What shall I get?

[mr.spooky]

I used a few normals last year, and the one thing that you need to take into consideration is, there are NO rules set in stone when it comes to these %'s. If you breed a single gene morph X a normal and get 8 eggs from the clutch, theres a chance that you will only get one (1) morph and end up with 7 normals (ask me how I know). Not that normals are a bad thing, but sence you have to feed them after they hatch, wouldent you rather use the space and money to feed something that can return the investment? Im trying to get away from the normals next year unless I breed a multiple gene animal to them.
spooky

[PitOnTheProwl]

My son who is 7 y/o has shown an interest in getting a pet and we've both come to the conclusion that a snake would be just fine for him. It's more of a mutual thing because I will be breeding at some point while he just has a pet.

Everyone has valid points here on the breeding aspect but I am still stuck on the child
This is why I always ask about location.
It is nice to have some face to face time too with someone other than a pet store employee

[LocoKen]

You really can breed what you want.
Most of us started off with males and then the wait time was killer on the females.
A male can be ready to go in under a year BUT a female can take two to three years before they are ready to give it a go
I took a little short-cut and got some normal big girls to start with after I realized I did want to breed.

Its all about what you want to start with and what you want to make.

What area are you located in?
You might have some small breeders around you that can be close by for purchases or help.

Sorry, I hadn't edited my profile yet to reflect my area or other info. We live in Bremerton, Wa where the climate isn't as cold in the winter as say the midwest and it doesn't normally get too hot in the summer. Our average temp in the summer is around 70-80 and 30-45 in the winter. And as far as checking out some local breeders, I would be stoked to be able to do such a thing. Granted, the only BP's I have found so far at the pet stores are all normals, but they are beautiful, nonetheless. I just didn't know if buying one of them was a good financial decision when it comes to breeding, but am not too worried about that when it comes to my son. He seems pretty calm around them at the moment, and he loves animals. I was pretty leery about getting him a snake at first, but felt that after reading a lot online about the BP's that I would be willing to give it a try, knowing that if anything came up, I would be taking care of it if he didn't like the fact that he may get bitten once in awhile. I'd rather he got bitten by a BP than a dog any day.

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Everyone has valid points here on the breeding aspect but I am still stuck on the child
This is why I always ask about location.
It is nice to have some face to face time too with someone other than a pet store employee

My thoughts exactly!

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I used a few normals last year, and the one thing that you need to take into consideration is, there are NO rules set in stone when it comes to these %'s. If you breed a single gene morph X a normal and get 8 eggs from the clutch, theres a chance that you will only get one (1) morph and end up with 7 normals (ask me how I know). Not that normals are a bad thing, but sence you have to feed them after they hatch, wouldent you rather use the space and money to feed something that can return the investment? Im trying to get away from the normals next year unless I breed a multiple gene animal to them.
spooky

Now by normals, we are talking about your general run of the mill BP that you can find at any pet store, correct? That's the impression that I'm getting from my reading but just wanted to clarify.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Now by normals, we are talking about your general run of the mill BP that you can find at any pet store, correct? That's the impression that I'm getting from my reading but just wanted to clarify.

Those would be "normals"
and is you can find a local breeder you should be able to get hatchlings for around $20 - $30 instead of $80+ the pet stores want.

[LocoKen]

Those would be "normals"
and is you can find a local breeder you should be able to get hatchlings for around $20 - $30 instead of $80+ the pet stores want.

Thanks, Pit! Much appreciated!

[SlitherinSisters]

My advice to anyone starting out, get girls, and get codoms/doms unless you are familiar with recessives and want to start working with them right away. I prefer codoms since you can make supers fairly fast. I say get females, because you can worry about males in 2-3 years while your girls are growing up.

[Sama]

Hey! Your not to far from me, relatively speaking. We actually have a decent number of small breeders in our area. Simpleman is semi close as is Wapadi, both of which have some amazing animals. And a few others was well. If there is anything I can do to help you out as well don't be afraid to ask.

