Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was thinking about this the other day when I noticed some cool new Ball Python photos posted on this forum, that it is interesting and exciting to notice that many of new genetic mutations that have been discovered in past couple years have come from just your average hobbyist and snake keeper and not from the 3,4 or 5 big names in Ball Pythons. I was looking through the posts from that fellow from Nerd for example (Satin is his tag think?) and they are unbelievable cool snakes, but from what I can tell they are all existing genetic mutations. True, there are 4,5 or more mutations going on at once, but for the most part they are all genes that anyone can purchase and create with enough time, money and effort.

It is really cool to think that any person with a pair of normal looking Ball Pythons they got for $19.99 each at Petco and keep together in a 10 gallon fish tank with cheap plastic Ivy on the wall can be the key to some unreal new genetic creation that is one of a kind on the entire planet. You never know, you may have the genetics in your collection now to create something mind blowingly fantastic and not even know it and that is the cool thing to realize.

Now get out there and breed them.

I certainly hope nobody is keeping 2 ball pythons in a little ten gallon tank...especially if they are bigger than hatchlings...

The chances of having a pair of snakes both carrying the same recessive trait is very unlikely...now, if both snakes were purchased from breeders who have recessive morphs etc...then I would say the chances are a little better that both could be 'hets' sold as normals...

Most breeders, both big and small, especially those who have been around in the hobby awhile, have picked odd looking normals which they hoped possessed some special quality...and are not just odd looking normals with nothing genetically inheritable. Also, many of the first morphs, even recessive ones, came from captive hatched babies, bought in bulk...and since they were captive hatched, the odd visual morphs wouldn't have ended up eating due to poor camouflage capabilities.

Though I don't have anything against breeding normals...I certainly don't think its a good idea to get into breeding normals to hope you get lucky and produce a morph...because of such easily obtained captive hatched snakes all over the place, it would not be easy to sell normals, unless female. Canada may have the best prices for sellers...but the demand up here is alot less due to just not having a huge population...even if every Canadian household kept reptiles...still wouldn't be anywhere near the demand for pet reptiles. Thus a normal ball python (most likely captive hatched) at a petstore in Canada goes for about $99...some for $89...but for the same type of captive hatched ball python at a reptile show, most are $20-$30.

One benefit however with ball pythons, even breeding normal to normal is the clutch size is small enough its not too much a financial strain if they don't sell right away.
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PHLdyPayne

I think you took the original post a little to seriously and literal...
I understand what the original poster meant, and that is what makes ball pythons so much fun, FUN being the key word.....
Not to say the 2nd post isn't full of great points from a business stand point...
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You are what you repeated to do, excelence is not an act, but a habit......... (Aristole)

I think a lot of the "oddballs" were found in Captive hatched lots.
I've seen a few that I wanted to get if I had the money...like the one Outback has been posting. (He looks kinda like a paintball/het ivory)
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

May I ask just one question? What does camoflage have anything to do with bp's eating? I thought we (as in a few people that post on here) have said that bp's whether solid white, black, albino or whatever the morph would be fine on eating and not being predated on simply due to the fact that they are nocturnal. Not that they don't get predated on, but they are nocturnal and it does help them from getting preyed upon.

>>I was thinking about this the other day when I noticed some cool new Ball Python photos posted on this forum, that it is interesting and exciting to notice that many of new genetic mutations that have been discovered in past couple years have come from just your average hobbyist and snake keeper and not from the 3,4 or 5 big names in Ball Pythons. I was looking through the posts from that fellow from Nerd for example (Satin is his tag think?) and they are unbelievable cool snakes, but from what I can tell they are all existing genetic mutations. True, there are 4,5 or more mutations going on at once, but for the most part they are all genes that anyone can purchase and create with enough time, money and effort.

"SATIN"......

Gee, all existing mutations???? I started as your "average" hobbyist doing this years back and created many of the snakes that anyone can buy!!

Actually, I have some pretty rare genes that I play with....

but, there are some people making GREAT stuff that makes me STARE!!! SOme of it is rather amazing to say the least...

That little DWEEB AMir breeds two common normals and makes...PUMAS???? Yep......

Ball python genetics are rather amazing.....

NYLON
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"Satan™" is a registered trademark of NERD, Inc. Any copyright infringement is punishable by ETERNAL DAMNATION and some other terrible stuff.

Kevin was "Dinking" and proving new genes before Mr. Davis coined the term. Don't make Satin list the genes he has proven -- and the year in which he did so. He would humble all who dare "dink". HAIL SATAN!!!!!!!!
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Bill Buchman