Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I love the looks of BRB's but don't fully understand what to look for in the pattern. What makes the difference between a say a $125 animal & a $150 animal (besides breeders pride)?

If you talking that smaller price difference, i would say piece of mind. Looking on the classfieds, you can pay 100 bucks for an animal or 250 for a normal. IMO that 100 bucks difference may give you, feed cards, pics of parents, lack of disease, more likely hood of a better coloured animal when older etc etc.
When we are talking about animals that may live 20yrs, you want to be able to get the best specimen and after care service from a breeder that your budget accepts.
In terms of normals, ie not the morphs, you get what you pay for.
There are a few very good breeders that frequent this forum, have a look at their websites, and you can qauge the sense of professionalism that they give their customers.

cheers
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Dave

15.24 brbs
4.8 crbs
Im an aussie in an arctic environment
Helsinki, Finland

I know you you are going to pay more for quality. I guess what I am asking is what traits make a quality animal.

>>I know you you are going to pay more for quality. I guess what I am asking is what traits make a quality animal.

In regards to normal Brazilian Rainbow Boas. Look for brighter prettier color and bright intense crescent markings on the sides. Hard to predict which baby will grow up to have the very BEST color. Some of the difference I see in prices in ads here on kingsnake is due to diffences in age and size. Hard to see the size difference in photos but put a 20 inch animal next to a 30 inch animal on a table at a show and customers will always go for and willingly pay more for the bigger one. By the time you raise an animal for several years and spend hundreds of dollars on food for it the $25 difference in price of aquisition will seem small. OTOH, pricing is sometimes just goofy.

Things that can drive higher prices are...

Brighter color,
Brighter crescents,
Bolder crescents,

Pattern anomolies like...
Bullseye crescents,
Blush crescents,
Filled in crescents (Pearl),
Spaced out dorsal patterns,
Bunched up dorsal patterns,
Strong contrast between dorsal and background color,
and so on.

Of course odd patterns etc, can go even higher.

Bottom line is talk to the breeder(s), decide what you like and look for that. Remember, if properly cared for, BRB's will live for many years so any difference in purchase price will only be an insignificant part of the overall cost of having one.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count (02/01/2010):
42.61 BRB
27.40 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Thanks for the repleys. I think I know a little better what to look for now. The older I get the more I find there is to learn & since I am 63 that means I have a lot to learn.

IMHO, "quality" is determined by what YOU like.

For instance -- most folks like the light bright colors. But I know of at least one breeder who actively searches out DARK breeders.

For another instance -- anery rainbows are a big deal right now. But I personally wouldn't pay $50 for one. To each their own.

There are some morphs I would pay a premium for, and others I wouldn't, simply because I like the way some look and not others. IMHO you shouldn't pay more for any snake "as a breeding investment", unless you are already serious about breeding. You never know which markets are gonna tank before your snakes get to breeding age!

As others have already said, when you're in the market for a hatchling you should take a good look at the yongsters AND at the parents. It's really difficult to judge adult color from baby color -- especially in pictures! -- but you can at least sort out patterns you like from those you don't.

Here's what I've done in choosing my rainbows so far. None of my buying decisions had anything to do with whether one snake was $50 more or less expensive than any other --

1st: years ago, I purchased my first rainbow sight unseen through a magazine ad, from a breeder I didn't know. I wouldn't recommend this technique AT ALL -- but since in my case the breeder turned out to be Jeff Clark, it worked out well for me.

2nd: when I got back into snakes, I came here. I found out that Jeff had young Peruvians for sale. Based on my previous experience with him, my own research with Peruvians, and the pics he had posted of both babies and parents, I decided to buy one. From the pics he posted I chose my two favorites -- then I asked HIM to choose the one he thought would be likely to grow up brightest.

3rd and 4th: Another breeder was advertising Brazilian babies. He had nice pics of both babies and parents. I picked two that I liked the looks of, and placed deposits on them. It turned out this breeder lives about 3 1/2 hours from me, so I drove to his place and looked at aaaaaaaaaaallll of his babies in person. I ended up buying one of the hatchlings I had previously picked out, plus one that I had not.

5th and 6th: This year I'm buying a few more rainbows. I like the heavy markings of Peruvian rainbows, and I'm fond of having more unusual things, so I'm getting two more Peruvians. I had intended to get only one, but the pics I saw of a GORGEOUS mother convinced me to get two. Once again, these snakes will be from Jeff. This time, I'm trusting him to pick out snakes for me. I told him what I like, and I know that he will do his best to make me happy. I would NEVER do it this way without knowing the breeder first! As a side note: Jeff's Peruvians are cheaper than many Brazilians this year, but that is not playing ANY part in my decision to buy from him. You DON'T always get what you pay for!

7th: I still plan to purchase one more Brazilian this year. In this case the breeder I will probably buy from charges about double what most other breeders are charging. But I have closely studied his breeder and hatchling pics, I've looked at pics of snakes that have been bought from him, and I've followed his postings here on Kingsnake.com . I want at least one snake from him, regardless of what he chooses to charge. The litters I'm most interested in haven't been born yet, but when they are I will probably choose two or three of my favorites from pics and then ask him to pick me the best of those two or three. We shall see!

Okay, sorry, I'm feeling talkative today. My take home message is that cost should be the LEAST of your worries. Don't assume that people who ask high prices have wonderful animals, and don't assume that people who ask low prices have bad animals. LOOK at both parents and babies, and get to know the breeders!
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0.1 Peruvian rainbow boa (Amaru)
2.0 Brazilian rainbow boas (Arco, Olho)
1.3.1 Honduran milksnakes (Chicchan, Chanir, Chakar, Hari, Saksak)
1.0 Thayeri kingsnake (Coatl)
0.0.1 Mexican black kingsnake (Mora)
2.7 corns (Cetto, Tolosa, Uce, TBA)
1,000,000.1,000,000 other critters

Well said!!
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Aubrey Ross

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