Is it too late to breed low end morphs 3 years from now?

[d.gilly]

I just started collecting ball pythons last summer and from what I've read and also from my experience it's generally easier to find awesome examples of base morphs than it is multi gene animals. Obviously the breeders keep the best animals for themselves and the best examples are scooped up quickly by friends, other breeders ect, leaving whats left to the general community. Not to mention females are always more desired and breeders are constantly replacing their single gene girls with doubles, triples... I've really noticed great looking females are a lot harder to come by than males. From browsing websites and attending an expo I can tell you I've seen a lot of better looking base morph ball pythons for sale than I have of say triple or even quad gene animals. If the breeder is only hitting a handful of those morphs you can bet the best ones are kept and only the lower quality examples make it to sale.

At first I'll admit I was constantly looking for the best deals on morphs and I was less fixated on quality, but after one purchase and a lot of reading and scrolling through pictures I decided I needed to re evaluate my plans. Since then I've replaced a base morph male with a proven breeder of the same morph that is a prime example. I've also picked up A few great looking single gene females and I am still looking for a few more. my advice is keep your eyes open near hatching season and wait around for hold back snakes to come on sale. Wait for a snake that blows you away when you see it not when you see the price. Then once you start breeding hopefully your babies will reflect their parents and produce amazing combos of which the best you can hold onto. It's a lot better to make your own animals and get first pick then to scrounge through the leftovers.

As a number of people have already mentioned doing it for the money is going about this the wrong way, your not going to be making money in your first year and if you are making any by your 3 year I would be surprised. Look at it as something fun and interesting and a chance to work with awesome animals and possibly pay for itself or generate a small revenue eventually.

[Skilla6000]

I just started collecting ball pythons last summer and from what I've read and also from my experience it's generally easier to find awesome examples of base morphs than it is multi gene animals. Obviously the breeders keep the best animals for themselves and the best examples are scooped up quickly by friends, other breeders ect, leaving whats left to the general community. Not to mention females are always more desired and breeders are constantly replacing their single gene girls with doubles, triples... I've really noticed great looking females are a lot harder to come by than males. From browsing websites and attending an expo I can tell you I've seen a lot of better looking base morph ball pythons for sale than I have of say triple or even quad gene animals. If the breeder is only hitting a handful of those morphs you can bet the best ones are kept and only the lower quality examples make it to sale.

At first I'll admit I was constantly looking for the best deals on morphs and I was less fixated on quality, but after one purchase and a lot of reading and scrolling through pictures I decided I needed to re evaluate my plans. Since then I've replaced a base morph male with a proven breeder of the same morph that is a prime example. I've also picked up A few great looking single gene females and I am still looking for a few more. my advice is keep your eyes open near hatching season and wait around for hold back snakes to come on sale. Wait for a snake that blows you away when you see it not when you see the price. Then once you start breeding hopefully your babies will reflect their parents and produce amazing combos of which the best you can hold onto. It's a lot better to make your own animals and get first pick then to scrounge through the leftovers.

As a number of people have already mentioned doing it for the money is going about this the wrong way, your not going to be making money in your first year and if you are making any by your 3 year I would be surprised. Look at it as something fun and interesting and a chance to work with awesome animals and possibly pay for itself or generate a small revenue eventually.

Thanks that was a really in depth few paragraphs to think abou thanks and I will go for quality morphs thanks everyone who has chimed in thanks.

[Skilla6000]

There will always be a market for quality examples of low end morphs. For instance, I already have people who want babies from this pastel girl I recently picked up:



Make sure you always buy the best quality morphs you can find, and there will be a market for their babies. End of story, regardless of whether it's a low or high end morph.

No doubt she is outstanding it does not even look like a pastel she is amazing nice pickup

[CBconstrictors]

wow that is an amazing looking pastel. I love how dark the black is on her

[h00blah]

It might be easier if you think of the money you spent on them as gone, and whatever you make from the hatchlings can be an added bonus of keeping them. That's my outlook at least.

That is exactly how I see it. I'm having plenty of fun taking pictures, feeding, and learning about my snakes . Well worth it so far .

[Capray]

I'm gonna want a pastel, spider, mojo etc in several years definitley. People new to snakes will still want a cheaper morph, and experienced breeders still may need a base morph for a project.