Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How long have you been in bp's? How much time (if any) between your first bp purchase and your first endeavor into breeding them? Spend any time breeding other snakes as well?
Jeremy
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Isn't it cooler that serpent's don't walk anymore?
(Genesis 3:14)

about 4 years I got my second ball python, my first was 6 years ago. I bred a normal pair two years ago and last year, last year was the only time any hatched 2 out of six and 1 died two days later, I have a trio of het albinos that are going to go next year, and my normals have copulated 2 times, but not indications of her being gravid,
thanks
Tony Butler

shoot i'm old skool i've been in the game since back in the day like april 05. now i'm going to breed my het pieds and make a killin. i hit up my mom for the 1800.00 and told her i'd pay her back ten fold once my business picks up.

hey a lot people think it can't happen(making a living at this) i say there crazy. just look at ralph davis BR page from like 99 he was breeding het albino males to normals! now look at him rich. it can be done people if you want it bad enough.

oh, then there the market. people say its shot, finished well i'm here to tell you thats negative thinking. When a Vpi SNOW sells for the same price as a normal "THEN ITS SHOT" until that day theres tons of money to be make if you work hard enough.

stick to your guns and sit on your snakes they'll sell. don't give anything away. even if you have to sell 05's in 06 how long do you think it would take to sell them? not long even at a higher price.
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billy jean king
BugBusters

Enthusiasm! Gotta love it! But.....important thing to note about Ralph, he did NOT start off as some broke snake keeper and work his way up. Ralph HAD money to begin with and he'd tell you the same if you ask him sometime. This isn't to say you can't make it, you can, but there's always a big picture! Take care and good luck to you.

Paul

We got our first bp a little over six years ago for our son. About a year later I got the idea trying to breed her (she was a big adult female we got for $75 through an ad in the paper), would be a fun science project. (To this day my husband calls this idea the science fair project from hell!)

This will be my fifth season producing eggs. My first clutch was a normal X normal - six eggs all hatched and survived.

My second season I produced three clutches, my third season seven cluches and last year 12, mostly pastels.

I had no previous snake experience (beyond a garter or blacksnake kept for a few days then re-released) before our first bp. I did have a ton of animal experience though - with just about everything BUT snakes.

My experience has been 99% positive - mostly thanks to Ralph and some others who have taught me about the animals, the people, and the business. I got taken early on once with a possible het purchase - out $175 - lucky, compared to what happens to many people!!!!

This year, with 25 adult females, I took the plunge and decided to buy an adult mojave. Maybe I'll make a profit .

I enjoy this alot. I do not intend to be the "next big thing" in ball breeders - I don't even want that. I would like to make a nice little profit to supplement our income. Time will tell!

Good luck to all!

Christy

I bought my first bp on October 15 of this year. She's a baby normal, and I have no plans to breed her even when she's old enough. I really don't have the space for a breeding setup. If I were to luck into a male morph at a ridiculously low price in a couple of years, I'd likely be tempted to give it a try. If I produced anything worthwhile, I'd try to sell them. If not, I'd try to give them away.

Bill

Ick - I got my first ball a little over 25 years ago have owned several throughout my life - did not start breeding until this year - my first clutched hatched in August almost 25 years after the purchase of my first ball. I have not breed other snakes - but will be eventually trying my hand at breeding Angolans and Bredls and maybe GTPs.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

Bought my first ball 10 years ago. I have been working with reptiles for 6 years now. When i met my fiance 3 years ago we decided to go head first into balls and i have had them ever since. This will be our 3rd breeding season, it should be a good one, i tend to do everything on a large scale so i am stocking up on freezers now and waiting for eggs.
Good luck to everyone this year.
we also breed colubrids, kenyans, burms, dumerials, rainbows, gtps, and others.

I have had my normal female ball python for less than a year (it will be a year in February). I plan on picking up some het pieds next year to start a breeding project a couple years after that.

Though I have bred all kinds of rodents, this winter will be my first attempt at breeding reptiles (crested geckos to be exact). i do have some breeding projects in mind but financially I certainly can't purchase the potential parents for now, so will have to start the slow way. Unless i get extremely lucky and win the lotto, my breeding plan will just have to wait several years before I get what I want.

For now, I am just enjoying the snakes I have (also have a brazilian rainbow and 4 corn snakes as well as the ball python) and breed geckos to gain experience hatching reptiles.

I have had snakes for over 30 years. I think I got got my first bally python twenty-something years ago. I had a few breedings over the years, but it's just been the past six or seven years that I have really bred balls.

I am kinda going more towards the corn snakes right now. I think they are beautiful, and much easier keepers!

Whoever recomends ball pythons as good beginner snakes is loopy! I still bang my head on the wall over ball pythons sometimes!

I do NOT breed snakes for money. I think that is silly. If you want money, get a real job. I have snakes because I love snakes.
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GratefulFred

I got my first snakes about 11-12 years ago. A 7' WC burm, and a 4' WC retic, not good first snakes at all!!!!!

I got my first ball a few years later. I started to breed burms a few years ago, did it , then thought about how maney end up as rescues and haven't bread them since. I might next year, but only one pair.

I started to think about breeding balls when I saw how much an albino cost. NO way could I spend that much for a pet. So now I hope to breed my het, and get my albino! Long way, but when your poor it's the only way!

Now that the pieds are growing on me, I might have to breed enough to sell/trade for a pied.

Oh yea, someday I hope to make the first albino dwarf bateater!!!!!!!

LOL, I'm not even in the game yet. I've chased snakes all my life. Bought a Colombian Red tail probably 30 years ago, and that sucked my into constrictors . Got my 1 pair of normal Balls 13 years ago. Have aquired several other 'exotics' in the last 2 years. Tried to breed the Balls the first 5 years or so, but at that time my boys were little and inquisative They hard boiled four clutches and I gave it up till now. Hoping to get a clutch this season. That's my story and I'm st-st- stickin' to it

Quig

i got my first ball wensday: 05' 0.1 het 4 albino.
i only started getting into snakes in march.

btw she just ate tuesday, previous owner powerfed i got her on wensday she defecated thursday. offered food friday, noluck. stressed or stuffed? Both?whats most likely?

she also has hide rock, water bowl, heater etc.

Adopted an old ball python 5 years ago, but she passed on and then didn't get any more until my girls were 2 1/2 yrs old and I had time for animals again. Got three that spring, a year later got 9 more and now I'm up to 28. This year will be my first try breeding but I'm definately here to stay regardless of the imaginary BP market. I just can't wait to see babies hatch!!
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Nita Hamilton
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Ball Pythons
ballpythonworld.com

Sounds like a long time that way doesn't it...lol
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Charles Glaspie

Tanstaafl:
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch".
An acronym created by my favorite author Robert A. Heinlein.

I purchased my first ball from a petstore last February-ish. A couple months later I started buying Albinos which led to caramel Hets which let to Clown Hets. And a bunch of Albino het females and normal females. I've got a pair of 100% caramel hets from Nerd that I am impatiently waiting for them to give me some eggs. I have seen a few lock-ups, so my fingers are crossed. please please please let them lay some viable eggs this year....and it sure wouldn't hurt if 1 of them came out a caramel.