Decisions, Decisions Hmmmmm.

nita · 10-08-04, 11:48 AM

Well at the edmonton fall show we picked up a little het orange ghost male that was "ready to breed this year". Well I suppose he might be if I wait a few months, he only weighs 424g. I'm guessing he is this years hatchling right, Corey since he originally came from you at the red deer show can ya let me know when these guys hatched please? As we have only had him a week I'm not sure how well he will eat or what he is eating, try rats first anyway. My female on the other hand is a lovely 2050g and doing fantastic loves her rats. I'm hesitant to put a little 500g male in with her. My brother on the other hand is getting himself a pastel and we were going to breed him with Briseas until we got the het ghost. Now I'm not sure, what would you guys recomend, I'm seriously thinking to leave little Shell, short for Ghost in the shell yes we are anime fans, till next year. If he eats rats easily in a month he can gain a couple hundred grams but should I wait it will be almost that long till the pastel gets here and then we still have to wait on quaranteen and all that...might just end up with a late season.

VI Reptiles · 10-08-04, 12:29 PM

why dont you just email cory?

Corey Woods · 10-08-04, 01:14 PM

Nita,

That male I sold to Josh back in Jan 2004. He's a 2003 baby. He was about that size when Josh got him. Unfortunately he wasn't kept properly and didn't start to eat until Dan picked him up about a month ago. The day Dan picked him up he ate for him (that is what proper heat and housing will do for a Ball). Dan, Jon and I were at Josh's place when I was in Calgary to see what was up with his husbandry and he was keeping them way too cold. So, basically the male wanted to breed instead of eat. Anyways, if you keep feeding him he'll be upto size in no time.

Good luck,
Corey

malaysianbloods · 10-08-04, 01:19 PM

Well personaly i would go and breed her to your brothers pastle and wait a year for the little ghost to grow up.

Ron · 10-08-04, 01:32 PM

Is your brother getting a Proven Breeder Pastel? Either way I would use them both. Your probably going to keep all of the normal looking females anyways and 50% poss het for Ghost males are worth the same as normals. So breed them both and if you get Pastels great, if not then you can make a reasonable assumption little Shell did the deed. Raise all the females and breed them back to him.

RandyRemington · 10-08-04, 02:33 PM

Too bad we don't have a paternity test available for ball pythons. If they are both young males I would also be tempted to try them both on the hopes that one will get the job done.

Anyone feel they can pick het ghosts based on appearance? It sounds like some of the pastel het ghosts might be a little lighter and I’ve heard of some plain het ghosts shedding clear like ghosts.

nita · 10-08-04, 03:19 PM

Thanks Corey for the heads up, I think I will wait a year given that info. Give him a good year stress free and eating good to prepare for next year.

You would say that Sid!!! LOL (Sid is my brother) Actually I'm thinking that het albino you have might be a good match for her, give me a call.

Ron, I don't like when more than one male is used on a female unless the genetics are the same. Makes future breedings confusing as you could end up with half the clutch being sired by one male and the other half sired by the other male.

Randy this het ghost male is gorgeous, he has a lot of blushing and really is a stunning little guy. A lot of people claim that hets seem to have unique pattering but who knows, some say het albino's have very abberant patterns many joined down the sides, etc. A pure white belly, at least 2 of my females have this. All you can do is breed them and see.

Ron · 10-08-04, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nita

Ron, I don't like when more than one male is used on a female unless the genetics are the same. Makes future breedings confusing as you could end up with half the clutch being sired by one male and the other half sired by the other male.

I agree genetics could be confusing but in this case it really doesn't make a difference.

Outcome 1:
You get some Pastels in the clutch, YIPPEE!

Hold back normal looking females to breed with your het for Orange Ghost and sell off the normal looking males.

Outcome 2:
No Pastels, Boooo!

Hold back normal looking females to breed with your het for Orange Ghost and sell off the normal looking males.

50% possible het for Orange Ghost males are ~ the same price as normal males so who cares what they may or not be just sell them as normals.

So either way sell off normal looking males and hold back the females. It's a good precaution if one of the boy's boys aren't swimming yet.