Deserts Market tanking?!?!?

[tcutting]

I saw this too, and I'm not surprised really (well, maybe a bit surprised that they're literally being GIVEN away, but then again, people give away normal males too). Once it becomes more and more obvious that desert females are a no-go breeding wise, I think their value will definitely keep going down across the board.

I think the price of desert males will be relatively stable because not only will people continue to breed for combos (with the hope they get some males out of it), but with females rendered useless for those purposes, male desert and desert combos will be even more in demand.

I still see and appreciate deserts and combos. I suppose the value of them speaks heavily to what the hobby as a whole is doing. (or at least most BP keepers anyway) If it cant breed its not worth much. I am curious with this and the caramels how much is the gene itself or something we have been doing as a community. I would be really curious about some of the original spiders and what they were like as well as the offspring.

[Izzys Keeper]

Lend me $1200 and I'll let you know.

Just Paypaled it

[Izzys Keeper]

I know that I would because i have considered it a few years ago when GTP's, or at least really Nice sub-adult. boelens python are not cheap either and they arent even a morph just simply the breed of python carries a value. that is a collectable snake and I would gladly pay 2-5k for one if i had the cash.

And there are BP's I would pay good money for to own as a collectable pet without the intent of breeding. People do it for dogs all the time.

i totally agree with you. I have a reef aquarium and some fish and coral are over $100 for a 2"fish. I understand the whole thing with dogs too.

But for the sake of the thread my rebuttal would be that without the explosion in popularity of bp breeding, morphs with such subtle differences would not demand such a high price tag. To the average looker most "morphs" dont look too different than normal bps. There are the extreme examples such as pieds and binos. Morphs that enhance color such as enchis and pastels would have no more value than normals. And without the breeder mindset, most morphs would not draw the attention that they do. With the wide variety of dog and cat breeds as such an everyday thing, i cant see snake colorations being enough of a factor to drive price without the breeder mindset.

Most on lookers with no inside knowledge to the world of bps (in my 5 yr experience) dont understand how spectacular it is that a species of snake can have so many different skins. And many cant wrap thier head around how my albino and normal are the same kind of snake. They always say "oh i saw one of those on tv it was like 15 ft long!". They simply label any species of big snake as "python" (even boas).

Sorry for the tangent, just illustrating how outside of the world of bp breeders, the sheer awesomeness and drive behind the high prices may not be there.

[Slim]

I don't know anyone that just collects snake morphs.

Good Morning! My name is Slim, and I collect BP morphs...And only males at that

[HerpIsAhobby]

I contacted this person about purchasing a female and was shot down with my offer. To me it was reasonable for a pet that I considered pretty cool but had no future potential to breed for me. The desert problems were totally exposed recently and the potential for breeding these females has shown to not only be impossible but also dangerous to the females.

Over the past few years as the problems started to become more exposed I had talked with many breeders at shows who swore up and down they had the answer. This year I saw many of the same breeders at a show recently and the rhetoric has totally died down and rational thought has begun to kick in. Desert females will never reproduce like a normal. Will someone somewhere get a desert female to lay a good egg? Sure, maybe they will but that won't change the fact 99.9% of the females won't.

[Izzys Keeper]

Good Morning! My name is Slim, and I collect BP morphs...And only males at that

We all know they exist. Every once in a while one will show their face... Your like the bigfoot of ball python keepers lol.

I kid, i kid.

By the way slim, since ive been getting more into breeding my bps your posts have been very informative for me. I commend you for sticking to the pet first foundation of this hobby :p:thumbup:

[Salamander Rising]

Just Paypaled it

Hmmmm....I didn't get any PayPal notice.

[Salamander Rising]

i totally agree with you. I have a reef aquarium and some fish and coral are over $100 for a 2"fish. I understand the whole thing with dogs too.

But for the sake of the thread my rebuttal would be that without the explosion in popularity of bp breeding, morphs with such subtle differences would not demand such a high price tag. To the average looker most "morphs" dont look too different than normal bps. There are the extreme examples such as pieds and binos. Morphs that enhance color such as enchis and pastels would have no more value than normals. And without the breeder mindset, most morphs would not draw the attention that they do. With the wide variety of dog and cat breeds as such an everyday thing, i cant see snake colorations being enough of a factor to drive price without the breeder mindset.

Most on lookers with no inside knowledge to the world of bps (in my 5 yr experience) dont understand how spectacular it is that a species of snake can have so many different skins. And many cant wrap thier head around how my albino and normal are the same kind of snake. They always say "oh i saw one of those on tv it was like 15 ft long!". They simply label any species of big snake as "python" (even boas).

Sorry for the tangent, just illustrating how outside of the world of bp breeders, the sheer awesomeness and drive behind the high prices may not be there.

That still totally blows my mind.

I don't know of any other animal on earth who can pull off what BPS do.

They're like the Crayolas of the critter world.

[Izzys Keeper]

That still totally blows my mind.

X2
Just leaves me to wonder whats the next new morph....

And that right there i think explains the whole thread. There will always be the "next new thing". And without the possibility of that,as with deserts, people would rather pay that big money on something else...

[M&H]

I know that I would because i have considered it a few years ago when GTP's, or at least really Nice sub-adult. boelens python are not cheap either and they arent even a morph just simply the breed of python carries a value. that is a collectable snake and I would gladly pay 2-5k for one if i had the cash.

And there are BP's I would pay good money for to own as a collectable pet without the intent of breeding. People do it for dogs all the time.

I'm not sure how many people out there spend $1000 + on their pet dog they have no intentions on breeding. ( Yes I know some people do but they are few and far between) I purchased my American Staffordshire Terrier for $500 and I would do it again in a heart beat. However I spent that much for bred temperament and the way she was raised as a puppy. The fact that I could register her with the AKC and have paper work that made her not a Pit Bull to the insurance company. As far as I know most people do not buy a snake based on temperment.

Honestly I would never pay $1000 for a pet snake. I have spent $300 on a pet snake before with no intentions on breeding him however it was something I have always, always wanted, and I doubt to many people are saying that about the dessert.

Just like anything else dessert snakes are only worth what people are willing to pay for them. I would never spend 2-$5,000 for a GTP and you would. We hold things at different values.