Which male would you go with to start out?

I have wanted a banana morph since I was in middle school and now I’m 22 and just graduated from college so I decided I’d reward myself with the snake I’ve wanted for so long. I’m honestly not sure if I’ll actually breed or not, but I’m open to the possibility so I want to make the best choice. I’m not new to snakes, I’ve had dozens, my dad had them when I was growing up, and I used to work for a reptile center, but I’ve been out of it for the past couple years. The options I’m going back and forth between are Banana Vanilla het Clown, Banana Mojave pos het Pied, Banana Pinstripe 100% het Pied, and Banana Enchi Mojave. Between these what would you choose and what would you pair it with?

If you’re only planning on getting a snake to start out with, I wouldn’t use a male. They can breed much younger than a female can, and it will take several years to get a female up to breeding weight. I’d start out with a female piebald and go from there

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Honestly of its a snake you want than only you can make the decision of what your first snake would be. It seems like you are working with a budget in mind my suggestion is eggs are being laid and hatched now; it might be beneficial for you to just stalk the market until you find that one thing that you have to have otherwise you might be settling/making a decision based on what someone else thinks. I know you are looking for banana but coral glow is also similar in that regard and might show you even more morphs available :wink:

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Congrats on graduating! I would suggest getting a female of whatever morph you decide to get. Doing this you will have time to think about what you will want to pair her with as she matures, you will also be able to decide during that time if you even want to breed. Make the decision based off of what you really like and you won’t be disappointed :slightly_smiling_face:

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Banana pinstripe het pied.

I’d pair it with another banana het pied or an enchi 100% het pied.

I would either go with vanilla banana het clown or the pinstripe banana het pied. However, if you plan to breed in the future, I would recommend getting a female first. The females take a while to grow compared to males and you generally want to get a female around 2-3 years before getting a male. Though banana/coral glow(same mutation but different names/lines) are almost always male due to the mutation being linked to the chromosomes.

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It’s all about what you like. If you were going try to breed, what would you want to make? I personally love the banana enchi clown stuff.

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You may wanna search around on MM for adults of the combos you could create with those. Most clown stuff has their markings fade quite a bit once they are adults, and banana fades even more so. If you want something with more contrast then definitely go for the banana pied, but if you want cool looking babies and basically an all yellow adult snake with faint markings then go with clown.

I agree about banana clowns having there markings fade. Enchi is the key to retaining a nice defined pattern into adulthood with the banana clowns. Enchi also limits the amount of black speckles you get with banana/ coral glow

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My plan was if I get a het pied male now(just because a banana is my ideal snake) I would see where I am financially and time wise in a few months and then look for a pied female at upcoming Repticons in my state if all seems well. I just got my bachelor’s degree, but I still have 2.5 more years for my Master’s so I have to consider time and money for now. I can definitely see myself having several ball pythons like I used to when I’m completely done with school and I’d be able to afford buying an adult female pied if I don’t get a baby or sub adult in the next few months.

Yes, definitely considering finances right now just because I am staring my Master’s degree in a few months and won’t be working much. I thought about the fact that theres a lot of babies being produced now/soon and I probably should just wait a little bit. I’ve also been looking at coral glows. :blush:

Thank you! I’m honestly just nervous to drop $500-$1000 on a female and then never breed her. I’m actually not done with school, I start my Master’s for occupational therapy in a few months so time and money will be limited over the next 2.5 years. I thought maybe I could get a male of something I really like visually that doesn’t break the bank and then buy a female clown or pied, maybe at a local Repticon, later this year if everything is manageable. :slightly_smiling_face:

Yeah, the bananas usually being male thing is why I was going to go with the male first because I think I’ll probably keep this snake for its entire lifespan even if I don’t breed it just because I love the morph. I’m about to start my Master’s degree so if all goes well financially and time wise I may get a clown or pied female, hopefully subadult, in the next few months. I could also see just not breeding until I’m completely done with school and then I’d buy an adult female of something clown or pied.

Honestly if that is what works best for you go for it. People on this thread are stating their opinions of what they personally like while others are stating go with what you like. From a breeding perspective I would suggest get the female first because that baby takes 3 years to raise up…get one with 2 or 3codom traits that stand out (mine are leopard, enchi, orange dream, bamboo, super pastel, banana ) you would want the female to be het for something so that when you get the male it would be a visible recessive and also a bit cheaper since it’s a male.

From a pet owner perspective if you want that male you go for it and if you want some banana combo that isn’t listed here do it. Do what makes YOU happy this is your dream snake and no one knows what you want but you :). Right now since you aren’t even sure about breeding perhaps ignore that fact since you have school and that will lead to an amazing career that will help sustain your hobby when you are ready to breed snakes ^^. I wish you the best and hope everything works out for you. Would love to see pics when you do get him/her :slight_smile:

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If your plan are to breed (eventually) find and get a female first, there are several reason for that.

#1 Female take longer to grow so by the time your female is about 1 to 1.5 year it is the time at which you should find a male for her, which means you will be able more gene for the money.

#2 Buying a male now dow not guarentee you will find the right female for him later it’s easier to do the opposite.

If you plan to get a pet get what you want and remember that pet might have to remain a pet if you cannot find the right female (never breed two snakes together just because you can, breed with a purpose)

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The reason I suggested a pied instead of a banana is because the price of bananas, especially males, is pretty rapidly decreasing. Because banana is a co-dominant, sex-linked gene if you were to buy a banana male now, it probably would be worth less 2-3 years down the road than when you bought it, and unless you spent the extra money to get a “female maker”, you would only be able to get male banana morphs from it.

I bought a few cheaper hets and a Mojave immediately after college as well because I didn’t want to spend the money on a pied female at that time. While I ended up selling most of my collection when I moved to get my doctorate, if I could go back in time I absolutely would have made in the investment into a pied female. Right now she’d be fully grown and I probably would have had several pied clutches out of her by now. Which is why I’m recommending you do the same so you’re better set up if you want to breed down the road

Bananas are my favorite morph too, but I don’t think they’re a good choice if you’re thinking about 2-3 years in the future. I’d pick a morph that’s more valuable/stable and then just pick up a banana as pet in a year or two when the males are super cheap. Practically everyone is breeding bananas right now, so I don’t think investing in one this late in the game is a great idea