Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Misha View Post
As a community we need to slow down breeding. This isn't a game. They're animals that need to be taken care of. The reason Ball Pythons are so cheap is because everyone and their mother wants to breed Ball Pythons. Most people don't even breed good combos. Most things I see on here is this: " I'm going to buy 5 double gene snakes and then breed them to my 3 normals". Seriously??? Then the same person who can't handle having all the hatchlings either sells them at rock bottom price or give them away. And people actually encourage breeding! Come on...

Personally, I think it's quite ridiculous how people barely begin to understand how to take care of Ball Pythons and right away try to breed them. With cats and dogs, they breed by themselves because they're not neutered or spayed. I don't see Ball Pythons breeding on the streets of California like rabbits.

As you see this is a HOT issue for me. It's one of my biggest pet peeves on this forum when I see someone who barely just got into the hobby asking how many snakes they should buy to breed. :/ Can't people enjoy their pets without breeding? Or even at least wait until you know how to properly care for the animal.

I've been in this hobby for 3 years (which is nothing by the way) and I'm barely deciding if I want to breed or not. I'm not saying It's wrong, but at least be responsible about it. Don't breed a crap load of animals if you can't afford it because these are living things and they need to be cared for. Doesn't matter whether it's Normal or a 10K BP. Also, if you want to breed as a hobby, keep a couple of animals and make sure you actually in it for the log haul. I see this phrase all the time "BPs are like Pringles". Well what happens when you get tired of eating Pringles? How many for sale threads are on here where people are "reducing" their collection or getting rid of the whole thing all together because "they don't have time"?

My rant is pretty much over. I'm just saying that if you are thinking about breeding think twice about it. These aren't stamps or Pokemon. You can't catch them all. These animals live 20+ years. That's a hell of a commitment for ANYONE to make. Most people get bored with hobbies after a few month or years or something changes in their life and then the animals they have suffer being neglected or end up on craig's list.
Exactly. I got my first bp in 1989. I'm almost 35 now and just now deciding to get into breeding. It's been something that I've dreamed of since I was 15. I see nothing wrong with doing something you love and trying to make a living/break if done responsibly. Generally speaking it's not the guys like Wilbanks, NERD or BHB that drive prices down. They are savvy businessmen who don't want to see these price drops and understand supply and demand. I looked on BHB's site and they have like 6 banana combos for sale. It's the dumb trust fund kid who heard bp's are money making machines went out and bought 2 banana males and paired them each to 10 females. Then got bored or realized they didn't have the time, knowledge, or reputation to take care or sell at market prices and dump them. I guess they skipped economics 101! It's an easy concept....supply up, prices down; supply down, prices up!