Reptile & Amphibian Forums

id like to hear opinions about what the next hottest snake will be. ball pythons, corns.... yaya every1 has them, only so many new morphs will come out and the inevitable is already happening, especially in the ball market, that it is declining. ive heard a lot of people saying in the coming years pituophis' (sp?) and morphs could be the hottest thing going. heck maybe even asian rats. whats every1's thoughts or theories on this?
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* Snow Cornsnake (tweak)
* Ball Python (cosmo)
* Columbian Boa (kilo)
* Gray Ratsnake (sold)

I've noticed more and more people getting into Hognose's.

In my fairly novice opinion, I look for the carpet pythons to get more and more popular. I also think the Asian beauty snakes and other similar species will eventually become more popular, but I don't know if it'll happen in the next year or two.
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1.1 Red Bloods (Cartman and Bebe)
0.1 Boa Constrictor (Victoria)
0.1 Albino Burm (Butters)
0.0.1 Desert King (Miles)

...with that. I see Carpet breeders developing some nice clean animals and exciting morphs. We shall see...
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Diego

Diego & Tiffany's Zoo:
SNAKES
4.3.0 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.1.0 Everglades Rat Snakes
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
1.1.0 Rosy Boas (Mexican & Mid Baja)
1.1.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
0.1.0 Indonesian Dwarf Pacific Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
1.2.0 Ball Pythons
1.0.0 Woma Python
1.1.0 Cape York Spotted Pythons
1.1.0 Macklot's Pythons
0.0.1 Ribbon Snake
1.0.0 Western Hognose
0.1.0 Albino San Diego Gopher Snake
0.0.1 Sonoran Gopher Snake
0.1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (River Road)
0.1.1 California Kingsnakes
1.0.0 Yellowtail Cribo
0.1.0 Blacktail Cribo
0.0.2 Northern Ringnecks

LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
1.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.1 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
0.1.0 Chuckwalla
FROGS
2.2.0 Southern Bell Frogs
1.0.1 Green Tree Frogs
1.0.0 Striped Walking Frogs
1.1.1 White's Tree Frogs

I would like to think, as you said, that Asian rats will get big. They tend to be really expensive, and not many people seem interested right now, but you never know what can happen. Coxi are outstanding snakes to look at, and once the prices go down on Mandarin rats, they could become very popular. Right now there aren't that many morphs in the US (at least not that I know of) but there is a Chinese site that someone posted a link to on the rat forum about a year ago, and the morphs they have over there are excellent. Mostly pattern variations, as I recall. But the point is, Mandarin rats are attractive enough as normals, so once the prices come down, and the morphs from China get here, I believe they have the potential to become the next big thing. I'm not saying this will happen, just that it's possible.
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2.0 Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus
0.2 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus

I already think of mandarins as being popular. Certainly they will be more popular once affordable, and once morphs pop up, they will explode. I've seen anery ones, but I don't know if they have been successfully reproduced yet.
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"I'll be back at 6 if not 7. 8 the very latest but definatly no later than 9...ish...Moscow time."

There are two different classes of "hot" sellers in the snake world.

There are the high dollar new morph/species that everyone wants but few can get. These are sold at top dollar to a few breeders at a time until the market fills and then the price drops and they are sold to the general consumer. Occasionally, these snakes aren't really popular with the public at large (pet snake people) and don't sell well once the breeders have bought what they want. This is usually because they are too flighty or in some way not good pets. Coxi come to mind and probably albino retics.

The other hot items is a species/morph that is cheap and can be produced and sold by the truckload. Leopard Geckos did that for a while until the market became saturated. Crested Geckos are just on the tail end of that. This is what happened to Burmese Pythons in the late 80s. Now people don't bother breeding them because they have trouble selling all those babies.

Some common species that are on the rise (although I wouldn't say they are "hot" are Western Hogs and Baird's Ratsnakes. These snakes make great pets and the public at large is now aware of that and seeking them out.

It is a wiser thing to just breed what you like. If people want lots of them, great. If not, you still like your animals.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I have no idea what the next hottest snake on the market will be but would be delighted if it were something Pit as you mentioned. The Gopher sub-forum of the Pit forum is where Jason Nelson shows off his awesome Great Basins, and I have an awesome "naturally" peach colored GBG from an East LA county locale that I cannot wait to breed to a couple of other males collected from there.

reako45

That would be like a Dodger snake A!
I was'nt aware that their were snakes in East LA. I know they have alot of cholos!
LOL,
Just bustin your balls reako.
Lets go out one more time before it gets too cold. Maybe to White Water or Box Canyon.

Talk to you soon:
Jason

Where were those collected from? If Lancaster, there is a fine line here between Pacific and Basin populations. Just something you may want to look into.
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"I'll be back at 6 if not 7. 8 the very latest but definatly no later than 9...ish...Moscow time."

