Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am a ball python fanatic ,I am taking the plunge and getting into the buisness. How much capitial does it really take to get started ? I am buying a vision ball rack and I most likely will start with all femal 100% Het , and a few male 100% Het to get me started is this a good paln to start any advice welcomed I am in know hurry I do have a full time job and this is a pure joy as a hobby but I do want to breed my snakes , thank you for your time.

Well, my thoughts for what it's worth:

Hets are a good way to go, if you are buying from a reliable source. Personally, I wouldn't bu hets from just anybody. It's not worth the hassle if they turn out to be duds. I think that I take a different route then most people on my projects. I aim to purchase females first, even on co-dom projects. I also do it for the hobby and males don't take long to get them to size, females do, so I start early with them.

Also, as good as Vision racks are, I don't think they are worth the price. Go with something better and get your money's worth from Reptile Basics or Animal Plastics. Or try and find second hand Vision cages.

I don't know if I left anything out, but feel free to contact me if you have anymore questions.

-John

I am taking your advice , after going to their website I will not be buying the vision racks , the price is justvto high and I would rather put the extra capitial that I save into buying more balls thanks alot for the good advice that I will act on today.

After further review and looking at both companies products and princing Vision cages and AP plastics I have agin changed my mind and decided over the long run that Vision CB-70 rack sytems are a much better product for me than the AP plastic line. And the cost is really not that much of a diffrence. I have already sent my payment to Vison products and I cant wait to get my ball rack , thanks for the advice again.

Or build your own rack from melamine/ wood. Its cheap! Truch.

When you start out, buying Het females is a good idea, however, I would not buy Het males. Breeding Het to Het gives you a few, if you are lucky, Homozygous animals, and the rest will be POSSIBLE Hets. As someone just starting out, with no name, Possible Hets will be hard to sell, and are not worth that much to begin with. I would buy Het females, and if you can get a Het male thrown in free, go for it, and use the Het male as a back up. Then, buy a Homozygous male the next year, assuming all your females are the same year. Ghosts-buy Het Ghost females this year, 07, and if you can get a Het male for free, cool, take him. Then, in 08, buy a Ghost male. Get a Pastel male too, just in case, as a back up. A Pastel male to a Het Hypo female is not a bad thing, if your male Hypo or Het Hypo does not breed.

Thank you very much for your advice exactly what I was thinking and I am already in the process of doing this .