Fair price?

[MrBig]

I;m wondering what a fair price on a 2 y/o 800 gram Black Pewter female. She is a nice example, not a stunner put definately nice. Any input would be appreciated, my partner and I have differing opinions, so looking for some outside advice. Thanks

[Randy F]

unless it was a ridiculas price I would pass if she is nothing special looking and only 800 grams at 2 years. She will be a 4 or 5 year breeder. I have seen snakes like this where you think all it takes is one good feeding response to kick her in gear. If it hasn't happened in 2 years the chances it will happen are very slim. I have a snake like that, 4th year and may produce but if so a very small clutch. She was around 1350 so I tried to breed to see if her feeding response would go into effect and it has some. For the last 2 years I have hoped that she would get a good push......nope. In the meantime I have watched almost everyother snake rocket past her and even produce. Unless you get a stupid deal and have extra space for a couple years I would pass Mike and spend your money on something more hopeful.

[MrBig]

I originally thought she was of breeding weight, I guess simply because of age. I found out she was a live mouse eater for all but the last 9 months, she has since converted to F/T rats. For me the more connected and twisted the pattern is in a BP, the better. I love the way she looks, just not enough pattern blend for me to call her a stunner. My partner has the same arguement about the weight issue, and had me alittle skeptical but in the back of my mind I'm thinking "I could get her up to nice weight next year if I can just keep her banging rats" I know that in reality it's possible but not probable. Thanks for being a voice of reason Randy.

[JustChad04]

Got to agree with Randy, a 4 yr old female at 800 grams seems kinda concerning. Seems more of a gamble even if you can get her to weight for next season will she produce a clutch of size?

[MrBig]

She is over 2 y/o Chad, not 4. A 4 y/o female at that weight is probably a male. That would be my first assumption, the next is she wouldn't have been cared for properly. A 2 y/o on the other hand is quite reasonable, some are just slow growers and don't want to make that final push to a decent weight. They tend to hover at 800-1000 grams and will feed sporadically enough that it gives you hope but not enough to put some actual weight on them. My nicest pastel girl is the same way and I finally did the same thing as you Randy. I bred her at 3 y/o and 1350 grams and it pushed her up to somewhere around 1600-1700 grams now after her feeding frenzy.

[JustChad04]

ah that makes sense I must have got the 4 from something else I was reading my mistake

[Breaking Balls]

Good post Randy. A snake that common, at that age, and size. I'd pass.

Regards,

B

[hhmoore]

I don't feed as heavily as many BP people, so the 800g doesn't bother me a whole lot...especially without knowing how accurate the 2 yr old part is. An Oct 2010 baby could be called a 2 yr old, just by the hatch year; but it won't have the same size as a March 2010 baby....for that matter, a Nov 2009 could be called a 2 yr old, since it's only a couple months over.
Even when I was interested in breeding BPs, I made my purchases based on what I liked...far more so than how soon they would breed. I've got a 2006 female pastel that has been a pain in the butt feeder since the start. 6 yrs old, and never produced a litter. I know what it takes to get her to feed most of the time....but I'm so beyond jumping through hoops to get size on her - especially since I no longer have an interest in breeding her.

[MrBig]

Well put Randy and Harald. Since she isn't exactly what were looking for, and she is on the light side (she is over 2 y/o) I'm going to pass, but I found another girl.

[JustChad04]

Good to hear Mike, what are you looking at now?