My guess is dwarf retic and dwarf Burmese pattern/color morphs, especially if they actually stay small.

>>id like to hear opinions about what the next hottest snake will be. ball pythons, corns.... yaya every1 has them, only so many new morphs will come out and the inevitable is already happening, especially in the ball market, that it is declining. ive heard a lot of people saying in the coming years pituophis' (sp?) and morphs could be the hottest thing going. heck maybe even asian rats. whats every1's thoughts or theories on this?
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As someone already said the dwarf retic and burm morphs will probably become pretty popular, and the blood and short-tail pythons are becoming popular because their girth gives them the big snake feel while staying small enough to be manageable and to be kept in a 4'x2' enclosure. The African House Snakes may became popular as well.
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LONG LIVE METAL!!!!

MY COLLECTION:
1.0 '04 Columbian BCI
0.1 '05 Blood Python
1.2 Ball Pythons

MY WISHLIST (I turn 18 on June 16th ):
A Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boas
1.1 Hogg Island Boas
1.0 Salmon BCI
0.2 Columbian BCI
1.1 Sumatran Short-Tail Pythons
1.1 Borneo Short-Tail Pythons
1.1 Dumerils Boas
1.1 Suriname BCC
1.2 Spotted Pythons
2.4 African House Snakes
1.2 Rubber Boas
2.4 Bearded Dragons
1.2 Rankins Dragons
2.6 Crested Geckos
1.1 purebred Dobermans
0.1 black German Shepherd
2 ferrets
A Senegal Parrot
A Sun Conure

Mandarin rats WILL NOT be the next hot snake. I don't even think a snake will be the next hot reptile. I'm goin with red ear sliders as the next hot reptile. For something to be the next hot pet to happen it already needs to be a hot pet, which ball pythons are. They need to be readily available in HUGE amounts so that it is more likely for morphs to pop up. I think red eared slider turtles have a better chance of being a next hot pet. You can get one set up for under a hundred bucks and they dont hide under a rock all day. Mandarin rats die. Beauty snakes get too big. Boas get to big and you have to feed them too much. Carpets dont have enough morphs. Dwarf retic species will be hot on the pet market before there is another new hot snake. The last thing before ball pythons on the market was leopard geckos. Before that it was corn snakes.
Snakes will take a back seat on the pet trade to other gecko species and other lizards for a while before something new explodes. It's all a part of the cycle.

I disagree with any kind of water turtle that gets as big as a red eared slider, will be the next hot pet, they are sooo dirty. They are not easily kept alive under say wrong conditions, with animals like leopard geckos and ball pythons, corns and what not there is ALOT of room for error for the public to have. I mean I can set up an iguana for like 50 bucks but it that going to work, no. Red ears need at least a 30 gallon (with a 55-60 being recomended) which is a good 40-50 probably more. Plus 15 for a light fixture, 7 for the bulb. 20 for the screen top. This is why unless another teenage mutant ninja turtle movie comes out turtles won't be very popular. As far as aquatic herps, look for wild caught leopards, bullfrogs and pet shop firbellies and green tree frogs to remain top dog.

well...in my store we sell a set up that keeps turtles alive and healthy for 100 bucks. If you look at ball pythons which are the big thing right now. They really should have a 2-3 fr vision cage because they'll try to escape anything else, and you have to feed them rodents every week which many people don't like to do. PLUS they hide all day so how fun is that? Turtles are always doing something and they're cheap. The morphs will be cheap one day too; it's only a matter of time. Plus they take longer to mature and they are cheaper to feed. Ders 2 Gopher 0

RES? are you insane? They get way too big. They have to have a filter and everything which is expensive and smells worse than anything a snake ever does. The main reason they will never be hot is that they are so etrribly common, noone wants a trash animal for a pet. The one reason that is certain is the 4 inch rule, even as loosly enforced as it is.

Nobody cared about balls before either; and still many people will say "it's a ball python," when looking at a morph. www.darkforestreptiles.com check out slugneck in the photo gallery under turtles. Who cares about big setups and filters when people are buying them anyway. The 4 inch rule doesnt matter any more because everything is captive bred.

I agree with the forum members that said that mandarin ratsnakes will not become the next 'hot' species of snake in the hobby. While these snakes are beautiful and are being bred in larger numbers these days (especially in Europe, where I'm from), they don't make very good pets. Mandarins don't like to be handled (they stress very easily), they're flighty and most important of all: they like to hide during most of the day, only coming out of their hides at night and at dawn. So you will hardly ever see the snake. And despite the popular story that CBB hatchlings are easy to care for, it's not uncommon that they have to be forcefed during their first year of life.