[LocoKen]

My advice to anyone starting out, get girls, and get codoms/doms unless you are familiar with recessives and want to start working with them right away. I prefer codoms since you can make supers fairly fast. I say get females, because you can worry about males in 2-3 years while your girls are growing up.

I'm all about getting females right now, babies that is, as my price range probably won't support the adults or very expensive ones. I agree that I should get some time under my belt learning how to take care of these new "pets" but I also would like to get into breeding within the next 6-12 months. That's about the time I could afford to pick up one or two really nice females to use for breeding. I don't want to get into a huge breeding operation like BHB, but I would like to have about 10 females or more some day as breeders. I'm also not looking to make bank on them, but don't want to lose money either. It'll be just an expensive hobby that hopefully can pay for itself and have some creative cash on the side.

I'm also not too understanding yet of all the jargon when it comes to recessives, codoms/doms (I have to chuckle, I first read this as condoms. Oops.) I kinda have an idea of what's being said, but I haven't been a breeder of anything except for rabbits when I was a kid and didn't experiment across strains or species. I've got a lot to learn in that department. My son and I bought a book to get started but it's just a basic information book from the pet store. I've learned more by spending loads of time on this forum than I did in that book.

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Hey! Your not to far from me, relatively speaking. We actually have a decent number of small breeders in our area. Simpleman is semi close as is Wapadi, both of which have some amazing animals. And a few others was well. If there is anything I can do to help you out as well don't be afraid to ask.

Heya, Sama!

Hello to a fellow Washingtonian! Are these other members on the Seattle side of the Puget Sound, or do you know of any over here on my side of the water? I would love to visit them if they are willing to let me come by. I've also checked into the Herp club that is out of Seattle and my just join if it's going to be beneficial to us without having to do too much traveling. Do you breed as well? If so, what morphs do you like the most? I have to admit, I'm a bit snake-bitten and got the bug to get started in this new hobby. And from the looks of it, I've found a pretty good place to hang out in the process!

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I just wanted to thank everyone who has posted here that I am very grateful to your acceptance of me here in just the short day it has been. I've never felt so welcome on a forum until now, and I hope I can be of some help to others as ya'll have been to me someday. Thanks! I really mean that. Have a great day!

[PitOnTheProwl]

Hey! Your not to far from me, relatively speaking. We actually have a decent number of small breeders in our area. Simpleman is semi close as is Wapadi, both of which have some amazing animals. And a few others was well. If there is anything I can do to help you out as well don't be afraid to ask.

You just found some good people in your area and you didnt have to look too long or far

I'm also not too understanding yet of all the jargon when it comes to recessives, codoms/doms (I have to chuckle, I first read this as condoms. Oops.) I kinda have an idea of what's being said, but I haven't been a breeder of anything except for rabbits when I was a kid and didn't experiment across strains or species. I've got a lot to learn in that department. My son and I bought a book to get started but it's just a basic information book from the pet store. I've learned more by spending loads of time on this forum than I did in that book.

Dom=visual paint job with no super form..................Example here

Codom= visual paint job WITH a super form.............Visual here Super here

Recessive is a whole ball of worms LOL=two copies of the SAME gene to get a visual.............My favorite here
This is where the "het" comes into play because one copy makes a normal looking snake that carries the gene.

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BTW........Simpleman is a good guy and you can find him here in this site

[Sama]

Lol, I love anything pied personally, but I will also be trying for bees het hypo this coming season. This is my first year breeding and I have 2 clutches, the first is actually hatching tonight!
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=178339
Simple is south of you, and I would love to get a ball from him someday soon, and he makes snake and rat racks! I can't brag on him enough : ). I'm not 100% sure where Wapadi is but I saw some of her snakes at the last expo, the pastel was stunning! And good sized too, man I wanted to take that snake home! SnakesRkewl is in Oregon and has beautiful Yellowbellies and clowns. I got Loki from him and everything was perfect. There are a few others I am missing as well, sorry guys!
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=121411