Multiple gene males or females?

[Python Dreams]

If I was starting fresh...

I would pick up as many double or triple gene females as I could get my hands on. Even single gene animals can be amazing, especially if they are one of the less common traits.

I would then just stack one project to its fullest. I would pick up a 7 - 10 CB-70 rack. If I purchased the 7 rack, I would then buy 6 combo females. For instance based on snakes I have seen in the classifieds or at shows recently: 1 Pastave, 1 Spot Pin, 1 Firefly, 1 Enchi Spider, 1 Pastel YB, 1 Lemon Blast. If you buy the 10 rack you have room for up to 3 more, leaving one space for the male.

You will then have time to learn more while getting these girls nice and fat. If fed once every week, they will have some size next summer when the 2011 hatchlings are readily available. You then can start looking for the male that you either like the most, or will give you the best financial return. Unless it is one of less common traits, I would go with nothing less than a triple. Bumble Bee Mojaves, Pastel Butter YBs, etc... should be very affordable next season. Personally I would go with a Desert combo such as a Tiger. They are a little more expensive, but with the females you are growing, you would produce extremely high end snakes.

Fast forward another year, you would probably have multi-gene females over 2000 grams. You would potentially have a 900 gram breeder Tiger. You would have had time to get a hatchling rack, an incubator, and whatever is needed to deal with the coming hatchlings. With the right luck, you would produce some amazing combos that would be in demand. Potentially Pastel Tiger Mojaves, Tiger Spotnose Pinstripes, Firefly Tigers, Super Tiger Spiders, Pastel Tiger YBs, and Pastel Tiger Pinstripes. Not too mention all of the combos that would be produced in the effort to produce these snakes. With bigger females the possibility of 8 egg clutches is a reality which would then improve the odds that you would produce the most desired result.

If you have more money, bigger rack, etc... then you can start stacking the second project. This would be a much better idea than breeding a double co-dom (or even triple in some cases) to normals. At then end of the day you will be producing snakes that quite a few people are producing, and then you will have that much more competition when trying to sell/trade them.

If you have specific snakes that you want to produce then it can get real interesting. If you want to produce Crystal combos, you just get your hands on 6 Mojave combo females this year, then find a Special combo next year. If SuperStripes... Pick up as many YB combos females this year, then a Spector cross next year. The list goes on forever, but just look at the market, think about what snakes really interest you while at the same time paying attention to what is popular. With those ingredients, fun and money would be in the future!
Tom Baker