In the group of ratsnakes the bamboo ratsnakes (Oreocryptophis porphyraceus ssp.)will stay popular for the coming years. The prices for Thai bamboo ratsnakes have come down considerably, so that these stunning snakes have become more affordable. And this year broad-banded bamboo ratsnakes have become available; they're the newest and 'hottest' and most expensive ratsnake at the moment. In the coming years other subspecies will also make their way on to the market. Bamboo ratsnakes are, however, similar in respect to behaviour to mandarin ratsnakes (they're spunky little snakes), so I don't think that they will make an ideal pet also.

I would like to see that CBB gartersnakes would become more popular than they are now. They're being seen as 'junk snakes' and this image is in my opinion very unfair, to say the least. Gartersnakes are relatively small, active and good-tempered snakes that will often feed on a diet of mice without much trouble. There are a few species and subspecies (Thamnophis cyrtopsis ocellatus, T. sirtalis concinnus and T. s. infernalis come to mind) that are stunningly beautiful and deserve more recognition than they're receiving now.

Quite frankly I'm baffled by the whole ball python story. First of all, how is it possible that a species that has been frequently imported since the '70's (?) has yielded so many different mutations (far more than in cornsnakes, wich have been extensively bred for at least 20 years (?) now) in the last 15 years? And second of all, why are people willing to pay up to $ 100,000.00 for a single snake? To be honest, I find many of the designer morphs not as attractive as a good looking (above average) normal ball python. But that's just me. Frankly, I cannot imagine that there will ever come a different species of snake that will yield so many different mutations while demanding such ridiculously high prices...

Just my two cents,

Bert Grit
The Netherlands

I'd say you are right about Pituophis. I've noticed prices going up on northern pines over the last few years. Meltzer says he used to breed them back when he couldn't give them away, now they sell rather quickly. Pit fans are always talking about how contagious one is, so once you get started into them, you continue to get more and wonder what you ever did without them. They are so active and make very interesting pets. I definatly see those becoming more popular.

Asian rats? Maybe. In my opinion, they are very beautiful, but don't do so well as pets. This may kill their market later on. When commanding high prices, you generally get experienced keepers buying them. The less experienced keepers probably won't want something like a mandarin despite their beauty. Beauty snakes just get too big and require a lot of room, and are often aggressive. I don't think they make ideal pets.

Other than pits, I see dwarf boas as rising up in popularity. Right now, colombians are popular, but I've talked to several who don't like the large size. They got excited when I told them I expect to have a litter of dwarf boas next year. There are several different dwarf localities all of which are beautiful in a different way. I can see those becoming very popular.

As far as another morph market like balls, boas, corns, or honduran milks, I can see pituophis morphs hitting big. There are already several and a few more would put these in breeder's minds. Blackhead and morelia pythons are starting to hit some nice morphs and may also take over the high price marketure.
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"I'll be back at 6 if not 7. 8 the very latest but definatly no later than 9...ish...Moscow time."

Hmmph...I wish I could tell which reptile was going to be the new hottie. I would never have guessed, 25 years ago, that BP's would be so popular- we considered them a sort of entry-level bastard stepchild. Who knew?
I'm going to add Diamonds to my breeding project, and hope a market exists for them- I love the species (Morelia spilota spilota) and I'm a bit tired of breeding "just for the market".
I have my doubts about any chelonian being the next "IT" critter, but stranger things have happend. There are great numbers of folks who you wouldn't really call "herp enthusiasts" buying now, in part due to extremely docile critters like the Bearded Dragon and BP. They seem to be more interested in cuddling with their reptiles than observing them...I've seen quite a few BP's listed on craigslist or the local paper, with ads saying "I wanted a Ball Python, so I bought a baby. He bit me when I got him home and my wife won't let me keep him" or something similar. Depressing turn this industry is taking.

Cheers!

NEXT HOT SNAKE BALL PYTHON OF COURSE MOJAVE X ALBINO WOULD BE COOL HUH?

I think yes pits will get big, ball morphs will be popular still, but more-so once they are'nt more than 1000 dang dollars, down in the 100-500 level would sell faster.
Bairds I like also and I think that they will get more popular. Along with hybrids (As much as I dislike them). Rainbow boas I think will get more popular than they are now, but corns, beardies and even the saturated leopard gecko market will still remain strong because of their price, ease of care, temprament (usually I had a leopard gecko that would bite at the first chance he got lol)Thats what I think will happen.

This is just my oppion, who knows maybe an albino green snake (the ones that eat bugs) will hatch and go for like 500 bucks.

