Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I fairly new to the snake world (bought my first snake 6 years ago) and I think that´s why I haven´t the answer to questions I have.

I would like to know what do you expect ofr albino balls price range in 5, 10 or 15 years. Will they ever be affordable to the common snake lover(100-200$)?

I was hoping that people who are in this world for a little longer than me, and who assisted to the price variation of some morfs of other species (like burms) would give me an idea of the probable price an albino ball cost in 5, 10 or 15 years.

Thanks,

J Fonseca

I don't think anyone can predict with any degree of certainty what Albino Balls will cost in the future. Comparing them to Burmese pythons will not shed much light because the two are so different. Ball pythons are not as prolific as the Burms AND I think you have more people who would rather keep a 4 foot ball rather than a Giant Burm. Also, unlike the Burm collector, the Ball Python enthusiast can maintain several balls quite easily due to their small size. It will all depend on demand and if this Ball Morph hobby continues to grow like it has the past few years the demand will remain strong. The only sure thing is that they will likely be cheaper than todays' going rate.

Oz
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I think we will see the morphs start to come down rather especially in 10 years. Customers are only going to buy Ball Python morphs for a certain time period, after that something new will hit the market, and thats what everyone will want. The best part about Ball Pythons being popular morphs, is because they are obviously beautiful snakes, but they are also wonderful pets. This helps with selling morphs once they are "cheap". In five years I think albinos will be $300-$500. I think even 10 years from now they will still fetch around $200 and may never go much lower. This is definatly seen in other morphs or other species. Albino Burms (for example) have never been and will never be as cheap as a normal. Thats plain and simple. So I think once Albino Ball Pythons fall to the $300-$500 range, they will stay there for quite some time. And it could be that once they reach the $1000 range (like the albino boa) they will stay put. I bought an albino boa 3 years ago for $1200, and it seems most breeders will sell babies foro $1000-$1200 this year, really no change from 3 years ago. If Ball Pythons stay that popular, all the people investing will have great pay-offs for many years to come. This is just my two cents, it could end up way differantly.
Jason Stoots
Circle City Serpents

I think it will take a long time for them to drop in price at all. You cant compare them to burms, because burms also have a lot more babies at a time, and are able to meet the demand in a shorter amount of time. Right now albinos are on a lot of peoples dream list, not want list, and there is a really really big demand for them. If I were you, I would get 1.2 or 1.3 of them, and then make some money off of the animals you love.