trying to start breeding

[bigsnake123]

i am looking to start breeding regular python i was trying to get a general infromation on how to start breeding ball pythons and help would pbe apprecaited

[Melinda]

Kevin McCurley of Nerd has a great book about ball pythons. I do want to add, normal ball pythons have very little value in today's market. The market is flooded, so making a profit on breeding normals is unlikely. The last time I checked, wholesale african imports were about $6 each. CBB isn't much higher.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Ball-Python-Comprehensive-Mutations/dp/9780971319

[runyon_0509]

I actually would like to know where you got the import pricing. Also, do you know if your average joe can buy imports?

[Melinda]

The $6 I quoted is what I've seen a small pet store paid for their normal baby ball pythons from a wholesaler last summer. Not one of them were feeding, so I assume they were imports or nonfeeding cbb. I am sure the larger pet stores who buy in larger volume get a lower price. The average Joe can buy imports from in-country wholesalers but you gonna need some bucks to buy directly from Africa.

[runyon_0509]

Do you have any info on some wholesalers in the states? Thanks a ton! :)

[gsrept]

it is pretty hard to buy from wholesalers unless you have a registered buisness and tax id. last price list i saw imports were $6 and captive born normals were $12. usually there is a minimum you have to spend with a wholesaler also. good luck you would be better off buying normals from small breeders at $20 a piece

[gsrept]

side note imports have issues if not familiar with balls would notrecommend going that route

[Subdriven]

Many wholesellers only sell in large quanity.. so people looking for 1-5 or so are out of luck.

[gsrept]

:iagree: they want you to buy 500 plus at a time if you want 5 they will lagh at you

[darkbloodwyvern]

If you want to breed, I recommend doing a lot of research. I've wanted a pied ball ever since i saw one years ago, and I'm only now starting to get one. You have to invest a lot of time, money and energy into snakes, despite the fact that they don't eat as much as a dog or cat, they are still pretty expensive! You have to think of it as a hobby, since most people do not make back what they invest in their first, second or even third year of breeding. Especially with normals, it is hard to sell them right now. Even high end morphs don't seem to be selling well. Also, you need to have plans for what happens if you snakes get sick, don't produce or produce more/less than you expected. Will you be able to keep any extra babies that you don't sell? To me, it sounds like some people don't do much more than break even, so be warned that it might not be profitable in spite of your best efforts. I hate to be a downer, but realistically it's a big responsibility as well as a financial drain!

[chamgirl99471]

I agree Jessi.. don't just breed to breed... I would pick and choose a morph/morphs that catch your eye and save up the money to purchase them then do plenty of research and plan way ahead to make sure that you are ready to do it the correct way. There are so many people out there that are breeding nowadays and normals are somewhat obsolete now unless you have a codom morph to breed with them. Then you would usually end up with 50/50. Wish you the best and hope this is successful for you but Please.. do your research and make sure you aren't doing this to make money right off the bat because that probably won't happen!

[Focal]

side note imports have issues if not familiar with balls would notrecommend going that route

Internal parasites are almost a given. I would stay far away from imports and wouldn't introduce them to my collection. Personal preference.

This year the only normals I was able to sell for a decent price were breedable females (two of which I traded). I was lucky to get $20 for my adult breeder males, I couldn't even get $35 for my sub adult females, hatchling het for albino male went for $25 and normal hatchlings are on CL for around $15-25 if they are even selling. I hate to knock on a normal, but they only seem to sell good at pet stores as impulse buys.

I've been seeing really low prices on morphs and people are desperate to sell before the holiday and decreasing temps. Now is the time to buy morphs if you can.

Sorry, I guess I went off topic. I suggest google for learning how to breed balls. You'll come across many articles, many care sheets, and even more variation of practices. I studied from as many people as possible and took the best ideas from each. I didn't even go this year because I want another year of studying under my belt first.

[Focal]

Kevin McCurley of Nerd has a great book about ball pythons. I do want to add, normal ball pythons have very little value in today's market. The market is flooded, so making a profit on breeding normals is unlikely. The last time I checked, wholesale african imports were about $6 each. CBB isn't much higher.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Ball-Python-Comprehensive-Mutations/dp/9780971319

Oh yeah, and ^ this book is on my xmas list. Heard nothing but the best about it.

[Balls Deep Reptiles]

i am looking to start breeding regular python i was trying to get a general infromation on how to start breeding ball pythons and help would pbe apprecaited

I agree with everyone's comments on breeding normals. It really is a waste of time. If you start with a morph you will be much happier in the end. I started with a male albino ball and female 100%Het. followed this breeding info
http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html and produced my first 4 eggs this year. 2 albinos and 2 hets. If you want a place to see all the morphs in one spot check this out!
http://wallflowerherps.weebly.com/ball-python-morph-gallery.html
Abby's site kicks ass!!!! Good luck with what ever you do
P.S. It's just like tattoos I had 5 snakes last year and now it's around 50 very addictive hobby :D