boas are not as prolific, how is this? Well, boas don't breed like ball pythons. One male can't breed 10-20 females. (Yes ball python breeders have bred one male to that many females). Second, boas are not as easy to breed, a lot of things can happen. Boas can go full term with a load of slugs, the majority of attempted breedings with boas are failures completely or partially. Many times litters are small, just because they can be large doesn't mean they are.
Next you have to look at age of maturity. Ball Python males can breed at 6 months old, and females at 18 months (doesn't mean all do, but some). Meanwhile boas have to be 18 months to 3 years old for males, and 3-5 years old for females. This longer time to reach maturity means a lot more work on the breeders part then with Ball Pythons.
A lot of boa morphs have remained stable for MANY years, and if they have dropped it is minimal, some have even gone up in value. Bloods were $3500 in 2004 this year they are $7500. Sharp Albinos also went up, while Kahls only dropped a few hundred over the same time, and for some breeders they are still getting the old prices.
Ball Pythons are pretty straight forward in results, but boas have a lot of variety. Things like Hypos, Jungles, Albinos, and the combinations therein have a wide range of value. This stems from selective breeding. If you want a Kahl Albino, nothing special plain albino you can probably find one fro a small breeder for $700, and $1000 from a larger breeder. Now the same mutation from a high contrast bloodline will go for $1500. Sunglows (Kahl) range from $3000-$8000. Hypos and Jungles also have a wide range. The possibility for selective breeding, and the work that goes behind it keeps large demand and a high market value for the animals. I believe on breeder had Kahl Albinos that sold this year for over $2000.
So Boas can have 40 babies in a litter, not typical, but it happens. (One breeder had over 70 in a litter) However if a Ball Python male breeds with 10 females and each produces an average 5 eggs you have 50. I know of some breeders that bred one co-dominant or dominant morph male to 15 or more females produceing 50 of the morph in a year. On the boa side a breeder MIGHT get a male to breed two females, and then everything still has to go well with gestation, etc.
I hope this helps to see where Jeff is coming from, he is right.
