^ all good questions! My suggestion after deciding that you are going to breed anyway is to decide how many and what morphs you would like to produce then go get the racks, tubs, heat, and t-stats then start saving again for the animals as the supplies aren't cheap and they still cost less than the animals. o and don't forget to figure out where to get a steady supply of feeders. plenty of places to do so but gotta find the one you prefer and cant always count on the local pet store to have the size feeders you need that particular day.
Here's some info I read before making my decision. It is copied from vms herps and heres the link also so you can read the rest.

http://www.vmsherp.com/LCBreedingBalls.htm

Do you really want to breed your Ball Python?


This seemingly simple question is often never considered by the novice. There are several reasons to consider NOT breeding your Ball Pythons!

First, do you have a market for the offspring once they have been produced? If you don't have a place to sell them, you can quickly tire of feeding all those little mouths and then cleaning up after all those little...well you get the idea.

Second, do you have adequate food supplies and caging for the offspring? A typical Ball Python clutch of six hatchlings will consume around six rat pups per week if all goes well. Some can be fussy and require live hopper mice, others want live rat pups, others will waste feeders by refusing for several days before accepting and then repeating that process. All of which can be inconvenient if you don't have a handy source and dependable source. That's a lot of mice and rats. So many in fact, that local pet shops frequently begin experiencing mouse 'shortages' caused by the increased demand during peak months.

Third, are you willing to risk the life of your Ball Python? Breeding snakes is not without risks. On very rare occasions, one snake may actually simply eat the other on introduction. Dystocia (commonly known as egg-binding) is fairly common and poses serious health risks that may require expensive veterinary services. More common is the incredible drain on body resources that egg production places on the female. If not in perfect health, a female can become severely weakened and may succumb to renal failure or disease. Speaking of disease, the simple act of introducing the two snakes together opens the door for pathogen transfer. It is not uncommon for snakes to carry substantial parasite and bacteria loads and appear perfectly healthy, even for years. Introducing such a snake to another may transfer pathogens the second snake is unable to combat; it may then sicken and die.

I'm not trying to tell you not to breed your Ball Pythons, just making sure you are aware of a few of the problems associated with it.