just starting out what to get?

[hannesreptiles]

hi i was wondering if i could get some help i am new to the ball python world and i want to start a little collection maybe eventually breed. I want to start out with a 2 snakes male/female i have a price range around 500 so whay morphs do you think i should start out with? oh also i dont want a normal. thanks

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I would recommend not to worry about male at this point but focus on females, I would recommend at least 2 (never put all your eggs in the same basket), once the female are about 1 / 1.5 get a male, by that time it will not be long before your female will be ready and you be able to buy more genes for the money compare to buying a male at the same time than your female.

As for what to get, it's up to you check World of Ball Pythons to see what's out there and what is possible and pick what YOU like best, don't let other people's taste dictate what YOU have in your collection because ultimately, YOU will be caring for them for years to come.

[Ax01]

i agree that u should get some morphs u will love. i can say get a Banana b/c everyone loves Banana's, but u might not like it's colors, freckles or whatever.

so get something u love and you will want more of (if u breed that is).

[DennisM]

Well, you have a clear budget, so I would suggest you visit the classifieds here on BP.net and see what's in your price range. Then select what you like best. If your interested in eventual breeding, then it would be wise to gain an understanding of genetics. Start here.


http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Basic-Genetics

also, as Deborah suggested, it might be best to pickup females now.

[mdb730]

I 110% agree with Deborah, great advice. I started my collection with a baby female pied and a juvenile female Lesser because females take a long time to grow for breeding in case I went down that road. The more I got into the hobby I started to grow my addiction/collection with an emphasis on recessive genes. If I could go back 3 years ago when I started and add something else it would have been a lavender albino. I recommend recessive genes but at the end of the day I agree with everyone here, buy something you love. BPs live a long time and you will need to care for them for years to come.

[hannesreptiles]

I 110% agree with Deborah, great advice. I started my collection with a baby female pied and a juvenile female Lesser because females take a long time to grow for breeding in case I went down that road. The more I got into the hobby I started to grow my addiction/collection with an emphasis on recessive genes. If I could go back 3 years ago when I started and add something else it would have been a lavender albino. I recommend recessive genes but at the end of the day I agree with everyone here, buy something you love. BPs live a long time and you will need to care for them for years to come.

Yes thats what i have been looking at all the morphs i really like are the recessive genes, i think it would be really awesome to breed my own recessives i have been really liking the pieds a lot so i have been leaning towards that gene i also absolutely love albino gene i have multiple albino garters... so i think im going to start out with a pied and an albino of some short. there are so many albino i just want them all

[bcr229]

In addition to producing what you like, make sure you learn the morphs and combos that can have genetic health issues.
http://www.owalreptiles.com/issues.php