Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Why is it that the prices of they snakes keep going up or are staying level, such as Albino balls, or dwarf retics, lavender retics and so on. You would think with more and more people getting into them the prices would drop. Is there a reason that the prices are still staying so high. I mean its crazy some of these prices. Its not that I am complaning but how is the common man suppose to afford one of these snakes, I guess it was not meant to be. Hahahahaha. Please your comments.

People keep paying prices and they will stay that way. Ball pythons have small clutchs and the ball market has held pretty strong. Dwarf retics are still VERY new. Not many breeding them. Infact Murdoc is the only one breeding kayaudi's, then you have bob clark, Mike Wilbanks, and a few others breeding jampea's. Not many c.b.b. avaiable. Imported jampeas are still around. Now the larger retic morphs will come down in the near future do to their large clutch size and het albino's are real cheap! That is true, the common man can't afford such snakes. That is why alot of people are big into colubrids (if more so in for the money) The market is Much Larger and even though you aren't makeing a ton on each snake you sell much more.
Just my intake,
John
P.S. If you call bali's dwarfs only one person breeding those from c.h. parents and that would be Notah Howe. My pair trio should breed next season.

its a pity u don't live where i live or u could just go hunt or put up some traps at paddy fields and catch one for free...they're all over the paddy fields.
what are dwarf retics? the only retics i see here are the normal ones like the one i have..(sorry for the ignorance....still new to pythons)

I don't have anything in the way of a meaningful answer to this question, but I have been looking for a new snake over the last few days since I lost my big albino female Burm (I discussed this over on the Burm forum). I haven't bought any new snakes in probably 8 years -- I got out of the buying/selling/trading business then, and the snakes I do have now I've had for many years. But since my albino died, I have been looking for a new baby. I've looked at albino Burms and the different retics that are available, and I'm amazed at the prices. When we bought the Burm a decade ago, she was $250. I see that Bob Clark has albinos for $200. I would have thought that they would have dropped more in price than $50 over the last 10 years, especially since they are so readily available. The normal colored snakes are reasonably cheap, but anything else commands a premium price. I guess it's the market at work -- as long as people are willing to pay $200 or more for an albino Burm or better than two grand for an albino retic, the prices will stay high. It's probably good, though -- like someone mentioned, as a community of hobbyists it would be bad for the prices to drop to the point that they are dirt cheap and anyone who has a minimum wage job can afford one. The higher prices may ensure that the animals that are sold have a better chance at receiving the best care possible.

RP

Money has nothingto do with the quality of care that an animal will recieve. Rescues for example which make very minimal amount of money still provide the highest quality care possable! I'm 18yrs of age and sure i could save up and buy these high priced animals like i've done before. The market works like this: The big dollar people anti-up to the product when it's first produced, then in a few yrs when the price drops due to competition in breeders, the common man may be able to purchase that animal he's been eyeing for so long. The Ball market is a good example. As much as 20k for an easily cared for snake. I'll spend as much as i need to get what it is I want regardless of price. Just my take of it,
John

i do think the prices of snakes are somewhat high...but i think its fairly proportionate to the cost to breed them(ie the time,effort meticulous care, patience,housing, space etc..) the high prices denotes how hard it is to care for a snake...not its availability. Its to discourage ppl from purchasing a snake freely because its cheap without first considering the effort needed..i think its good that its not a 10buck pet that anybody can have

Certainly I think that a higher price tag SHOULD ensure that an animal will be well cared for. If I was ponying up $2K for an albino reticulated python, I would take very meticulous steps to make sure I gave it the best care possible. However, that isn't always the case, which is why rescues are open in the first place. Unfortunately, people who spend a great deal of money on an animal do not always take proper care of it. But they should, and I would be willing to bet that the higher the price tag of an animal, the more likely it is to receive better care. I know it doesn't always work that way, but logic dictates that it should. But sometimes people aren't very logical.

RP

It all boils down to what you as a person are willing to pay for such an animal.Buying animals is as easy as buying a car/truck.Again it depends on what you want to pay.I myself wouldnt shell out 50 grand for a car or animal but thats the way i am,simple man with a simple plan for life,While others would give their bank account to have an albino retic.Me i dont see anything fancy about albino anything even though i have an albino burm that to me is beautiful,but hes still nothing fancy just a plain albino burm.I couldnt part with him but if i did then it would be my price an not the "market valued price" which is where most if not all of the hype comes from.

Now i can see the whole idea behind pricing if you breed your own but still it doesnt cost that much to feed,house,heat,etc.if by chance you raise your own mice/rats,have extra heat sources to use say from previous guests(died,sold,gave away,etc.).As for housing,not that expensive for neonate babies,(cheap sterilite,rubbermaid,stornview,etc from walmart,kmart,or any other name store for about 3.99-5.99 depending on size).Power is another thing thats not really all that costly.Most uths,hotrocks,lamps etc. dont use that much power.The only way to use that much power would be to keep all the lamps on 24,7,365 and then the power would cost you.Uths,hotrocks,and any other heat source besides lamps dont use but about 3-10 watts of power depending on size on average.Add a little bump in pricing yes,just enough to keep your average joe from buying one but lets face it not every average joe can afford to throw 18-25 grand at buying a piebald b/p or 5 grand for a calico retic,so a slight fluctuation in pricing wouldnt kill the market in fact it might would stimulate it just a little more considering that not all people are bad herp parents. Regards Bill McLeod