Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wondering how long everyone has been "into" the craze.
Me , ever since I saw an Pied in '98 I was hooked. I have been puttering along with 1 or 2 clutches a year ever since. The last couple of years I have had a lot more but I've been trying harder also.
Jon

Dude, the pied got me hooked too..I was into boas (albinos which i have a pair of hets) but when i saw the pied, it made me re-think my plan..Pied are a little out of my price tag, so im gonna go with an albino male to start my ball project...i can't wait until daytona!!

have a good one...
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(soon to be the owner of an albino ball)
0.2 normal ball pythons
0.2 normal Redtail boa
1.0 Hypo Redtail boa
1.0 true Redtail boa
1.1 100% Het Albino Redtail boa
1 baby sulcata tortoise
0.0.1 Baby Bearded Dragon
0.0.1 Baby Red Uromastyx
0.1 GF Eryn (WC)

Early in 2004. Ball pythons are addictive! We went to a show in Orlando and thought we'd get one or two . . . . now we're into breeding (our first clutch was laid early yesterday.)

I've bought several beautiful snakes along the way from Tony Hurt, Neil Golli, Chris Simone, C J Bianco, Michael Cole, the Snakekeeper, Peter Kahl, Brian Sharp, etc. Without these great herpers and their quality pythons, I wouldn't be where I am now. Hope to return the favor to other newbies soon.

Have a great day!
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Alice Cobb

I first got interested when I picked up a female from my rodent supplier for my kings and corns. That was the best eating ball python ever. I went through a time when I had to sell off my entire collection of venomous and nonvenomous and when I started to get back into snakes a few years ago, I knew I just had to get back into ball pythons. With all the morphs, combos and just pure beauty of normals they are one of the best snakes in the industry today.
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Josh Hutto
JKReptiles

2.3 het pied (RDR, alan bosch x 2, BHB x 2)
1.0 Spider Ball python (Ballroom pythons south)
0.1 High Contrast Albino (Gulf Coast)
1.1 het albino (ben siegel, Gulf Coast)
1.2 het citrus ghost(Gulf Coast line)
1.0 citrus ghost (Gulf Coast line)
1.1 graz pastel female
1.6 05 normal bp's
0.6 04 normal bp's
2.5 adult normal bp's (some need breeding to see if norm)
4 various corns
0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (alan bosch)
1.0 american pit bull terrior
1.1 taco dogs (ankle biters)
1.0 grey cat
0.1 bearded dragons

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrior as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

Got my first snake ever in 2004. Before that one I'd never thought to own a snake. That one was a Cal.King. Wound up with a free ball a few months later. I'd had time to get to know the king and liked the balls personality better. Went to my first reptile show early 2005 and saw a pied and *wanted* one. Decided to try breeding my way up to one this winter and am working towards that goal.

As for the kingsnake, I traided her for a ball(Hoss). I like Hoss much better; doesn't try to get away, poop on me, or musk me.
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3.4 Normal Ball pythons (Hoss, Little Man, Adam, Helen, Annabel Lee and the new girls who gets named when they eat)
0.2 Snow corns (Legolas, Eurydice)
1.0 Amel het charcoal (Orlando)
1.0 Hypo het anery het Amel (Antony)
0.1 Amel het Stripe (Cleopatra)
1.0 Caramel Motley poss het Amel (Flick)
0.1 Amber (Amberly)
0.1 Normal Cal King snake (Sidhe which sounds exactly like "she"
0.0.1 GTP (Kissy the Red)
1.1 Haitian Boa (Enkil and Akasha)

And bunches of furry pets

I bought my first ball in 1997. I was into reptiles before that but that one particular snake jump started my obsession. I knew people in the trade for a few years before i really got into Balls. The first bumble bee Kevin showed me got me hooked. Ive owned balls ever since and we will actually be producing bumble bees this season. We have over 100 breeders now and more on there way. We have been breeding Balls now for about 4 years, but worked with many other animals before them !!!
Kim and Matt
N.A.R.C
North American Reptile Connection.

Definately the first time I saw a Pied and they were selling for $25000.00 at the time, I wanted one and that meant slowing producing one of my own. In about 5 years I should have one
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Nita Hamilton
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Ball Pythons
ballpythonworld.com

I started collecting unusual ball pythons in 93’. Back then people would laugh and ask why would I want to collect ball pythons. Only a few people were into ball pythons back then. Kevin was the real pioneer importer at that time who also was collecting unusual ball pythons and I use to bother him all the time LOL. In 93’ and 94’ when I purchased my first Ghost ball pythons NO ONE had photos of what they looked like. Like Kevin I had to describe the appearance of the Ghost in a way that importers could understand what I was talking about. I established very nice collection of odd ball pythons at that time and most of them were not genetic but they were very beautiful. My intent was NOT TO BREED THEM. Friends of mine who knew about my collection of animals convinced me to breed them and my first clutches were Ghost.

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Kyle J. Stevens
Royal Variations Ltd.

Many a false step is made from standing still.

Jon:

I bred colubrids about 15 years ago. Sometime around 2001 I held an albino ball python. I was hooked from that moment. I sold off my colubrids and re-invested in investment quality ball pythons and boas.

I took this shot the other day. Maybe I should think about getting a few more cages.

Brian Gundy www.For-Goodness-Snakes.com

in 93 i got my first iguana(i know thats not a snake), after the iguana i had gotten a few toads.....then a collared lizard in 2003....... i have shared places with people from 90 to 2004, who did not want snakes in the same house...... in 04 i bought my own place, got my first corn snake, 3 weeks later i got my first ball python, 2 weeks after that i got my second corn snake.. and so on....LOL

I was actually into local, So. Cal. wild caught snakes and some lizards. During the summer months, I'd go cruising for wild snakes 5 nights a week. I had a great collection that I LOVED.

I purchased my first snake of any kind when I saw a baby ball in a pet store last April. As I started reading up on balls, I became hooked, and w/in a month I had released my wc collection, sterilized my reptile rooms and purchased my first morph. 5.22 balls later (2 visuals and a few hets), I've produced my first clutches! It's great!

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Jeremy Conrad
_____________

...Can't...stop...must...get...more...balls...

First of all...that is one sweet looking ball you have pictured!

2002
I started reading up on the subject,after i had just traded a nice thick healthy female ball(i had raised from what was probably 250 grams)in for a bright colored Thayeri girl(ironic ehh?).
So once i found the way to get colorful Royals...the variable kingsnake clutches were not as controlable(which equaled less interesting to me),and were no longer worth pursuing.They just aren't like a ball python!(,and yeah i do miss my first one now.lol)

I hatched my first two clutches of "25%" het for caramel babies in the summer of 05(One of which had a burgundy looking mama.)
This season i hope to see seven clutches(pastels,more "25%" het caramels,poss-het albinos,and maybe,just maybe an albino or two.).Next season should be very interesting too!

Now for where this coldthumb name came from...It stems from a "joke" a friend made.That i sure can't keep houseplants alive for "nada",but i'm good with the coldblooded critters.

Iv'e always had some sort of wierd little critter to care for over the years,but never a snake(First one in 00/01?).
Day geckos that were dropping eggs for me in 98 is what led me started in wanting to learn to propagate different species of herps...
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Charles Glaspie

Tanstaafl:
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch".
An acronym created by my favorite author Robert A. Heinlein.

1993 I purchased my first boas and normal ball pythons, a few years later (1998) started producing babies. I really enjoy the challenge... lots of determination and patience.
Mike Derks