Modest beginings

[greenman1867]

Good Morning, I am just getting into Ball Pythons and was wondering...........

If you were going to get into the BP world and had only $2000 to make an initial investment, what route would you take to grow your hobby and increase your collection?

Thanks

[Tim_Cranwill]

Spend it all on normal females this year, then spend a bit more on a pastel male next year. That is what I would do. :)

[Bristen]

yup, Tim's advice is very sound... start with the females because they take time to raise up... perfectly healthy adult females can be (and are normally) quite expensive, if you can find any at all! I'm talking of experience with regards to this!

Keep us posted!

Bristen.

[pinoiballer01]

well in my opinion buy a male pastel now and you probably can buy some normal females. 1 pastel male and 3 or 4 normals can give you a good return in your investment. just my opinion. Tim's advice is also good but you might have to spend a little more over $ 2000.

[greenman1867]

No male to start? I guess you would be getting young ones so the females would need time to grow before breeding anyways.

Hmmm


**Edit** LOL you posted while I was typing

[Tim_Cranwill]

If you're really on your game, which means your husbandry is almost perfect, you'll get a few females ready to breed by their 2nd winter but most by their 3rd. Males can breed by their 1st or 2nd so it isn't necessary to get one right away... but it doesn't hurt either. :)

I would suggest getting more than one male though. Even if one is "just" a normal. But for the price, if you're going to get a normal male, get a het albino male.

[mykee]

EXACTLY what Tim said.

[greenman1867]

Wanted to buy:

Normal Females :)

LOL Thanks for the advice guys, I guess I will start looking now.

Oh, what about Het for Albinos? Are they worth a look into? Or really pastels are the way to go? I think they are equally good looking so thats not really an issue.

[nita]

In the long run albinos will hold their value longer, I think, but you produce pastels faster, a het albino male is only ~$300 though so you could probably next year get both the het albino male and a pastel male. $2000 will get you 8 or so good CBB female hatchlings of wich next year a few would be breeding size most likely, specially if you get the ones from early 05, or if you can still find some 04 hatchlings they should be ready for 06 season. Depending on size and what they are eating though if you manage to find 04 females they may be ready to breed this fall. Of the 9 '04 babies I picked up last year I think 5 of them will be breeding size this year, all of wich are rat eaters, I think my 4 mouse eaters may not be ready till '06 but hey, they are young so I'm not worried :) . Good luck.

[greenman1867]

Thanks again for all the advice, I am probably picking up a male Pastel this weekend, I have 3 Females, although I don't think they will be ready next fall. I am searching for adult females now, but they alway seem to come paired with other males. Which I already have 2 of.

Do you still think the pastel market will withstand all the litters due this spring?

[Bristen]

I'm by far no expert, but some of the "bigger guns" have predicted we might see a little drop on males, but expect to see females keep a good price for quite a bit of time yet... not a lot of those are being sold.. pastels should still be rather good for a couple of years... pastels and albinos will always be around, and always have a good demand so even though prices will drop, demand will increase with it... I wasn't afraid to get into Pastels myself.. that's what I started with (hoping to produce a bunch this year in collaboration with Trevor!)

Thanks,
Bristen.

[ozone]

Since greenman made his decision and purchase already, I'd like to jump in here and keep the thread rolling with another scenario:

What about the option of a newbie spending $2k on a pair of 1.1 Het Piebalds? I was considering that as (A) a way to ease into a little breeding as a side hobby, (B) to maybe break-even money wise, and ultimately (C) end up with my dream pet snake - a Piebald of my own.

I'm not interested in a large collection or becoming a serious breeder - I just want to own a couple of really nice snakes and sell some offspring here and there.

Am I delirious?