Today while checking on my animals I saw that Opal has entered Ovulation, it is an understatement when I say she is PO’d lol, she was NOT happy that I had disturbed her peace.
She feels really firm and she has the typical tail suck going on and she refused to eat last week, showing a lot more “aggression” rather than her usual feed refusal reluctance.
Ow wow that looks like a big ovy. Poor girl! XD
I feel like I haven’t seen many invisiballs, but mystic potions were one of the first BP combos I fell in love with (but weirdly still have not bred one yet)
Also, similar wavelengths, lol. I have a CG fire Mojave named Opal.
These are very beautiful snakes! I am new to the hobby and I am looking to start my first bp breeding project soon. I was thinking id start with pied & albino, that way I have those genetics to use for future projects, as well as having snakes I could make good money from to start. Are there any other morphs that are popular right now that would be good with me to start with?
I really hate to burst your bubble on making good money from the start, but you will be lucky if you are making ANY money in 5 years of breeding if you are still breeding by then.
Currently there are 30 thousand ball pythons just listed on MM alone. New morphs surface every day. You will first have to make a priority to find access to a reputable reptile vet in case you need medical attention for your breeder females (egg binding, prolapse, etc) ailing babies or those that may need to be euthanized. You may have to assist a baby that won’t eat. If you have a huge clutch or two and none of them sell you will be responsible for housing, feeding and enclosure maintaining for possibly 20 babies and the parents, over a period of a few months or even years. That will get expensive not to mention time consuming.
Unless you have done your research on morph combinations and the do’ and don’ts, you will need to get busy with it. There is way more to breeding than putting 2 snakes together and hope for a cool morph. There are ethics and responsibilities to be considered to keep the hobby an honest hobby.
I am sure I have left out some things to consider. If you have done your homework and are ready for the responsibilities financially and ethically then go for it and good luck.
They are recessive traits though so you’ll have to make sure you have parents that are both either visual or het to produce visual offspring.
Pied can be tricky if you chose to incorporate incomplete/co-dominant genes as it can reduce pattern and color indicators to ID morphs, just a heads up.
My personal faves as far as morphs go is Clown, Banana, VPI Axanthic, Blue/Black eyed Lucys, B. Black Pastel, Pastel, and GHI… but thats just my personal picks. Go for something that is of higher value but also something you enjoy breeding, it just adds much more to the experience if you breed something you find appealing.
Edit: I also second the comment @caron made, all the more reason why you should do this for enjoyment, not out of expectation of income. And be ready to breed them before you breed them… Your goal right now if you are just starting off is perfecting the care you’ll need to give to both keep and breed BPs. I had reptiles for 16 years before I bred my first clutch of Ball Pythons so I had plenty of time to ready myself.
Thank you for your comment, and no bubbles are bursted! I understand the responsibility financially, I understand that the animals are more than their morphs, and I know it’s tough making good money at the start, but I’m doing this as an investment for my future! I love all animals especially reptiles & I have a business degree, so I feel like if I’m gonna start a business it’s gonna be centered around something I do. I already have a normal bp that I’ve had for 2 years now, and I’m young so even if it takes 5 years to start making good money, it’ll be a great hustle to have during that period of my life. And I have done tons of research and still continue to do my homework! I understand this line of work has downsides, but I’m willing to work through it. I ask specifically about morphs because I want to have a good foundation to build from with future projects, and even if they don’t sell right away, I know that their morphs make them a little more desirable than any normal’s.
Thank you for your comment! Specifically about how pied interfered with identifying certain morphs. I have also looked into many of the other morphs you’ve mentioned, all which are awesome and would definitely be added to my projects as I grow, especially the black pastel. And I don’t only do this purely out of hope that I’ll make money, but because of the love I have for our slithery friends!
Trust me I completely understand, it’s something you love to do so it’s only natural you feel strongly about it. Definitely a great trait to have especially when trying to do things the proper way. I will absolutely come to you more for honest advice as I progress with my business!
Ok I would love to absorb that compliment but I gotta be honest here. I am not a ball python breeder nor have I ever been. However, I was an accidental boa breeder of 11 little boa babies. It’s a long story but I don’t want to hi jack @cmsreptiles Christina’s thread anymore! But I can definitely help you with rhings other than incubation (boas equal live birth) or BP morphs. I do have lots of bps as a keeper!
