Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ive noticed that they charge different prices for different color babies.Dont they all turn green in the end?
How can I be sure to get a nice even green color as an adult?

This is so confusing when the babies look so much different then the adults.
Ive pretty much decided against the Amazon tree boa.Im still considering a ETB as a first choice but dont know how much money Ill have in Spring so still researching GTPs too as a second choice.
I will get one or the other.

To be sure you get a nice even green adult, you should purchase a nice even green adult, not an unchanged baby.

IMO, as to why some charge more for one color versus the other usually depends on two primary factors, experience or ignorance.

Regarding experience, depending on the line the breeder is working with, one color may have shown to have a better chance of resembling the parents. For example, high blue animals have shown to come predominantly from red babies, so red babies from a high blue pairing may be priced higher than yellows. In some pairings, the yellows may have a higher chance of becoming high yellow adults, so the yellows may be priced higher.

Regarding ignorance, I have seen a "general rule" thrown about forums that suggest red babies have a better chance of becoming non-typical chondros, which seem to be more sought after than an even green chondro. This is a very misleading "rule" but I think it has fed the demand for red babies which naturally allows for them to be priced higher. I know of a pairing where the breeder priced both reds and yellows the same and the reds sold much faster, even though there was no evidence to support either would morph any differently than the other. In reality, what either morphs in to depends largely on the parents and the lines, or locality, they were produced from, but even then it is often a toss up.