Man, I gotta commend you for being honest about how you're approaching this ball python thing. There's always a lot of heat over what people are in it for. "Oh man, this guy's only in it for the money, what a dirt bag!" or "I'm not in it for the money, just the animals. Sure, I've got bananas, pumas, and toffees, but it's all about the animals." C'mon, gimme a break! It's about both and there's nothing wrong with that! I'm not ashamed to say that I make money keeping and breeding the animals that I love, and if it weren't for that ability to make this sort of income doing this, we wouldn't have the "hobby" that we have today! Cage manufacturers, rodent producers, handling equipment. It all ties to the money in this and there's nothing wrong with that!

Now, about your 500 to 600 dollar question(s). You're going to have a rough time finding morph females for a low price, especially if they're good producers! Think about it and consider how much space and time a morph female really takes.... Very rarely does someone sell an awesome, big morph female that makes lots of babies and doesn't have problems. It does happen, but it's not the norm. You're best bet is to look for morph females that have some size on them but aren't quite breeding size yet. Ball pythons supply is large right now, so it's not uncommon to see 500 to 700 gram morph females that just haven't sold yet. They'll be a bit more than babies (feeding costs money!), but they'll be considerably cheaper than adults and you'll have a better shot at not buying someone else's "problem" snake.

As far as morphs are concerned: this is all about preference, really. The Ball Python market is so big that there are people who will buy just about anything. There's a flavor for everyone! Certain morphs in that price range do sell well, though. Lessers, mojaves, albinos, yellowbellies, vanillas, fires...I could go on. Just choose what you like, enjoy the project, make babies, and they'll sell.
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Jason Royer
Royer Reptiles

Royer Reptiles on Facebook
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signature edited by forum admin. 3/29/07

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