For no one in particular:

Indigos are not easy to produce, therefore to buy them with the idea of "recouping" the money that you have invested in them is sheer lunacy. It is much to unpredictable. And random. And you TRY convincing your wife that you will make money on them....after laying out $4,000.00. If you can, call me, I want to hire you to sell real estate in the Florida Panhandle..lol

Secondly...Electricity costs ARE a factor, in locales where it is to cold and heat needs to be applied to cages to raise the temp to a nice basking temp, which is NOT 70degrees f.
Additionally, if you live in a HOT climate, as I do(So Cal.)
your electicity bills will RISE markedly dureing the summer months because Drymarchon do not like truly high temps, and do badly when kept at temps over 80 degrees. Very badly. So a/c must be used. Ditto for all your incubators in a hot environment, they MUST be kept cool enough to prevent temp spikes which can cause death in egg and spinal deformations.

Thirdly: When an animal has a high value, the person buying it is usually concerned that the snake is well taken care of, if only because they will lose "money". But I must add,I have seen people purchase lavender albino retics for thousands of dollars and then cram the thing in a truly inferior and undersized cage, and then look around to buy more exotic species to fill the void of getting something"new".

So...high prices are no guarantee that people will treat these snakes well. They may not be a disposable item, as cornsnakes and ball pythons have become, but they arent always taken the best care of, esp when the honeymoom period is over.

I think that the prices on ball python morphs reflect the issues of bragging rights and popularity. IT is STILL as ball python, a snake that has been imoprted by the tens of thousands yearly, much to its demise.

Enough rant for now


Fred Albury

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