Quote Originally Posted by tikigator View Post
To the OP.......I have read through this thread and having been a newbie myself just a couple years ago I know it can be overwhelming asking for an opinion and recieving so many different responses. Unfortunately I am going to toss out one more opinion for you (my own )

The consensus in the group is that generally regular pastels sell for $150-200 and supers sell for $450-550. This is either a regular pastel, a very nice high quality regular pastel, which should be in the higher price range upwards of $200......OR......it is a very low quality super pastel, which should be in the lower price range of $450.

If you are NOT wanting to breed, and you just want a nice pretty pet, I would get yourself a nice pastel. I highly doubt the sellers, who believe this is a super, are going to cut the price in half for you (but there's no harm in trying I guess), so if I were you I would go find yourself a nice pastel for $200.

If you PLAN on breeding down the road, and you definately want a SUPER pastel, this is NOT an animal you want to breed, there is too much hesitation amongst your fellow breeders here trying to distinguish whether or not this is a super. If you are going to spend the money, go find a reputable breeder who has a NICE high quality animal that there is no doubt in YOUR mind that it is a SUPER pastel, and buy it.

If you have to post a picture asking if a morph is a morph, then chances are it either isn't, or it is a poor example. Both of those are not what you want for breeding purposes. But again, if you just want a nice pretty pet, then at least go find a fairly priced snake.....and perhaps spend the money you save on a nice enclosure for it (or bank it away for another snake down the road because if you have not yet read the fine print, this hobby IS addicting and you WILL get another...there is a guarantee on that....)


Good luck with whatever you decide and welcome to the herp addiction!
Thanks for putting everything in perspective. Your comment about me getting another one is somewhat ironic given my personal transformation in the past 9 months or so. Nine months ago, I was afraid of all snakes and had no desire to have one in my house, let alone hold one. However, as a result of my eldest son's Boy Scout reptile project, we ended up with our first ball python in the house. I quickly became fascinated with it, which resulted in my younger son getting his own. Soon, I became a "jealous" dad (for lack of better word) and wanted my own. Every week I would go to the pet store to buy rats for my sons' BPs, I became even more fascinated by the myriad of colors and patterns and just spent time admiring the BPs the store had to offer. When I expressed to my wife that I had a desire to buy my own BP, she was less than thrilled about bringing a third snake into the house (not because she is afraid of them but for other reasons). At this point, I wouldn't dare think about even bringing a fourth one into the house (as much as I can feel the BP addiction growing in my bones ). So, this one will be it for me--at least for the foreseeable future.

As to this particular specimen, when I went back to the store yesterday and saw her again, I realized that the one photo I posted really didn't do her justice. I think camera phone and lighting didn't do a good job of showing the blushing (which I did not know to look for prior to starting this thread Sunday evening). Thus, I was just curious to see if the additional photos made anyone change their mind.