Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have gotten my mom into herping and now she wants to try breeding snakes. I think she would really enjoy hybrids. If anyone would post some picks of thier most beautiful hybrids I would be very grateful. Just to give her a bit of inspiration.

thanks.

Here is a pair of Thayeri/Corns that I produced three years ago. This was the female's first year breeding and all her eggs went bad. Oh well, there's always next year!

A word of advice: Don't start out creating hybrids. Without a well-thought-out plan and quite a bit of experience breeding pure species, your breeders and their offspring will suffer.

If you want to work with them I'd recommend buying hybrids that you like rather than trying to make your own. A reputable breeder should be able to work with you and hook you up with some compatible snakes and you will receive the benefit of producing 2nd generation hybrids. That's where the really cool animals start appearing anyway.

Oh yeah, learn to work a double- (or even a triple-)recessive punnett square. It's the most valuable tool when breeding anything, especially hybrids...

Those are very beautiful, and I am sorry to hear her eggs went bad.
You give good advice. my mom and I only planned to start out with pure speces anyway. probably corns. I have owned a lot of snakes, but this is my moms first shot at them. I dont want her to get in over her head. I love these animals and I cant stand to see them under impropper care. (Just ask all the pet stores I live by.) My mom loves herps, she just hasn't owned very many. She grew up in a household that didn't allow snakes.
I wanted to introduce her to hybrid snakes because she was currently obsessed with fish mutations and hybrids. There are acquariums all over the house! She is quite good at what she does, and produces some very bright colors. She told me she wants to try something a bit more serious than fish and if she loves hybrids and color mutations then this is something she may enjoy. I know my mom will study hard, and I plan to teach her how to do punnett squares. I have mastered them, and my friends think I am a freak, because I do them just for fun. hehe.
I hadn't considered starting out with hybrids right off the bat. Where could I find someone who would be willing to help us pick out a nice pair of them?

Thanks again

Hi,

It sounds like you have a good start. A year or two of breeding some "basic" animals will be very valuable.

In the meantime I recommend that you watch the classifieds this summer to see what is for sale, then cross-check the people selling them here on this forum.

The best animals for breeding are bought as hatchlings, and if you get some this year they should be ready in a couple of years when you get some experience under your belt.

That's the way I did it and it has worked very well for me, along with a lot of luck and help from friends!