Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am really interested in purchasing a piebald male and a couple of het females to start a piebald project. Right now I have seen prices for males between $6500 and $9000. I was wondering if it would be a better idea to wait and see if the prices for male pieds drops once the 2005s are born or just to purchase now. Does anyone have an idea of what to expect prices of pied males (2005s) to be in a few months? Thanks for any advice.
Link

Go ahead and purchase your male Piebald now. I doubt the Piebald morph will drop significantly any time soon. Everyone loves the Piebald. In fact, in an ongoing poll on another site over one-third of those polled list Piebald as their favorite morph. That's 1 in every 3 people. The Piebald morph is in demand. And with the new Pastel Piebalds and Albino Piebalds coming out this summer (probably)...it will only make them more in demand.

This time of year is also a good time to buy. People need to move out a few left over animals to make room for new ones. You can get some pretty sweet deals. Go for it.

Good Things,
Chris
-----
"Dear God...Please make an Albino Woma." -- Me

The Pieds are a foundational morph. It's an absolute must in every serious collection. It's a staple. Even with all the morphs out there.....and man there are some beautys, it still comes back to two foundational morphs......PIEDS.....ALBINOS.
-----
Jim Perron
Python Passion Reptiles
pythonpassion@hotmail.com
www.pythonpassionreptiles.com

The more white the higher the price. I cant see even the lowest white pied male being less than 4k this season.

It is more important to get the females first since it takes longer for them to get to breeding size. You can get 05 female hets and an 06 male pied. The pied might get to breeding size before the females do even with a year difference.

Hopes this helps

Raul

Not that I'm an expert at pieds, but I haven't noticed a drop in prices from those that are preselling their 05s. Mostly they're starting at $5000 and up depending on grade. If you are planning on breeding, I'd pick up some 04's now, that way you'll get a head start on your projects. On the other hand once those babies come, you may be able to find a good deal either with the babies or breeders wanting to clear out their racks for the holdbacks.
-----
Tosha

8.10.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and currently un-named)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
7.9.5 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
0.0.1 Frog rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.2 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer

Your prices, I assume pulled from breeder's online pricelist, are around 25-35% more than what I would consider the current market price. The price will usually correlate directly with the amount of white on the snake. This could all change as we go through the hatchings of 05. There are a relatively large amount of piebalds to hit the market in the last couple of years (partly thanks to one hardworking offline breeder). So far, demand has still outstripped supply and kept the price comparatively lofty for the sheer number of animals out there. The striking look and possible designer combos has helped to fuel the demand.

You would likely be better off to wait into the summer to take the plunge. Right now, you would be picking from whatever breeders have left over from last year. Either you will have to pay more for a juvie or get a discount for a picky feeder or something. Summer/early fall is usually the time when breeders have more babies than they would like to be caring for and you have a higher probability of netting a sweet deal. The "big" breeders usually have wait lists and often get what they want for their animals (within reason). Deal hunters should shop maybe a little less well-known, yet reputable and helpful private breeder.

Talk about rambling... Anyways I hope this helps anyone who is considering a piebald in 05. I know I am.

Ron

If it were me and I had a choice between an 04 male and an 05 male I'd go with the 04. He'll be ready to breed this comming season (05/06) and even though you won't have any het females ready to go (assuming you are going with 04 or 05 het females) you'll still be able to breed him to normal females and produce 100% hets. It'll be tough to find good quality het pied females now (most people are almost sold out). So, even if you have to wait for 05 females you're male will still be good to go for next season.

Corey