How to build collection as a beginner?

Hello folow ball python lovers im new to the community and trying to start up a new project any suggestions on what i should start my collection with or what would be the cheapest way for me to start since i am a beginner

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I’d say start buying hets if I were. Either get clowns or pieds and maybe even lav albinos. Or you could get a visual recessive male and a het female

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The best answer anyone can give you is this: Get what you like and makes you happy. Not what other people tell you to get

Remember, whatever you get you are going to have to feed it and give it water and scrape it’s crap off the walls of its housing. And you will be doing these activities a few times a week for years and years and years. If you do not like what you have then you will lose the passion and the motivation to care properly for the animal(s)

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Thanks for the info its much appreciated im really trying to go for the morphs alot of people over look to create a beautiful morph that has yet been made

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Hets are always good. I agree get what you like the look of. And do lots of research.

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It’a an important decision, narrow down what YOU like most not what other people like, and than save money if you have to, it’s not all about “cheap” and take this in consideration when it comes to cheap

If you intend to breed whether you want to make money or not, (I am sure you do not want to lose money long term) getting in cheap now means even cheaper later on when your animals will be ready to breed, that means the offspring will sell even cheaper or may not sell at all and overall cost you more than you think, time wise and also financially. So is cheap worth it in the end? No it’s not.

I have been doing this for a while and a lot of people that decide to get in cheap thinking they are gonna get somewhere and end up selling everything within 4 years, so if you want to breed and get somewhere whether it is for your personal collection or to sell and try to break even, think seriously about your investment, cost of breeding, cost of housing, time etc.

Don’t own or breed something because it is cheap own or breed something you truly love this will be rewarding and keep your passion alive.

Now for some more reality, hets are a tough sell for someone new without a reputation, and producing something that has not be done before is not likely gonna happen by getting something cheap which means have been around for a while.

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@stewart_reptiles well i was going for the stranger morph but im so in love with the Calico morph also nd a few more but i got an idea brewin just wanna really get some advice nd suggestions

I agree that you should get or work towards whatever appeals most to you. I like white ball pythons, such as ivory and BEL. I also really like dorsal stripes. Almost all of my projects involve one or the other. So what do like? Bright colors? Dark morphs? If you give us a general idea of what you like, we could give you some more specific ideas. :slight_smile:

I would recommend not being cheap with your setup. You can build an enclosure yourself fairly inexpensively, it doesn’t need to be anything fancy. But really consider investing in a good thermostat, at least. Cheap thermostats are dangerous, and not just for the snake. A bad thermostat without any safety features could cause a fire.

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Stranger, calico, mojave, spider, pieds nd spinners are my favorites

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Get something that interest YOU. I’ve been looking at snakes as well and I’m going for snakes that have just awesome coloring and patterns. I’ll then use the morphmarket calculator to see which out of the 3 males I have chosen can produce something unique. I have my choices where out of my 3 males, 2 of them are able to breed to a female (just in case) to produce something unique!

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Research “spider wobble” if you’re considering spiders or any spider combos (like spinner, bee, etc). Some breeders, like me, avoid spiders for this reason.

Calicos are variable. They can be high to low white. It’s my understanding that high white parents can produce low white offspring, and the other way around too.

Mojave is nice, looks good on its own and combos well with so many other morphs. Plus they can produce blue-eyed leucistics when paired with any other BEL complex morph. They’re great for nearly any project.

Pieds are great too, but they’re a recessive morph, which may or may not appeal to you.

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Tri stripes are not worked with much but they look awsome

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Good luck!

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Yes do lots of research and definitely get the morphs you love the look of.
If they’re expensive ones, look to see if anyone sells cheaper or save up for them.

Or maybe if you like the look of a cheaper morph you can start by breeding those and save any money from the babies towards the more expensive ones.

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Wow, that’s a lot of eye candy in one picture!

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@ flyingfoxgeckos I am in LOVE with all of them :heart_eyes:

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Wow! What is that gorgeous yellow backed one? Holy crap!!!

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Hey guys! i just wanted to say great suggstions!!!

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So, who’s picture are you using for this? :wink:

Justin’s perhaps?

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No idea :rofl:, just found an example of some morphs on Google images, here’s the link:

Looks like the article is written by a Justin.