I have high-drive working-line German Shepherds with whom I compete in agility, which means I choose breeders for my puppies based on their focus on temperament, drive, working structure, health, proper puppy raising, and so on (NOT whether the dogs will ‘win’ in a show ring).
I’m interested in adding a BP to our family, and as with my dogs, I want to find a BP breeder who emphasizes temperament, boldness, socializing babies, and so on – this is vastly more important to me than color/morph.
I cannot figure out how to search MorphMarket to find such breeders – and I’d really, really like to see attention paid to these kinds of things, which can make for a much better experience for both keepers and their pets (IMHO, of course). Any help or advice on this is welcome! (I’m located in the western U.S., in case this matters).
2 Likes
Unfortunately due to Community Guidelines we can’t really help you in the reguard of finding specific breeders.
And MorphMarket does not sort by what you are looking for as its impossible to sort through the thousands upon thousands of breeders based on animal temperament (also with there being over 34k BPs on the market alone).
You may be able to find what you are looking for by doing research on a list of breeders you think are reasonable and are transparent about their animals in the animal ad description.
2 Likes
Sadly we can’t recommend breeders on the MRC ( TOS and Guidelines)
BPs are generally well natured snakes, just shy. I honestly haven’t had much trouble socializing mine and even the snippy ones I’ve picked up from other breeders are usually just defensive in the enclosure.
The best idea offhand would be attending a reptile show and talking to the breeders directly. It’s not usually too hard to get a look at temperaments and such offhand and ask a few questions.
Otherwise if you’re looking at snakes on the market side, check the shop page for social media to browse through.
Edit: it is also absolutely possible that a socialized BP will just tense up and stress in a new environment. So it’s not always a sure shot regardless. I can have babies eating f/t rodents no problem and they absolutely refuse them for the new owners. A lot of it is really just the individual animal’s needs since they aren’t domesticated and pack oriented
4 Likes
If you prefer temprement and are not worried about morphs I’m going to step out on a limb and asume you are looking for a pet animal and not one for a breeding project. In that case I would try looking for a reptile rescue or rehoming service over a breeder. Many of the ones I have seen online tend to emphasise the temperament and personality of the animals they have for rehoming over the morphs, because they want to match these animals to pet homes instead of putting them in breeding situations.
7 Likes
I very much appreciate the comments and advice shared so far! I’m in western Montana, which has a distinct dearth of (a) reptile shows, and (b) reptile rescues. So those are not really options for me. With respect to the suggestion about “doing research on a list of breeders I think are reasonable”…this is overwhelming. I have no idea which breeders are reasonable (out of the hundreds? thousands? of breeders).
I will come back to saying that I think it would do both the animals and their (pet) keepers a big service if breeders discussed any focus on temperament, and MorphMarket had search filters related to this. (And yes, I’m not interested in breeding: I want a snake that will be part of my family. I know there are people out there who are focused on temperament, not just color – but the two or three I know of have few animals available, and many are already spoken for…).
6 Likes
Just my .02, but from what I’ve read and seen online, it seems a nice temperament can be developed through repeated human interaction, holding, etc. A bp will trust you more and more the more you interact with it.
2 Likes
This is not particularly accurate. Snakes, like people and all animals, are individuals. Some will acclimate and do well with interaction. Others… Are just never going to be keen on interaction. I have more that a few animals that, despite regular interaction, are very timid and shy. And a couple that are extremely defensive. You cannot force animals to change their “personality”, some animals just will not be open to interaction
.
.
.
To the OP, unfortunately, this hobby is mainly built around the morph-driven MLM mentality and not the temperament of the animals. Your best bet would be to look at smaller breeders and try talking with them one-on-one. Smaller breeders are more likely to know their their individual animals and be able to determine whether they have one that will match the personality you are looking for. That said, you also have to keep in mind that some breeders are more interested in making a sale and may be willing to lie to that end. Ask others for recommendations. Try establishing a relationship with someone through dialogue. You can find people, it just might be work
7 Likes
Generally speaking, the smaller a breeder, the more likely they are to prioritize these things. I wish that MM had search criteria for personality and stuff like that, but honestly a lot of breeders would just select that their animals are “socialized” even if they’re not because most BPs are so chill.
