Hello im new to ball pythons and was Wondering how to choice morphs to make great snakes want to try to make rare ones thanks in advance for your help
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This question is likely going to get a wide range of answers, so I’ll start with what I think is the best method.
Research. Learn what you like, and if making sure you can sell them is a priority, learn what the market likes.
Take a look at the genes present on morphmarket, if you have a budget that will potentially guide you to where you can go as well.
Do you want to go the recessive route? Do you want to go with stacking as many genes as you can? Do you want to work with some of the less known/less popular genes?
Personal preference will play a huge role in it. Getting into breeding just for the idea of making a profit can definitely make you not as interested in it later on down the road. It’s easy to burn out. Find genes you’re passionate about, something you really want to produce, and you’ll in the end be much happier.
Watch videos, look at combos and learn how different genes interact with each other, and use that to determine how you want to build your snake collection.
This is just where I’d suggest you start. Hope that helps!
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Unpopular advice, but advice I still give every time I see this type of question - I can understand the enthusiasm people get when they see all the bazillion combos that are out there and they think they want to jump in and join the fray. And, within reason, I will encourage people to follow up on that. However, before they do I first think they need to become very familiar with actually keeping animals first. Wait a year, or three, or five (I had been keeping snakes for over two decades before I began breeding) to really learn and appreciate these animals for what they are and not look at them as a means to an end
Once you feel you really are ready to breed, then consider all the negatives that can come with it: Why exactly do you want to breed (quick tip, if your answer is “for money” then I have some terrible news for you)? You do not have to breed animals just because they are there
All too often I see people breeding “just because” without putting actual thought into what they are doing/working toward.
More problematically in my view, because they get taken in by the quite deceptive idea (read: lie) that this hobby regularly pushes onto newer people - that you have to breed to be considered legitimate. It is 100% fine to just keep these animals and never breed them. Most of the species I keep I have not and do not plan to breed…
Think about what it is you really want to see in your collection and then work toward making that. Consider that you have to keep and raise offspring until you can sell them all. If none of the babies sell for a year or two, or three, can you house and feed and care for them properly that whole time? As an example, I had some animals from the very first clutch I produced still in my collection five years after they hatched before they sold (and no, they were not holdbacks). Also consider how you will feel if you do not like some of the things you have produced. Every day you still have to go in to work on your animals and have to look at them. Will these unwanted, unselling combos cause you to slowly start to lose your interest? With that lost interest, will you maybe start to slack, lowering the care you give? If you do, then you will have less robust or dirty animals, which can further kill you interest. The cycle feeds back on itself and before you know it, you no longer enjoy the hobby
Just some things to think about
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First as the above 2 comments,100%
Forget rare, keep the morphs you love.
The market is slow, unless your happy to keep all the babies if they don’t sell, then dont breed.
So on that basis, if you do want to breed, breed the morphs you love and make sure you have the resources and desire to keep them if they don’t sell.
At least that way you ill be happy.
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So I’m not a breeder but if I chose to begin breeding, I would start small scale because I would probably be afraid of making a big error right off the bat. And also because I would start with 1 project, determine if you would be buying adults or buying and raising up babies to breed later. Make a plan of what your long-term goal is with that project. Don’t jump around as your preferences change because it could be hard to “offload” the project and try to start over. You may not end up getting the same amount of money back from what you had paid for them when you bought them. As a keeper, it is expensive to feed them.
I 100% agree with the advice already given too, just wanted to add a different perspective. Good luck with whatever you choose to do. And lots of research is a must no matter if you breed now, later or not at all.
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