Morphs as first snakes

[Clever Baby Dragon]

I'm currently doing research to choose my first snake (I've got a while before I can get one though), a ball python is definitely very high on my list. I think normal balls are gorgeous and I'll definitely get one sometime, but is there any special reason why you should get a normal first and then accumulate morphs, or is it just the most common pattern (people get a normal which is common and relatively cheap, and then, having discovered that ball pythons are fantastic, get more and more expensive morphs)?

In case it makes any difference, if I were to get a morph my favourite three are mojave, axanthic and butter.

[pavlovk1025]

A morph is just a normal with a fancy paint job, as people on this forum put it. You dont have to get a normal first. I got a normal first because he needed to be saved from his crappy previous owner, then I saw the various morphs available and got hooked.

[Sarin]

Get what you personally want. Most people get normals first because of many reasons. They may not know there are hundreds of common color and pattern morphs available, they do not wish to spend the money on a first snake 'just in case', they prefer the look of normals, they are cheaper, etc etc.

I personally got a Pastel as my first BP because I knew I wanted to breed this season and a male Pastel is gold in my plans.

[Simpson Balls]

Well If you not willing to spend that much money go for a pastel! You can get them at shows for maybe 110-130 (Depends on where your located though) If you are willing to spend the big bucks I would go with the axanthic because well I don't know they just look cool!

Daniel

[TheOtherLeadingBrand]

Although I knew Albino balls existed, I hadn't really thought about it. I got my first ball of the classifieds in the paper before CL even existed. Later, when I met my husband, he had one pet ball python male- a normal. Somehow we realized while researching the idea of getting him a mate, that they have all these color variations. The rest is history. There's no reason not to just start with a morph

[bads15]

i say get which ever one you think you will like the most that's in your price range. try not to break the bank since acquiring it is only half the battle. once you have it you will need to house it, feed it, and take care of it. you never know what can happen. if it gets hurt you might have to take it to the vet. that can get pricey. maybe you might have to treat it for mights. not so pricey but still an expense.
if its your first ball and you get the hang of taking care of it( which i'm sure you will ) then beware you might get addicted. before you know it you'll be getting another. so if your price range doesn't allow you to get your favorite, go for the next best thing. this way you can see if they fit into your life style.
but that's just my opinion. what ever you get i hope you take proper care of it and enjoy it. a happy ball will keep you happy.

[paulaura]

As long as youve done some research and get the setup right, it makes absolutely no difference wether you go for a normal or a morph.

Go for the one you like personally, then you cant go wrong.

[adrenalinejunkie]

It all depends on your budget. I started off with a pastel and I just bought another one; I don't have any normals yet

[Kaorte]

I started off with a normal because I didn't really know about the morphs. I am glad I did though. It was like the gateway to my addiction. My normal is still my favorite snake .

[DustinB]

Same here, I bought a normal because I didn't know morphs existed. I bought one quickly because I saw it on sale for $30.