Morphs (males) under R3000

[Lillypod]

Thanks Jimbo, I'm not really planning on only getting one BP a year, I only got one last year as a first snake and will get one this year. Next year I'll hopefully start working full time so I'll have a bit more to spend in 2014.

[Lillypod]

I only have R3000 to spend, so I'll see what is at the expo... I doubt morph females will be under R3000 though...

[jaroo]

I think you will be able to pick up a pastel female for under R 3000, if not at the expo then jan/feb next year when all the hatchlings from this season are becoming available.

[Jimbo]

Even if you manage to start building your collection more than one snake a year, I would still suggest either getting a couple of hatchling normal females or a morph female for the R3000 that you have, that way, when you have more money and wish to start increasing your collection more, these females will already have a nice start on them and you will be able to breed sooner as your males don't have to pick up as much weight in order to be able to breed. Also, one male is able to service a number of females, yet a single female will only carry a single clutch of eggs. Depending on your current females weight (assuming it is now a yearling and it weighs roughly 600-800g) should everything with feeding go well you might be able to breed next year, which means a male is a good buy as they might be able to breed (assuming everything goes well and they put on the necessary weight ect), however, giving the female an extra year is never a bad idea as this means you will have more time to build up her weight at a steady pace, you will also be sure she will be above the correct weight for them to breed safely.

Now lets say you get 3 more normal females, or a normal female hatchling (seen them going for R900) and a lemon pastel female hatchling (seen them going for R2000), then you have 3 females to start bulking up. Next year you spend a little more money on a different morph male, depending on what funding you have available. This will open up a lot more options for yourself, you would then be able to hold back a female of the male morph for future breeding projects and sell the offspring to cover costs you may have had over the year and start saving for future purchases.

I know this is the long and slightly slower way round of doing things but in the end, I think you would be happier with the results as you should get a lot more snakes out in only 1 year extra of waiting.

[Lillypod]

jaroo, problem is I only get to go to Durban during the time of the expo, I know I'm only 2 hours away from Durban,but my bfs working times and other financials do not always allow us to go, so I would prefer to get my snakes and other reptile needs from the expo.

Jimbo, that doesn't sound like a bad idea IF i can get a lemon pastel female on Sunday (15th), then I can get another normal as well, which does not sound like a bad deal. I'm scared all the affordable snakes will be gone by the time I get to the expo...

[rolandslf]

@ Lillypod, pm Durban Keeper here on the Forum.
He had a Pastel male which I last saw advertised at R1500, he may still have it.
PM him and arrange to buy it from him, if he still has it, and meet him at the Expo on the Sunday to take delivery.
I vouch for Him, His Ethics and His Stock.

[Jimbo]

That would be a very good buy as the male is already up to weight from what I remember of the advert. This means that if your female already weighs 1500g+ you should be able to quarantine the new male (always advisable) whilst getting your female nicely built up and then start pairing them from about April after lowering temps for a bit before. This means you should, if everything goes according to plan, have eggs this time next year. If your female is still young and definitely won't make the 1500g weight, I think I would hold off on buying the male, even though it is a good price and nice sized male, in order to build up my female stock. I would then look at getting a male next year as the prices would most likely have dropped to the current level that you can get this guy at. It all depends on the demand and how many are available as to whether a breeder will want to keep his stock or lower his prices. It all depends on what you intend breeding for, if it is to produce and sell on a larger scale then females now might be better, if you are breeding for yourself then the male would be a good idea as you wouldn't want 3 females producing eggs in 2-3 years time. Also, if your female is of weight, then the male might not be a bad idea either as you can breed them and then hold onto the females, they should be ready to breed after 3 years and you haven't spent a single cent on acquiring them and the males that you sell off should cover your food expenses and at some point even pay for the male. You should be able to breed this pair the following year too and get a similar situation, however, I would give them a break in the 3rd year resulting in you producing nothing then but the following year your females should all be up to size and you can pair them all up. This would probably be the cheapest way to build up your collection but it is very time consuming (it is what I am in the process of doing currently). I still add to the collection, especially if I see a good deal, but I am not after every ball I see for sale.

[Lillypod]

My female is still a baby, just under 800 grams now, a year old, so it might be better if I can get a few more females, I have R3000 to spend on a ball python (or even two), so I might be able to get a normal female and pastel male. So my older female can breed the one year and the year after that I can have 2 clutches (and possibly some females I kept from year one as well, which will be ready to breed later on). If all goes well I can make super pastels with what I have, but in between I want to get a spider ball python as well.

My original plan was female normal (2012), male spider (2013), female pastel (2014), the new plan sounds better though, even though it only allows me to get a spider later than what I anticipated (Spiders are one of my favs).

I love raising snakes and I would like to breed and sell (even cheap morphs). Only a few people in my area know about ball pythons (for some reason they think they are extremely expensive), but I want to change that. Everyone contacts me for corns (or kings/rats/rtbs), but I need a female corn to breed with, so can't even give them that. People know me cause I breed a variety of animals which I sell and teach people how to take care off.

[artmac]

I heard what you are saying with cash being limited. A Pewter male hatchling will cost R 5000. Puy that to your normal female and the possibilities will be Pewter, Cinnamon, Pastel and Normal. End of January I will have all of these for sale. my one clutch has produce 3 Pewters, 2 Pastels, 1 Cinnamon and 1 Normal. There are another 9 eggs to hatch mid January. i am in Durban.

[Tarka]

Hi artmac! how are your babies doing? the 13th of Jan is not too far from now hey!