Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm asking for opinions, so please comment, just be honest.
I've recently been offered an adult pair of het for albinos. The paperwork on them is verifiable, definite hets. They are unproven and 5 years old. That's what makes this so hard for me,unproven. The breeder only has this pair and the rest of the collection is boas. They claim that the pair is unproven because of their mistakes. They also claim that the pair is currently breeding and the female is behaving like she is gravid.
Consider this info also. On the table is one of my salmon hypo male boas, breedable. They need him and have females ready for him and they are successful when it comes to breeding boas. This could account for why they are willing to part with this pair when they may be so close to producing with this pair of balls. Financially, the male salmon may be more productive and they are definitely more confident in their ability to breed boas.

Is this too good of a deal? Should I walk away?
What do you think an unproven female is worth?
Is she worth any more than an '04 hatchling that is a definite het?
I have a male het for albino and don't need two. My main interest is the female. Also, it may be better to use my male het. Maybe they have not produced because their male het is shooting blanks.
Thanks in advance.
John Q

Well, here are my thoughts, for what they are worth.

First, questions:

Who produced the hets and does your guy have papers? If the hets were not produced by someone with an impeccable reputation, or if they are supposedly from vpi, ralph, etc but have no papers (that clearly identify these particular snakes) I would not consider them hets.

Second, why hasn't he bred this pair before? How big is the female? How is it she is five and has not laid yet?

Also, when did he start breeding the pair, and are they still breeding? If they are still breeding she is probably not gravid yet. My guess is he recently started breeding them (within the past eight weeks) and in that case it's very up in the air whether she will lay at this point. I'm curious why he's anxious to unload a pair of hets that will more than pay for themselves in six months (if she lays).

If the responses to the above are satisfactory, the question is really what the female is worth (males are a dime a dozen at this point). I'd guess she's worth 2,500 or so, depending on her size.

Just my two cents.

Good luck!

Christy

John,
At the Anaheim show I saw 3 adult proven het albino females and one unproven het female for sale for about $1800 each depending on which one you wanted. I have been burned in the past on deals and would not have hesitated to buy from this particular breeder.
I also question why a 5 year old female has yet to breed. The seller states that it is due to mistakes on their end, because they are boa breeders. I would say that personally I feel that it is easier to breed balls than it is to breed boa's. Which would lead me to believe that there might be other reasons why she has not produced. And if she does produce for you but does not produce any albinos this season does that mean that they are not hets? You might not get your answer this season. Good luck.
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Tony Bocanegra