I'm one of those that does not think very highly of breeding normals. The reason is there are so many. There really just isn't a great wanting for normals. When I was looking for my first snake (I only intended having one for a pet), I wanted something that looked different. If you're going to have that animal for 20+ years I'd rather it be eye candy. I stayed away from normals or morphs that looked like normals to my inexperienced eye for this reason. I went with a pinstripe. Now, with my available options around that same price point, I'd probably pick a banana.
To me breeding two normals together is like breeding two lower grade stock. In terms of horses, you can either breed sport horses, where they are usable and top of the line. Or you can breed backyard grade nobodies. (two normals) You're just going to put more mediocre stock out there to oversaturate the market with unwanted animals. When breeding, you should breed to achieve something. Not just breed to breed. With my crosses I breed to attain certain combos. I want to make eye candy. I want to obtain those combos that I simply could not afford without breeding it myself.
Most ball pythons have great disposition and variances in colors. If you're just wanting to breed two normals together to make more normals, why do you adopt some normals from other breeders? They're pretty much given away because no one is going to pay $50 in shipping to buy a normal.
And I feel the same way about the cheap gene pairings like pastel, lesser, pinstripe x normal female. You aren't going to be adding anything to the gene pool. You're going to make more very cheap animals that the market is already flooded with. Also feel the same way about the people just tacking on as many genes as they can, regardless that the quality of the genes aren't good. It's why I saved up money to start with higher value stock that's going to get me farther quicker. I also waited shopped around for quality examples of the morphs I wanted.
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