Looking at ball pythons

[FelanMoira]

Well, the hubby has given me permission to get into balls when I become employed again!

I had been going to get into corns until I determined that legally I cannot in WV. So I got into leos, and still wanted a snake to get into. Balls stay less than 6 feet mostly, so they stay within my city's rules and they aren't excluded by my state (and hopefully won't be excluded by USFWS soon!)

So, when I get employed again and get a bit of money saved up for the racks and starter snakes, I'll be getting my balls!

I'm here to learn all I can, so point me to the best books and sites to learn about them!

I know financially it may be prudent to begin with hets. What price ranges am I looking at for 100% het albinos? If I decided to get full albino, should I get a male or female and the hets of the other sex? And the same on caramel albinos.

And on the lesser platinums - will I be able to get hets, or am I going to have to get full genetics of those? I am trying to sort out the genetics on those, but have not quite figured that one out yet, but I love the look, and I like the chances of the blue-eyed lucy.

 

[T&KBrouse]

Well, I raise bps, but just your run-of-the-mill normals.
So, lets bump up your post and see if we can get some of the big guns here to help you out!

 

[WftRight]

First, order this book.

http://www.vpi.com/pythons_of_the_world_vol_2_0

 

[WftRight]

Then, consider ordering this book to get a second expert perspective.

http://www.newenglandreptile.com/book.html

 

[WftRight]

Beyond reading those books, the first thing I'd tell you is that you aren't likely to make any real money in ball pythons. If you enjoy keeping, breeding, and raising ball pythons as a hobby in itself, you might be able to sell enough hatchlings to offset some of the costs. However, I wouldn't spend anything that I couldn't afford to become a total loss.

I'm not sure that anyone has sorted the genetics of the "lessers," but I believe that they are co-dominant. If I remember correctly, the guy who started them bought a strange-patterned male from Africa. The male would produce "lessers," but the guy could never breed the offspring of the lessers in a way that would produce the original morph. I'm sure that a few details of this story haven't really been publicized, and I've likely become confused or forgetful about a few other details. The short version is that you can get a lesser and produce other lessers, but the full genetics of what else you can get may be elusive.

I think that the albinos and caramel albinos are both recessive traits, but I really don't remember what a caramel albino is. I once heard that many of the big breeders who produce recessives will generally breed hets to make the recessive trait because there is a belief that these hatchlings are stronger. I don't know whether that story is accurate. In any case, doing so would also produce large numbers of 66% possible hets. Big breeders with a big name in the business can usually move those animals at good prices. Startup breeders often have to sell them barely above normal prices. Are you willing to go to that effort to be in that situation?

If I were you, I'd get male visuals because I'd know that every hatchling was a het. If I knew that every hatchling was a het, I'd be in a better position to sell them. I'd also look for female dominant and co-dominant morphs. If I breed one of them to my male visuals, I'd get hets and het co-doms. For instance, if I bought a female pastel, I'd get het albino and pastel het albino hatchlings. Then, if I bred some of the pastel het albinos back together, I'd get pastel albinos. The same would apply to spiders, cinnies, and mojaves.

Another option is to work mostly with co-doms. With hatchling spiders and mojaves going for under $300 in many places, you can pick up morphs that used to be considered superstars for a reasonable amount of money. You can then make some of the combination morphs, but even their prices are going to continue dropping. The problem is that you'll also make normals. Personally, I still like normals, but I wouldn't like going to the effort to sell a $20 snake or knowing that my hatchling that is only worth $20 on the market may end up belonging to someone who hasn't carefully considered owning and keeping a ball python.


Bill

 

[FelanMoira]

I wasn't really looking to get into them to make any money ... I know that looking to get into anything to make money isn't an viable reason to get into them :main_evilgrin: Offsetting some of my costs of getting snakes I want personally was more of what I was considering for

I'll look into getting those 2 books first then!

 

[WftRight]

Good, you'll like the books, and reading the advice of those kinds of experts will give you more confidence. I know that I feel better having done that reading.