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I'm new to the ball python scene but I recently fell in love with the snakes. I own mainly retics but even then I'm still new to the breeding idea. My question is what type of ball python would be the best to breed and sell and learn from?i don't want to start out too cheap but I also don't have confidence I will be able to sell 1000 dollar snakes since I've never done it before. Any suggestions on what the top sellers are? Where is a good place to start? Thank you for your time and suggestions!

>>what type of ball python would be the best to breed and sell and learn from?i don't want to start out too cheap but I also don't have confidence I will be able to sell 1000 dollar snakes since I've never done it before. Any suggestions on what the top sellers are? Where is a good place to start?

Thanks for your advice! The only reason I do this is because I'm passionate about it not because I'm planning in quitting my day job. You gave me a lot to look into and I appreciate it. Basically I'm looking for resources and advice on what to look into. Thanks again!

You asked... "what type of ball python would be the best to breed and sell and learn from?i don't want to start out too cheap but I also don't have confidence I will be able to sell 1000 dollar snakes since I've never done it before. Any suggestions on what the top sellers are? Where is a good place to start?"

My advice, don't start breeding if your objective is to make money, with the fluctuations in the market, you will end up sitting on animals that you bred to sale and will be disappointed. Do you see how many people are having collection sales or who are getting out of the snake business because the were doing it as a business that wasn't as successful as they thought?

Don't worry about what the top sellers are - breed ball pythons (and any snake) to make the combinations that excite you and that you just can't do without. Love the purple on a potion, then get a mystic and a mojave and make your own potion. Love a orange dream bee, get an orange dream and spider.

If you breed to make the things you want to own yourself, then you will never be disappointed with what you produce or unhappy when you can't get enough out of a baby to make what you thought you would make on a sale. Do it because you enjoy it and do it to make what you want, not what you want to sale.

That is my 2 cents worth.

Believe me when I tell you....Work with double/triple/quad recessive genes. Albino Pieds, Ghost Pieds, Clown Pieds, Etc. They hold their value much longer and a lot of breeders go for the "instant gratification" of making more pieds and more albinos instead of biting the bullet and making double hets. It is a longer road but when you arrive. You will most likely be in the driver's seat.

Then again, there are NO guarantees when it comes to Ball Pythons.
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Thank you for your input! I really appreciate it! Hey I've got a question for you. At what point do I need to get some sort of a license to breed? I'm not sure if I'm asking the question right but I'm sure you know what im talking about. How do I make sure I'm not violating the law in any way?

I'm not much farther ahead in the game than you are. I agree with everyone that posted. I think you should breed what you like, but the hard part with that is there isn't much to dislike out there. I didn't have much money to start out with at all, but I also didn't go for broke with it either. I've heard a lot of stories about how people had 20k from a 401 and empty credit cards and put it all into snakes. I have a good job that supports myself and my family. I've always been facinated by Ball Python morphs. I got turned on to it as a hobby that could support itself and maybe make a little money.

Anyway the background was just so you could know where I was coming from. Breed what you like, but you want the hobby to support itself so you want some stuff that sells and is worth money. I went to Royal Constrictor Designs at first because he has great combo deals on Co-Doms and Dominant traits. The only thing that is bad about this is that your male will be ready to breed way before your females and you'll be chomping at the bit. I thought I fixed it by buying a sub adult female, but it was a flop because she didn't eat. If I could do it all over again I would get another female from Garrick if he'd sell it that way and wait a year or two for the male. Then pick out the recessives you want to work with first. They take longer for the gratification, but that makes them so much better and more exciting and at the same time it makes them worth more. So you bought your co-doms to look at and have fun with by your female recessive hets. They are cheap and they're going to put in the work for you. After your female hets are almost grown up start looking for male homozygous. Even combos if you can afford them. Lastly seriously consider breeding your own rats if you don't already because it's the one thing that makes owning a collection affordable. Other than electric and time invested I would say rats are your biggest expense. On my collection it would cost about $600 a year to buy F/T and probably double to feed live. Breeding my own rodents keeps it around $150 a year.
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www.seeversreptiles.com
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1.1 Spider Ball Python
1.0 Albino Ball Python
0.1 Pastel Ball Python
0.3 Het for Albino Ball Python
0.1 Pinstripe Ball Python
0.1 Bumble Bee Ball Python
1.0 Hypo Ball Python
1.0 Lesser Ball Python
0.1 Mojave Ball Python
0.2 Het for Piebald Ball Python
0.2 Normal Ball Python
0.2 Het for Axanthic Ball Python
0.1 Axanthic Ball Python
1.0 Piebald

Thanks a lot for the advice. I think you truly grasped where I'm coming from and you helped me find a direction with ball pythons. I have a friend who just buys up whatever he can and I don't believe that's the way to go. I believe in doing your homework and being patient. If you or anyone has any more advice I'm all ears.

No problem. Glad I could help.
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www.seeversreptiles.com
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1.1 Spider Ball Python
1.0 Albino Ball Python
0.1 Pastel Ball Python
0.3 Het for Albino Ball Python
0.1 Pinstripe Ball Python
0.1 Bumble Bee Ball Python
1.0 Hypo Ball Python
1.0 Lesser Ball Python
0.1 Mojave Ball Python
0.2 Het for Piebald Ball Python
0.2 Normal Ball Python
0.2 Het for Axanthic Ball Python
0.1 Axanthic Ball Python
1.0 Piebald