Why are females more expensive?

[mainbutter]

I agree, it comes down to supply and demand, and as far as $$$ goes females win.

But wouldn't you agree that at least genetically, mainly in regard to being able to pass on valuable genes more readily than females, the males are more valuable?

In pretty much the entirety of selective breeding, yes, a fantastic breeder male is genetically more important, and therefore more expensive, than a fantastic breeder female. Look at cows, horses, and probably every other farm animal as well.

In the world of cows, the average price for males is way low. That is because most males aren't intended for breeding, and are instead just raised for slaughter. But a breeder male, on the other hand, a truly superior specimen, that is where you get crazy prices.

In the world of BPs, there isn't anywhere near as much competition for selective breeding as there is in farm stock. For the most part, a mojave male is a mojave male. You can see this in how they are priced, even from breeder to breeder a mojave male will cost you about the same. On top of that, there isn't any demand for males outside of single specimen pets or for breeding. Snakes really don't occupy any market in the US except the pet market.

If I was a BP breeder, I would have no problem paying more for a truly best-in-the-world specimen of a male of some morph that I wanted to breed, than the same for a female. However like I said before, the prices for BPs all seem to say that in general, even between two different breeders, it seems a mojave is a mojave and a spider is a spider.