Well the pits will definately be very popular in the coming years with all the new morphs coming out. I kind of have a feeling the larger species of garters will become a bit more popular until they are more mainstay. The western hognose....eh....they need some VERY drastic morph to pull off being the next hot snake. Such as luecistic, paradox albino, pied, or some super odd new morph. If this happens I believe they will be the next "hot" colubrid. On the python/boa side I think the smaller more manageable species that are still mid-range will really start catching on. *cough*carpets*cough* The morelia will REALLY hit it big time soon, and I have a feeling an albino or some morph as such will be coming out soon. Kind of have a feeling someone out there will pop up with the first Jungle or coastal albino and really be the next millionaire.Bloods and short tails seem to be getting more popular and the cost of het albinos is pretty low opposed to the price of and homozygous albino. They seem to have similar issues to what balls had at first, just stigma around them to get over and such... BRB's look like they are going to hit it off pretty big, possibly not ball big, but maybe like retic morph big. Yeah so that is my 2 cents after like 4 years of observing a few market swings. Also as far as lizards and amphibians go, a new big player is going to be the tricolor epidobates and the auratus morphs (such as albino) are going to get pretty big (this is what I'm investing in ) and the aussie gecks seem like they are poised for a takeover. Not sure on that though : Tell me what you think of this opinion...
Thekidgecko

if ANY gecko hits it big, it will be the leachianus or another rhac species. OR it will be the Gehyra Vorax-tamer than a tokay, more hardy than a day gecko. One of the few sticky-toes to be tame cheap and hardy. Also; I know there's hype over carpets, or at least they're being pushed by some people but they're really more for snake people and not pet people. But blood pythons? what are you thinking?!? those things are too nasty. BPs hit big because they cant hurt little kids and little kids can't hurt them. Bloods bite too much and get too big. Dwarf retics. Dwarf burms. If you could dwarf out retic morphs that's where the money is in snakes. And if you could acclimate pearl island boas and cross them to get them looking good, those would go over well and have a strong future in the pet market. I'm still going with turtles though. Once the morphs replace the normals (which will take a long time) they'll flood the market worse than leos and corns.

go to the blood forum and check out all the pics of little kids holding them. They might be noisy but the CBB's are puppy tame. Any how I don't think there will ever be anything like the ball craze. They really are just perfect. Small, docile and the most varyable herp ever.
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"Because life is preciouse...and god and the bible..."

Bloods are too nippy to be the average persons pet-that's all I was saying. They bite, and when they do it sucks. I'm not saying they're all like that they just won't be the next hot thing. I dont think anything will be as big as ball pythons or leopard geckos though, at least not for a while. I'm sure someone has something they're not telling anyone about. That is for sure.

african house snakes because thier so easy to keep and breed a five year old could do it
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jake

my addiction:
0.2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
0.1 amelenistic corn snake (maizy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)
1.0 albino call king (zuess)
0.0.1 wc garter (zim)
hybrid breeders association
hybrid haven

with infinite possibilities i only see the hybrid market growing
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jake

my addiction:
0.2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
0.1 amelenistic corn snake (maizy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)
1.0 albino call king (zuess)
0.0.1 wc garter (zim)
hybrid breeders association
hybrid haven

that's a pretty bold statement seeing that hybrids have fertility problems and are harder to breed. Two things which aren't good for the next hot thing in herps...

actualy they dont have fertility problems, check out the hybrid forum, you will learn alot
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jake

my addiction:
0.2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
0.1 amelenistic corn snake (maizy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)
1.0 albino call king (zuess)
0.0.1 wc garter (zim)
hybrid breeders association
hybrid haven

ask people who actually breed them. you will learn a lot. they have fertility problems, and hatching problems.
They are not easy to breed either. Leopard geckos were already big and so were balls and corns before they got huge. AND the amount of morphs is determined in part by how many are bred each year seeing that population size betters the odds of morphs popping up. People LOVE baby turtles. They sell them in the malls!!!

np
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If lead paint is so deadly why do they make it so delicious?

Any large reptile that could be downsized to fit in a 50 gallon sweater box comfortably.Heck even smaller.Could you imagine a 5 inch nile crock happily swimming around a 20 long it's entire life?3-4 foot long burmese/retics/anacondas/rocks etc.
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If lead paint is so deadly why do they make it so delicious?

Seriously, read everyones opinion on this. Very interesting. That's all
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"I am all that is Divine, I am all that is Evil.
I am the one who brings forth Death,
On the wings of a Weevil." JSKII

I'm inclined to agree w/ goregrind about African House snakes. I have steadily watched them rise in popularity since I heard about them either last year or the year before that. I read an article in "Reptiles Magazine". Searched the breeders for these guys and only Cherryville Farms had some, or they were the only breeder I saw w/ them. Then I saw some @ the IRBA show from Mfezi.com for the first time this summer. Now there's a care sheet here on KS for them. I believe it's from Chris Harrison out of San Antonio. Slowly but surely they seem to be gaining popularity. Of course, then again, I may be wrong.

reako45

Yes house snakes will be super popular in the future! Along with house geckos.......But then again you may be wrong.