Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, I'm new to snakes, and, ecspecially on this site, I've been seeing a lot of morphs etc.
I geuss their usually more expensive since they have to be bred selectivly? Or is that not true?
It seems people create morphs differently, so I'm kind of confused??
So, I sound pretty stupid, but......Could someone please simply explain to me exaclty what morphs are? The purpose of them if there is any(besides cool looking snakes?) And your opinions about creating them?

Thank you... I'd really like to understand this better.

It's pretty simple, really. These are all of the different variations on the basic or "normal" looking snake...usually color variations. In nature, these will occur randomly and occasionally as genetic mutations. When breeders get hold of them, either from the wild or from an odd captive-bred hatchling, they can keep trying to breed a particular trait if it is interesting, "cool" or whatever. Cornsnakes are a great example of snakes which have enough natural variation and have been bred so long and easily in captivity that there are tons of "designer" colors. A new morph will often be very expensive when it first hits the market. Then...as more folks get hold of them and breed them the price comes down. The easier the snakes are to breed and the more prolific they are the quicker the price may drop. Many morps which have been around for awhile are not too much more expensive than the normal-looking ones. Hope that helps. It is both simple and yet endless in terms of possibilities. Duffy

n/p