Phillip I'm pretty new in the Hobby myself I recently bought a very nice Pastel Male from 8ball pythons. For the question of cost I paid $315 for the snake shipped to my door, $30for a UTH, $100 for a Thermostat, I used 2 bowls for hides that both costed me under $5, and $150 for a 40 gallon breeder tank. For cost all together I would have to say this is the cheapest pet I've ever had. When I was a kid we bred labs and that was expensive and time consuming they also only live to be about 10 years old on average. I rather an animal I can keep for 20+ years then get attached to and a few years down the road they die. I work on the road and not home as much as I'd like. The great thing about my snake is I can feed him once a week, check his water every time I'm home, refill, adjust temps and etc.