As for finding smaller breeders - look locally using the map feature, or browse listings and look for breeders with only a few animals listed. Those breeders are going to be able to tell you more about their animals’ temperament and will actually have the time and energy to focus on socializing babies. The bigger breeders with more animals are going to be significantly less focused on temperament and socializing and will not know individual animals well enough to tell you their personalities. In fact, many breeders get annoyed about personality questions, in my experience, which is a shame.
8 Likes
You do also have to keep in mind that if you buy a younger BP, say a juvenile, you might run into their more defensive nature which is common among baby and juvenile individuals.
For example I have some from my most recent clutch that are absolute sweethearts and then a few that are more shy, and then one thats still somewhat defensive and was the only BP I’ve ever had thats bitten me, granted it only ever happened once. All of my adult BPs are super chill but I’ve had them and socialized them the longest.
5 Likes
You can turn on the ‘pet only’ filter on MorphMarket, which will give you, generally, 3 types of listings.
- animals from breeders which are unsuitable for breeding due to a birth defect or other injury of some type
- animals from pet owners who need to rehome a pet and would prefer it be kept in a pet environment and not used as a breeder
- animals from bona fide reptile rescues who do not send animals into breeding situations as a matter of policy
You can manually sift through these listings to find examples of the 2nd and 3rd type which are more likely to match your criteria
I should also note that many reptile rescues will ship you an animal for rehoming just like a breeder would, they might insist on having photographs or videos of your intended setup but it’s not always necessary for them to be in your area for a face to face meeting like might be required for a domestic animal shelter/rescue organisation.
5 Likes
I have seen good evidence of genetic components to temperament. In one example I started with an unusually defensively aggressive young adult ball python that continued to be aggressive after years of regular cage cleaning handling. I always had to be careful how I picked her up to avoid her strikes and even after holding take note where her head was aimed. I saw three generations of her line (without inbreeding) with the same unusual (for ball pythons) behavior so thinking some sort of dominant gene (high cortisol?).
Unfortunately I do see regular posts to the effect that a strikey ball python is expected to be a better feeder. That may well be true but for me not worth ruining the typical laid back ball python reputation by selecting for aggression.
More recently I have seen some not defensively aggressive ball pythons with awesome feeding responses. Occasionally I will get bit by one of these while holding because they are hungry and mistake my hand for food. I personally can live with this for the improved feeding but could see it not being everyone’s ideal. I haven’t had ball pythons like this long enough to get a feel for how inheritable it is but again assume MAYBE it is something some breeders have selected for.
I do see the ideal calm and confident not defensive but great feeding without going insane at the first whiff of rodent ball python. If that is your ideal I would encourage you to start following some breeders online and get a feel for who you can trust to accurately represent such an animal and ask them what they have available. Long game but worth it to get an animal you can enjoy for many years. And if you eventually have any breeding plans it would be likely (but not guaranteed) to pass that temperament on.
3 Likes
My best advice is just to start reaching out to breeders and asking questions about the temperaments of their animals and if that’s something they select for in breeding. As someone else mentioned, some breeders are annoyed by these questions (for reasons I’ll never understand), but if they get annoyed, then you can cross them off your list of potential breeders to buy from.
When I got my boa, temperament was very important to me. I cared about morph and appearance to some degree, but I also wanted a snake that would be easy to work with. I really wanted a snake I could hand off to people and use for educational purposes…and I also didn’t want to end up with a large, powerful constrictor who wanted to kill me. I went to an expo, talked to some breeders, eventually found two boas from the same table I liked, asked some questions, and went home with the boa the breeder said was super sweet and had super sweet parents. She’s been awesome, she’s everything I hoped she would be and more.
I know you said that expos aren’t really an option for you, so I’d recommend looking at the blurbs people write for their stores on MM. Some may say outright they breed for temperament. Others may seem to imply it. I’d reach out to any shops that look promising, ask some questions, and tell them you’re looking for a snake with a nice temperament and would like to support a breeder who thinks about temperament in their pairings.
4 Likes