Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here's a question about planning:

I have two normals. My plan was to accomplish a successful breeding of them before I purchased any expensive balls.

However, I have been doing a lot of saving and am really comitted to the idea of a breeding program. I am building a rack, have purchased all the bins. Got humidity gauges, a record keeping system, a temp gun, a digital thermometer, a thermostat, heat tapes (the kind you put together yourself). I am prepared to offer optimal conditions for cycling (and I even got that Dr. Sewards video).

I guess the question that I'm asking is, should I wait to buy the good ones, or, if I follow all the rules, can I successfully breed?

I know 100% success is not feasable, but if my guys are mature and I cycle properly, and incubate well, is it possible that I could buy expensive snakes and then find myself 100% unable to ever breed bps? Is it that difficult?

I hope my question isn't too convoluted. I just don't want to get in too deep, but I also don't want to wait a decade to see results.
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1.1 BPs (Syd and Nancy)
0.0.2 Firebellied Toads (Stanley and Stuart)
0.2 French Lops (Jacquotte and Lapine)

enjoy life go ahead and do it! worse case you just raise up your morphs and sell them if you can't produce.

thanks

vaughn

You could go either way. As long as you have, or are ready to get/make and incubator, I see nothing holding you back. I would say breeding normals first is a good idea, but not entirely necessary. If you do decide to jump into morphs I woulden't suggest buying a lesser platty first thing, but I would go for pastels, albinos, hypos, etc... something along those lines. I think a good idea for a beginner would be to go for poss hets, it's cheaper, and it is fun to see if you got lucky or not. If you can't breed, at least you didn't throw out all your cash and you have some beautiful "normals" for pets, or you could sell them. A little deeper and you could get 1000% hets and do it that way, takes a little longer to SEE the good stuff, but it is easier to get 1.1 100% hets and breed then to have 1 morph and some normals and have to line breed for a few years.

Whichever you choose, I wish you luck and have fun!

P.S. It's not as hard as it seems.
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"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." - Kurt Cobain

"You laugh at me because I am different; I laugh at you because you are all the same."

~~ Krystal ~~

Just kiddin with you krystal...good advise.

Take care.

I am right there with you .
If i cant produce with "normals" then i will not be investing in high end projects yet.

This will be my "first" year to attempt breeding.

I went the possible het male route.
50% het caramels to be exact.

However i only have one female that is over 1500 grams (she is actually 2500 grams).So one of my two possibles are not going to be "getting any" this year.

The bottom line is...
Have your females ready ! lol
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3.12 Ball Pythons
0.1 Viper Boa
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Looking for 0.2 Phelsuma madagascariensis madagascariensis

If you educate yourself as you appear to be doing,there`s no reason that you wouldnt be successful breeding ball pythons. Its no harder to produce high end balls than to produce normal balls.They are all the same snakes,just with "different paint jobs".Worst case scenario is that you buy a morph and it doesnt breed for you, then sell it for a profit as an adult. You also have to remember that there are individual variations among the snakes themselves.By either successfully or unsuccessfully breeding normals,it doesnt guarantee success or failure with a morph.Perhaps your normals wont breed because your male is a dud, but you may get a spider or pastel male that breeds like a champ.You can do everything right, but its ultimately up to the snakes.Good luck, Mark Petros

Honestly, I've already had my mind made up, I just want to hear I'm not crazy from someone who knows.

I know, and am willing to accept, that individual snakes may be bad breeders. I just wanted to hear that with good animals and good education on my part, that I can do it.

I heard that, and now will be in the market for my first morphs. I am thinking 0 het albinos. I like albino, and it is one of the most affordable hets out there. I don't like gambling, so less than 100% is not for me (as if assuming that the animals will be good breeders/eaters/health isn't a gamble already!!).

Too bad it's so late in the season, I hope I can still find some good ones. Now that I've decided, i just CAN'T wait!
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1.1 BPs (Syd and Nancy)
0.0.2 Firebellied Toads (Stanley and Stuart)
0.2 French Lops (Jacquotte and Lapine)

Or you could even go the cheaper but long route and get a het albino/pie/ghost male and breed it to female, then breed it to the females produced in that clutch. There are several ways to get into morphs without spending mucho bucks, they just take longer, which isn't always a bad thing.

Matt