The Ball Python Industry

Wow, you guys type waaay faster than me, lol. I didn't realize that the quality of pastels had actually declined since they were first imported (I wasn't keeping snakes then).

Yeah pastels have REALLY gone downhill...I reember seeing pastels for 10k each when the Bells used to do the Indy show...the worst ones of the grp would be like the best one you would see nowaday

Can anyone throw up a couple of pics for us newbies of the pastels..early and later ones?
I can tell you that I went to Narbc a couple of weeks ago and it seemed like a lot of the pastels looks very much like normals...only with a higher price tag.

Old pic but I don't think you could mistake this for a normal.
Of course with what I paid for this one, I could buy a large breeding group nowadays. LOL.
And no cracks about my photo skills (even if my pictures stink).

I've also noticed some really fugly Mojaves recently as well (to add on the selective breeding aspect).

heres a few of this years babies...







this is a bad pic sorry but you can see the color real well

Like Gib I am very picky about what I buy and what I breed. This Pastel I bought last year and I was very happy when I found it.



As far as the FUGLY ones go.... well they are everywhere. And I have to laugh a little when some of my friends who have produced ugly Pastels act shocked when they tell me what a hard time they are having moving them. People want "WOW", not "it's ok I guess".

WOW! NOw those are hot looking snakes! You are right...I saw nothing like those at the show.

TripleMoonsExotic said:

I've also noticed some really fugly Mojaves recently as well (to add on the selective breeding aspect).

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You're right. There are some smoking ones but also some blah ones.


Same goes with spiders. I've seen some really bad looking spiders lately. Ones that have so much pattern to them. Totally defeats the whole "spider web" pattern they were named for.

Here is what I consider a nice spider. Some of the ones I have seen lately are not what I would ever consider buying.

Here is my Bell next to a Lemon.

OK about the doing it for the money part.

I do have a day job but I will not have that forever. Reptiles will support me. Is there anything wrong with that? NO.

Anyone that has 10 snakes know how much time goes into them right? How about money? Now how about having say 500 snakes? Do you think it is the same time and money as having 10.

When I breed I sell at going market price usually. if anyone knows me at shows if they buy more then one snake I always give deals. I take care of my customers. But I still make money as I need to feed and take care of the collection.

I maybe the most picky person out there. People tell me I have beautiful snakes forsale. I am picky on things I sell but I am even more picky when it comes to the personal collection.

But there is nothing wrong with breeding and making money. Aslng as the snakes come first. How you ask. You take care of them for one. and watch who you sell to.

If I have a burmese baby for sale say for 75.00 bucks. a person comes to me and says Will you take 60.00 I usually say sure. I start asking questions to make sure they can care for a giant. if I get a person though that says I only have 60 bucks will you take that for a burm................ I will say NO. How are you going to feed it if you only have 60 right now. This snake takes time and money to care for.

I have refused many sales. Probably upset a lot of people.

But I do sell reptiles to make money. But I invite anyone to look at my stock. Come over. you will see the animals come first.

Like I said people who sell herps are looking to make a little money. If not things would be free. But I see somethings posted a little higher then market. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT EITHER! but I see people slammed for it. be honest about what you have. Take care of the animal. And everything else falls into place.

Like Gib said when importing a new unproven morph you will not release it to the world untill your stock is up there. You have to protect it. And as Gib said the new morphs do not come in on the boat for 5 bucks. The importers are smarter then that. you will see Yellow bellies, and ringers, Ghosts every once in awhile still but many are held back for bigger bucks.

What would I change about the ball python hobby.................................

How about people just start having fun and not worry about what Joe blow is sellign for. Or what Joe Blow has under his sleeve. How about Just having fun again.

I see it a lot at shows. People having fun. Brian owner of BHB was having Fun at Tinley. you should have seen how many people were bringing up Ball pythons to him to see what he had to say. He loved it. You could see he was having a blast. Did not matter if it was a carmel or a normal................................................

Gary O said:

What would I change about the ball python hobby.................................

