Reptile & Amphibian Forums

sometimes I think there's nothing prettier than a normal...

With all this talk of "het albinos! albinos! albino tigers! and albino super tigers!!" and the constant look out for the 'next big thing', I feel that we loose some of the beauty found in a plain' ol retic...
It's almost like on the ladder of retic morphs (or any morphs for that matter), the higher and higher we climb the further down a normal classic retic gets...

Pretty soon are these beautiful "normal" retics we're seeing now going to stop being bred? Because either they are just pocket change, nobody wants them, or they'd just be considered a waste of time?

When did it all become about the money, and not about the sheer love and thrill of the species itself? Now I'm not saying all breeders of albinos are doing this... not at all. I want a white phase albino female so much, but not to breed her in 3 years to get het babies that I can sell for some dough.

Just a few thoughts of a very groggy Charlotte...

I couldn't agree more! Beautiful snake ya' got there.

Have u seen albino tigers they are to die for.

Yeah, I'll have them next year and they will be the most affordable.

>>Have u seen albino tigers they are to die for.
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It isn't "Ideas" that fail or succeed,... it is the "Systems" which are instilled to launch and sustain the idea that either fail or succeed.>[Me.]

Kinda walkin' the fine line on the TOS aren't ya?

Seems that way, but "danger" is my middle name.

>>Kinda walkin' the fine line on the TOS aren't ya?
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It isn't "Ideas" that fail or succeed,... it is the "Systems" which are instilled to launch and sustain the idea that either fail or succeed.>[Me.]

n/p

>>n/p
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It isn't "Ideas" that fail or succeed,... it is the "Systems" which are instilled to launch and sustain the idea that either fail or succeed.>[Me.]

People sometimes think that just because other people are breeding morphs other than normals that it means it is all about the money, but if you are having fun breeding, why not have all kinds of unseen morphs? We get most of our new morps from breeding normals that carry new combinations of genes, and because of that many new normals are being bred with more defined colors and patterns because people are trying to create new morphs and the hets that result display unique colors and patterns. Look at the Burmese and Retic hets. Each het is brighter in color or has a slightly different pattern, thus altering and beautifying the look of a normal. The fun in the hobby is the challenge of the breeding and hatching of the eggs. Anybody that has done much breeding knows that it is a challenge. It is not like breeding dogs and cats. You have to cycle the snakes, the male has to be ready, the female has to be ready, you have to have the proper temps during each portion of the breeding. People think they can just read books and do it. Unfortunately there are more variables than books can ever tell. That is why I enjoy breeding reptiles so much. One locale of retic breeds slightly different than other locales. Burmese breed different. Boas breed different. Ball pythons breed different. Each one has a niche that you have to learn. Some are easier than others. That is one of the challenges that makes breeding so worthwhile. If they were all the same and it were easy, then it would be boring and big business people would be breeding all the time. If you look at all the major breeders that you may think do it for money, they all started with a couple Burmese or a couple of boas, but it was their common love for reptiles that had the most influence in their breeding. There will always be people breeding reptiles because it is so addictive. There really should be a Reptiles anonymous club. I personally am a Pythonaholic (person with an addiction to large pythons), although I have been successful in breeding all types of reptiles. There is something about a large python egg hatching that makes the hobby so exciting. Unlike a lot of live birth animals, the animals do most of the work. But with egg layers, it is more satisfying for me to know that I helped the egg hatch. The breeder is just a little bit more involved in the whole process. This is just a little food for thought.