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The Ball Python Industry

LadyOhh

LadyOhh

Ohh, what a Lady!
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What do you like about the Ball Python Industry as a whole?

What do you think should be changed?
 
The best part to me is the new types of BP's that are brought to market.

The worst part is that the BP industry appears at times to be a pyramid business with only a few at the top controlling the entire thing.
 
Just the snakes.

I say this. Who cares if the market goes down. I have an easier time selling snakes under a grand then I would selling snakes for 5K...................

I have fun in the Ball python Market. When you have fun then the rest falls into place.
 
Best part, like many people said, are the snakes..
Worst part is some of the people that have the snakes, and maybe all the people that breed JUST for the money, not caring for the animals...
 
I love the amazing colors coming out. I am new to it..but it seems annoying the secrets that are kept about the colors. I realise that yeah you want the big bucks..but come on now, share the love! It's not like most people have the resources to do it anyway.
 
I do not agree with people saying breeders only do it for the money.

I am a breeder. I do it for the money and the love of this hobby. It costs a lot to breed. It takes a lot of time and and money to get morphs.

If you have ever sold an animal EVER then you did it for the money then. If it is not about te money then hey give everything away right?

But toi say breeders only do it for the money? COME ON..................
 
Gary, you know as well as anybody that some people's focus is the $$, not the animal. That is a pretty broad statement, and it includes more than just the people that got into snakes because they saw the earning potential.
 
Gary O said:
But toi say breeders only do it for the money? COME ON..................
Click to expand...


Apparently, some people gave up their day jobs to cash in on the ball market. I don't think those comments were directed towards the breeders who'll always be breeders, no matter what happens.
 
Obviously the best parts of Balls (any critter really, be it mammal, fish, herp, etc) is sharing our lives with them and learning about them on a level that you just cant by watching them on TV or reading articles about them. Also, being involved in herps has led to many life long friendships that never would have happened if not for my interest in herps.

As far as what could be changed? For me nothing really needs to be changed. I mean we could all say things like better shipping options, no scammers or that everyone was like one big happy family, etc, etc. Those things are just a fact of life and I really dont let that stuff weigh on me too much. If you are spending all your time worrying about that stuff then you are missing what makes keeping herps great.

I got my first Ball back in 1980. And to this day I still find myself learning new things about them and seeing behaviors I never seen before on an almost weekly basis. And every time that happens I feel like a kid in a candy store, I am just elated and bugging the crap out of who ever will listen to me ramble on about it. That is what it is all about to me.
 
Gary O said:
I do not agree with people saying breeders only do it for the money.

I am a breeder. I do it for the money and the love of this hobby. It costs a lot to breed. It takes a lot of time and and money to get morphs.

If you have ever sold an animal EVER then you did it for the money then. If it is not about te money then hey give everything away right?

But toi say breeders only do it for the money? COME ON..................
Click to expand...
I did not say ALL breeders do it for the money but I know some that don't give a damn (can I say this word?) about the animals.
I want to breed for the excitement and, heck, I bet I will sell them but I won't make it a huge business and live off of that.
:)
 
the snakes are great!!

The things i dislike are the Cut and Run folks...Buy em breed em and get rid of em as fast as possible cause they think since they didnt sell them the day they hatched that they are somehow gonna lose money on them,and then the lemming mentality,the "OMG SOMEONE DROPPED A PRICE CHEAPER THAN MINE I HAVE TO DROP EM TOO SO THEY DON'T SELL BEFORE MINE DO!!"

That kinda stuff just drives me nuts...and is one the biggest reason you see such a dramatic price drop in a lot of things REAL fast...which does a Huge disservice i think to folks that have invested a lot of time and cash into a project to see it crashed by folks that "invested" trying to make a quick buck.

And another gripe I have goes right back to the same mindset of my other 2 gripes....Not taking the time to selectivly breed for quality animals....just because you can breed a Buttugly (insert morph name here) to another buttugly animal and make a ton of buttugly animals to saturate the market with so you can make a quick buck doesnt mean you SHOULD....I remember the first few pastels the Bells produced back a long time ago....those animals were incredibly nice... Its sad to see what most folks have done with them...
 
Gib said:
the snakes are great!!

The things i dislike are the Cut and Run folks...Buy em breed em and get rid of em as fast as possible cause they think since they didnt sell them the day they hatched that they are somehow gonna lose money on them,and then the lemming mentality,the "OMG SOMEONE DROPPED A PRICE CHEAPER THAN MINE I HAVE TO DROP EM TOO SO THEY DON'T SELL BEFORE MINE DO!!"

That kinda stuff just drives me nuts...and is one the biggest reason you see such a dramatic price drop in a lot of things REAL fast...which does a Huge disservice i think to folks that have invested a lot of time and cash into a project to see it crashed by folks that "invested" trying to make a quick buck.

