She's very light and blushy, which I like, and she has a fairly reduced pattern, which I like. I would imagine (though I am speaking from conjecture, not experience) that she will produce some very nice bees.

Your pastel male ... He is not the one I would have picked, to be quite honest. I like very reduced-pattern, banded, blushy pastels (which are NOT easy to find, unfortunately), though that's purely a matter of preference. I would also be concerned that he may "brown out" quite a bit based on the amount of light brown/orange on his back.

He does seem to have some nice, bright yellow on his sides, which is nice.

I'm curious to hear some other, more experienced breeders chime in.

[DemmBalls]

Breeding is all fairly new to me, so keep the opinions coming and be honest. We knew what we liked in a spider, but we were pretty clueless as to what we were looking for in the pastel. we definitely enjoy him though!

We went to the show with the intent of getting our Spider (so that was #1 goal). We have also always loved Bees, so once we had the Spider...we thought it would be a fun project to try producing our own bee. That's where the pastel came into play. Even if he's not "the one"...he makes a great pet and seems to be very healthy. I'm not in this for the money, but if it could be a biproduct from this project...I won't argue.

Thanks for the opinions!

P.s. Could anyone post a pic of what they consider a higher quality Pastel?

[Auletto]

I'm going to go against the grain on the topic of quality animals will keep prices up. I've seen people produce great looking pastels that are super bright from browned out ugly pastels. I agree selective breed helps refine the line, but I don't it's going to command that much more money than what the average market is going for. People are cheap. If I needed a bee and I was comparing an average looking one for $500 and a great looking bee for $750. I would buy the cheaper one and save the $250 and buy another animal, rack or have some beer money for a while.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some guys like fats chicks, others the opposite. This is just my thoughts on the subject.

[Freakie_frog]

I'm going to go against the grain on the topic of quality animals will keep prices up. I've seen people produce great looking pastels that are super bright from browned out ugly pastels. I agree selective breed helps refine the line, but I don't it's going to command that much more money than what the average market is going for. People are cheap. If I needed a bee and I was comparing an average looking one for $500 and a great looking bee for $750. I would buy the cheaper one and save the $250 and buy another animal, rack or have some beer money for a while.

There's nothing wrong with that at all. It just means that your shopping the price and not the look of the animal nothing more its not good or bad. That's exactly what I was saying. Some people will shop the price just to have a Bee then some people will shop the look so that they have the best Bee money can buy. Nothing wrong with either one. Just depends on the buyers mindset when it comes to buying. There are animals that I haven't bought yet cause I can't decide if I want to buy just to have the gene or do I buy to have the look.

In my mind and this is just me nothing against you. I wont spend my hard earned money on anything less than the absolute best I can get my hands on at the time. I still don't own Lemon Pastels for this reason.

[Auletto]

I hear you. I don't know if that fact that I'm an artist, but I fine almost every ball python to be unique in it's own way. I just can't justify spending X amount more if I can save a buck and still be happy with my purchase.

[DemmBalls]

Thanks guys.

If I was to buy a bee...I would agree with getting the best that I can find. That being said...I can not afford the Bee that would make me happy. At least I can not justify the money it would cost at the moment. I think breeding for one would be a great experience and I love surprises!

it's kind of ironic...by the time my snakes are mature and ready to breed...I could probably afford a nice bee!

[Freakie_frog]

Thanks guys.

it's kind of ironic...by the time my snakes are mature and ready to breed...I could probably afford a nice bee!

Yep that the part that people don't take into account when the look at which is cheaper the ingredient or the out come. Some times it better to just go ahead and spend the money on the combo and use that time and money raising up the outcome than trying to raise two snakes to get the out come..