Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi!

this morph stuff is MADNESSS!!! I'm addicted and I havn't started yet!

I'm reading all your exciting news and it's making me wanna get involved.

I am as rookie as it gets!!- 1 corn snake and I just got a ball a month ago which is only 5 months and a normal male.love him.

In time I'd like to breed the ball but where do you start?

I don't know if you get a female now and raise her seperately or wait til my boy's old enough then get a female? What's best?

Which morphs are good choice to breed to a normal?

I'd just like a few pointers please, then I can make plans and get even more excited!!!!!!

Yours truly,

Willzy

Most breeders don't use normal males in their breeding programs. Think of it this way. If you want to make lots of pastels, you get a pastel male and 3 or 4 normal females. Each clutch should yield 50% pastels. In order to do the same thing with a normal male, you'd need 3 or 4 PASTEL females, a much larger cash investment. With that said, you have your normal male. If you really want to breed him, any co-dominant/dominant morph will work. Pastel, Spider, Pinstripe, Cinnamon, etc.

As far as when to get the female is concerned, probably now. A breeder sized female is much more expensive than a hatchling, especially when your talking morphs. Get her now as a hatchling or yearling, and you can be breeding in a year or two. Maybe next year with a yearling, or the following year with a hatchling. Males can generally breed much younger than females, so he shouldn't be a problem.

Steve

Thats a good starter snake...not too expensive........and you will get visuals in your first breeding when she would be old enough.....And from there you can feed your addiction...lol..

Enjoy it....it is a great hobby and they are great snakes!

Jared Horenstein
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~ ASK ME ABOUT MY BALLS ~

I agree! Pastels are the common denominator for most designer balls, so you might as well get started there! And like Jared stated, you'll get visuals with the first breeding! Good Luck!

Thanks to Hoot, Jared and Buzzard - that's a bit clearer now thanks very much! I think I'd have to get a girl because at the moment I don't really wanna get two more snakes ($ reasons!), but I'd like to make a start and build up gradually.

My ball's in a plastic faunarium on a heat mat which is inside his future 4'x1'x1' home (wood/glass doors) - so that he gets heat from the dimmer lamp too. To buy another of these set-up would be pricey so I'm thinking house them together, but then I don't like the idea of removing for feeding....

....sorry to go on a bit (!) but what do you think's the best solution for housing a new hatchling/yearling?

Thanks,

Willzy

I would suggest looking into a rack system. Hope this helps.

I second that go with a rack. You can make them yourself. IF you go onto the enclosure forum there is a ton of info and alot of homemade racks that you can get ideas from.

There are a number of reasons for this. Breeding to early is one. Also, if one snake does get sick, they both most likely will. If one is sick, it will be more difficult to know which one. If one is sick, your vet bills just doubled. Competition for food, space, hides.....

I would highly recommend separate enclosures. As others have said, a rack system would be a good alternative.

Steve

Go to your local Publix supermarket and get some 4.5 quart sterilite boxes. These are the same containers used in most baby rack systems.In the space your faunarium takes up you can probably put 2 of these containers side by side over the heat pad and house each snake individually. The containers sell for about $3.70/ea and make a fine enclosure for baby balls. up to about 350-400 grams. They like small spaces anyway so the smaller size of the box is not a problem.

Just make sure you place a heavy object across the tops of them so the babies cant houdini their way out of them.

Jared
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~ ASK ME ABOUT MY BALLS ~

Walmart has shoebox tubs for babies. A 33 gal tub is $5 for a yearling. For a $1, you can also get a plastic bowl to use as a hide. To further keep it cheap, you can use paper towels or newspaper as substrate. If your order a heatpad online, you might have to pay shipping. Your local petstore chain will be about the same cost for the h-pad (even without shipping).

Beautiful snakes with absolutely unlimited potential when crossing with other morphs....or the possiblity of an Ivory as well.

I would suggest getting your female/females first. They need to be at least 2 or more years before they reach sexual maturity. They also need to be at least 1500 grams. Males can reach sexual maturity at 1 to 1 1/2 years and 500-600 grams. I would suggest getting some normal females. Then a year before they are ready to breed, get a male (codom) morph. Say you are going to start breeding in November of 2008. Your male would need to be at the least born in November of 2007, they earlier the better. Your females would need to be born in, at least November of 2006, the earlier the better. One male can breed more than one female. I have heard up to 8 or 9, but comfortably 3-5. To be on the safe side make sure your females are 3 years old, and you male is 2. Good luck, and I hope this helps.

I'd say invest $100 in ball python books first. Next, call around your area & find a qualified & reputable exotics specialist/vet, & then call them directly for prices (ask for office visit plus meds for a respiratory infection & also cost of a fecal test). Attend a trade show in your area. Visit as many reptile pet stores as you can & observe how they treat their snakes on a regular basis(good & bad). Start browsing the classified ads to see what snakes appeal to you most. Make sure you are aware of the often unpredictable eating habits of balls. Be sure to know what/how your snake eats far in advance of purchasing it. Get your tank/heating/substrate/temp & humidity gauges/hides all set up & ready to put new snakey in at a moment's notice, in the very likely case that after a few weeks of classfieds, you will fall in love with *many* morphs.

Before purchasing, post on the board to check the seller's reputation. People will email you privately if they have any personal negs to share. If you have your snake shipped to you, be 100% sure that you will be home to sign for it!! All seller's require a signature. The snake does not deserve to have to spend the night at the local tansfer station in a cramped box with nothing controlling it's temps or humidity or air flow. Shipping can also be affected by the local temps at either location. If too hot or too cold, a good seller will hold off on shipping till a later date.

If you don't power feed or get a picky eater, a female will usually take 2 to 3 yrs to mature to a safe breeding weight-(minimum of 1500+g).

Once you know what/how often your snake eats, you need to budget for the cost of its food (and the other stuff while you're at it-including the future incubator cost).

Personally, for your first female, I'd get at least a 2006.

Of course there is an entire spectrum of debate on "to breed or not to breed." Be sure to carefully review the breeding sections of your snake books & post ?s here.

Now that you got bit by the bug, enjoy the ride!!

If you ever stop having fun with this hobby, that's how you'll know it's time to get out.

Thanks everybody, you guys are the best - very generous with all the advice.... I don't think it's quite as big over here in the UK and it's a long way to ship a snake so I'm gonna try find a breeder in London, get my set up sorted and see how Enzo takes to his new girlfriend in '08/'09!!!!

Thanks again and good luck breeding,

Willzy