And another gripe I have goes right back to the same mindset of my other 2 gripes....Not taking the time to selectivly breed for quality animals....just because you can breed a Buttugly (insert morph name here) to another buttugly animal and make a ton of buttugly animals to saturate the market with so you can make a quick buck doesnt mean you SHOULD....I remember the first few pastels the Bells produced back a long time ago....those animals were incredibly nice... Its sad to see what most folks have done with them...
Click to expand...

Please explain the remark about what has happened to Pastels? I think they are awesome morphs. I have some that just get brighter with age and one that has browned out a bit..but still a gorgeous animal.

Then when you explain, please tell us how the new comers can keep from making the mistake when the breeders keep the genetics secret? The way I see it, we have to make our own mistakes like they did. For example, I would put a pastel with a YB just to lighten up the colors or a Fire..or two lemon pastels to each other. Trying to make colors more bright...but if we don't understand the mistakes that can be made, how can we avoid them?
 
I love the snakes, and the fact that there are so many morphs available (and more to come, once we get more into double and triple morphs). It's really cool when you think about all the stuff that hasn't been done yet...we're really only at the tip of the iceberg. Also I've met alot of great people since I got into BPs.

I think ball python's are sort of a gateway reptile, too. At first, my brother and I were really only into ball pythons, but now we're looking into carpets and womas, too, and we've started doing a little field herping. I doubt we would be doing that at all if we hadn't gotten that first BP.

I agree with Gib, though. I think there should be more selective breeding. It seems like there are alot of people who buy the cheapest example of a given morph that they can find and breed it. IMO, there are some animals that are really pet quality and just don't need to be bred.

Interesting thread, btw.

Shelly
 
The Thing with pastels (which are still one my all time favorite morphs) is the fact that over the last 4-5 years they were HEAVILY bred and produced...and most folks gave No thought as to the quality of what they were throwing males too...just tryin to pump out as many pastels as possible as fast as possible there by creating a TON of FUGLY pastels...(And you and i and everyone else that has surfed BP classifieds have seen a lot of pastels that are so dull drab and ugly thats it hard to tell them from normals)

And a lot of these ugly animals sold were for really hi dollar,which in turn made alot fo teh folks that bought them Breed them to as many normals as possible making even more ugly snakes,and over the last few years the pastels have been so diluted down from being bred to dark and ugly snakes that it makes really hard to find really nice looking pastels.Now there are a few exceptions to this but they are few and far between.Even at Tinley park i heard alot fo folks complaining that noone was really moving alot of BPs and they couldnt figure out how i had sold out for the year already,and it just comes down to the fact that im ridiculously picky about what i keep and that i breed strictly for color and cleanness of pattern with my pastels.
 
Gbi is right. Selective breeding would be the best way to get quality animals. The thing I don't like is that a few of the big guys control what is released initially which drives some to mass produce to try and recoup what they paid and quality suffers.
I look at all of the animals I buy as are they really nice looking first and could they breed second.
I want to own the best I can and if they breed, that's just the icing on the cake.
Like Gib said alreay, there are a lot of fugly pastels out there but a nice one really stands out and makes having it even more enjoyable because you get to look at a beautiful animal and know it's yours.
 
Steve its not so much the Big guys are tryin to control what is realeased....its the fact that they cant release what they dont have...


If i Pay 100,000 for something new out of africa....you can be DAM sure im gonna hold back EVERYTHING the first few years so i can have my stock established and set up before i release it to anyone else...not a control issue its just protecting the investment,and with the small numbers BPs produce that is what gives the appearance of the Pryamid thing....

If i sell 3 of the hot new morph those folks are gonna try to get it out there as soona s possible to recoup the costs...and it goes on and on down the line like that...

its when its gets down to the middle to lower end of the price range when snakes are more readily available to the "Common man" you see quality suffer...because if its a business for you 10 grand is doable....but if your a normal working joe that has a few snakes and you spend 5grand on something its usually that part of hte pyramid where you see that new moprh getting bread to anything and everything....


And i would like to add this...When pastels were still at the 5000-2500 range you didnt see alot of ugly ones...
 
I see your point. People aren't going to want to pay thousands for a snake and not breed it. Hopefully now that prices have come down, people will start being more selective and the quality will improve (and that goes for all morphs, not just pastels). I think you're right, breeders will have to breed better animals if they want to sell them.

I went to Daytona for the first time this year, and seeing the range of quality of animals available made me alot more picky about what I want to breed. Seeing all the animals in one place really made an impression...it's easier to see the difference between a really nice animal and a so-so one in person than by looking through the classifeds.


Shelly
 
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