I’m new to the ball python world and have so much to learn. We are definitely getting a BEL of some sort for my daughter, and I’m looking at GHI mojave female to pair with. That said what other pairs would you go after as a first time ball owner looking to breed further down the line? I have these that I love-Banana OD Super Stripe, Banana Black Head Enchi Pinstripe, Banana Piebald Yellow belly, super blast hypo, ultrafly.
Honestly I literally didn’t think I wanted a snake and all these possibilities and combos have me up just thinking of all the options and running the calculator with what might be. Which is why I thought I’d ask more experienced owners their thoughts and good places to start. I can see how I can quickly start stacking up snakes in the house lol. I’d like to have a few very solid keystone snakes to start with vs. taking generations to get the desirable or sought after options.
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Welcome to the community 
Firstly and most importantly, buy what you enjoy looking at.
Answering a few questions can help us help you make the right choices.
What are you 5 single favourite morphs?
Banana is one obviously 
Do you know what recessive and dominant genes means?
Do you want to produce white snakes?
Do you want to make light coloured or dark coloured snakes?
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What @eaglereptiles said, buy what you enjoy looking at. For me I would love to buy some of the stuff I love but I’m not about to drop $4K on a few snakes when I could buy some base morphs and play the odds game and try to make it in a few years.
For example I love the look of the Bumblebee Axanthic Clown which is $7Kish right now so I’ve got some double Het Axanthic (VPI) Clown couples and Pastel and Spider as well to hopefully get it in a 3-5 years. Waiting that long for a designer snake is worth it for me in the long run because I love playing the genes and odds game.
On the other hand I love Pinstripe and Calico so I’m going to get some snakes that have at least 2 co-Dom genes and just start making stuff to see what happens.
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While this sounds fun I would encourage you to make a loose plan at least. The key to making quality snakes is starting with quality snakes and having some sort of plan. I started with a very diverse collection and quickly realized I needed a plan. Lol
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Take it slow, and never lose sight of your infrastructure. Your support system, for keeping these animals. Its cheap to house, bed, and feed 10 hatchlings…10 adults cost a bit more. Keep in mind every hatchling you get will grow and the cost of living will grow with them.
This video gives a bit more detail into what im talking about. I think anyone getting into the hobby should give it a watch
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