How about people just start having fun and not worry about what Joe blow is sellign for. Or what Joe Blow has under his sleeve. How about Just having fun again.

I see it a lot at shows. People having fun. Brian owner of BHB was having Fun at Tinley. you should have seen how many people were bringing up Ball pythons to him to see what he had to say. He loved it. You could see he was having a blast. Did not matter if it was a carmel or a normal................................................

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Well said, Gary. This is supposed to be fun! Personally, I don't have a problem with people wanting to make money, either, as long as they put the animals first.

Also, you guys have some awsome Pastels !

Regarding selective breeding, this is my lemon pastel:



and these are the two girls he's going to be with this year:




And this girl will be with him next year:

Gary O said:

OK about the doing it for the money part.

I do have a day job but I will not have that forever. Reptiles will support me. Is there anything wrong with that? NO.

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When i stated about people giving up their jobs to cash in on the ball market, i was talking about people who seem to be money oriented and don't really care about the animals. These people didn't have an interest in reptiles until they saw the prices that people were selling ball morphs at. Here, i'll give an example: A used car dealer ( who makes a living by lying to people ) comes across a breeders website somehow and can see that these snakes are worth money. So, he gets an idea and phones his friend ( a breeder of balls ) to ask about making an investment and partnering. They end up with a business and give it a catchy name, like er, Kingmorph reptiles or something.

Anyway, used car dealer starts taking orders he can't guarentee and ends up seling all of his partners breeding adults aswell as ordering stuff from other big breeders and claiming that he produced them. He then ends up getting so behnd with orders that customers who've been waiting for months make a complaint and he ends up burning bridges and being labeled as a bad guy ( which he is ) and no one with half a brain will buy anything from him or people associated with him again, no matter how many cheap used cars he offers with sales of snakes.

THE END

I'm pretty new to balls but not reptiles. I know a lot of you are wondering who the hell is she and why on earth is she getting all these balls. I fell in love with snake many years ago, was just never aloud to have them in the house. I've snuck some into my herp room and now that there is no one in my house to tell me I can't have them I'm buying what I truly love. I've spent a pretty penny to make sure I buy quality over quantity and will try to breed with that outcome as well as health.

On that note I've been very picky about the animals in the morphs I'm buying. Here are some examples of pastels and Mojave that I have. All are females. The males we have are at Ken's and well his pics are as bad as Steve's...


Picked this little one up at Tinley post first shed prior first feed.


Same girl just a couple days ago.


Big girl I picked up a couple of weeks ago.




My first Mojave.... I love this morph. I love how the top half of her eyes are pale bluish/grey.



These last two I got at Tinley as well.

Gary O said:

What would I change about the ball python hobby.................................

How about people just start having fun and not worry about what Joe blow is sellign for. Or what Joe Blow has under his sleeve. How about Just having fun again

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Gary I agree 110%. If we don't enjoy this hobby why would we even be in it? If caring for my animals ever started to feel more like work than enjoyment it will be a sad day and the day I decide to scale back the size of my collection to my personal favorites.

Felicia,
That first Mojave is insane! I love her. Now I'm not buying one til I find one like that.

Now, back to the topic at hand, lol. The only other thing I can think of that I would change is that I think sometimes we all need to agree to disagree. I think sometimes people get so wound up over who's right when in reality there's more than one "right" way to do things. I guess that's not unique to the ball python industry, though.

All in all it's a great hobby, though.

Shelly

Thanks Shelly!

Agreeing to disagree should be the norm. We all have our own opinions and likes. What I may find to be a beautiful ball someone may find fugly, and some may prefer normals over morphs. It all comes down to personal likes and preferences.

However when it comes down to the buisness end of reptiles there will always be disagreements that get heated just like any industry. Being a business women for 17+ years I know you can not always make everyone happy it's just a fact of life, but you can still have good customer service and most importantly be honest!

That Mojave is SWEET! One of the best I have seen. WOW!!!!! That trio is going to make pretty babies!!!!

Thank you Gary!!