beginner

Lrptls · 09-26-04, 07:45 PM

i'v owend herps for years now, i'v had over 30 different species of reptiles and amphibians and i'v started to think about breeding.

i'v never had any interest or desire to breed any thing till now (why? i dont know, ideas come to me all the time out of no where)

i think sence i'v never done it before i should breed my albino leopard gecko with something (sence leopards seem like they are very easy) then i would like to move to snakes...

first i was thinking green tree pythons, i'v never owend them and i would REALLY like to get a proven breeding pair just to make sure i get some eggs (plus there really expensive, i'll need some babies to help pay me back)

then, and i know this is probably crazy, but i was thinking of piebald ball pythons. i hear ball pythons are very easy to breed, does it matter if its a morph? i might change my mind about piebalds though and try something else, or maybe not, maybe i'll just do GTP's.

any coments or suggestions at all would be great.

JDouglas · 09-28-04, 12:34 AM

My suggestion is to breed what you like.

Lrptls · 09-29-04, 04:55 PM

i love boas and i like ball pythons, but i dont think i want to breed boas because i heard its very hard. if i bred anything i would breed albino or snow boas and i really dont want to spend all that money on the snake and not get any babies.

Jeff_Favelle · 09-29-04, 07:12 PM

Quote:

if i bred anything i would breed albino or snow boas and i really dont want to spend all that money on the snake and not get any babies.

The market has created hets just for people like you. All the genes you need to work with, at a fraction of the price.

gonesnakee · 09-30-04, 04:55 PM

I'll have to state that Boas are extremely easy to breed & a big part of it is because there are no eggs to incubate. GTPs are not recomended for your first breeding project as they can be difficult. BPs are fairly straightforward & as Jeff has stated there are lots of various hets available to work with. Basically find something you enjoy working with, research it & go with what ya like. Mark

Jeff_Favelle · 09-30-04, 06:24 PM

Quote:

I'll have to state that Boas are extremely easy to breed & a big part of it is because there are no eggs to incubate.

I'll take egg incubation over live bearing ANY DAY. For sure. The only eggs I'd choose a live-bearer over are GTP eggs or monitor eggs. Most eggs are so easy to incubate, its not even funny. Live bearers on the other hand? Yikes. Its like a MOBILE maternal incubation unti. A million things can go wrong.

gonesnakee · 09-30-04, 07:48 PM

Well its not that easy I guess LOL, no matter what ya breed there are the ups & downs. A lot of people are"scared" of the whole incubation thing though ya know what I mean LOL No matter what it ain't rocket science though & usually most Boas & other common species (livebearing or egglaying) are pretty straight forward. I started with Corns & Kings & screwed up my fair share of eggs in the beginning by trying different methods etc., hate to see a guy start with GTP eggs the first go round & have a bad experience. Like I said before pick something that suits you that is known to be fairly straightforward & go from there. If it ain't enjoyable it ain't worth doing IMHO Cheers Mark

Jeff_Favelle · 10-01-04, 01:35 AM

Oh I agree brother. Starting with a GTP is a sure way to disaster! LOL!

But you hit the nail on the head. If its not enjoyable, then don't do it. Find something you enjoy, and NO ONE can tell you what that is, and then go for it full speed!

Lrptls · 10-02-04, 06:53 PM

thanks for all the ideas and opinions every one. i will definetly use the info for future ideas.

Linds · 10-02-04, 07:47 PM

LOL I have to agree with Jeff. You virtually have to wait out up to 3/4 of the year in complete wonder... ya never know WHAT, IF, or WHEN something is gonna pop out

And they are living incubators, so you stil have to watch everything just as closely,except that you cannot control a lot of what happens

Breeding brings no guarantees, so don't buy something with sole intent on making your money back. As JDouglas said, breed what you like. Doesn't necessarily have to be something super easy either, although GTP are definitely not the way to go. Many experienced breeders still experience little success. Even if they have a clutch, incubation is still something that is being discovered.

Piebald balls cost as much as cars do, so if you aren't willing to fork out the dough for albino boas, you definitely wanna turn away from those. Colombians seem to breed like fiends a lot of the time though... I've seen them produce under frightening conditions

LOL and I don't know about you, but I would rather have some experience breeding stuff before trying my hand with high end stuff

You also have to think about the babies. The market is virtually flooded with leos and ball pythons, so they can be difficult to get rid of.

Quote:

Originally posted by gonesnakee
I'll have to state that Boas are extremely easy to breed

Hahaha not quite. There are some species that have a higher success rate (such as Colombians), but there are certainly many that are not easy. There are loads of boas, and to say they are all easy is a pretty bold statement. LOL... I've been trying to breed rosy boas for a few years *supposed to be 'easy', right?) with not even an attempt at copulation. Bcc are reputed to be more difficult, but I've had no problems [yet].

Lrptls · 10-02-04, 08:25 PM

thanks Linds, that gives me some more ideas.

right now i'm more focused on geting my animals into new cages and such. i think once i have them all in new, nicer, bigger homes i will then think more about future animals.

adamofsound · 10-02-04, 08:53 PM

if you are looking for something easy to breed and arent picky if it has legs or not (this discussion seems to be focused on snakes, but I read something about leos at the beginning) go for cresteds or any of the rhacodactylus geckos. basically you get a mature pair, wait 3-6 weeks, take the eggs, put em in perlite or vermiculite or soil or coconut husk, add water stick em on a shelf that doesnt drop below 70 degrees F and doesnt go above 90 F and 60-90 days later you have nice babies with good market value. and you keep getting eggs every 3-4 weeks all teh way through the summer.
also, if you dont sell the babies as fast as you thought, all they need is a proper enclosure, an extra jar of fruit baby food and a dozen extra crickets a week.
Cresteds are all I breed at the moment becasue they are so easy, there are so many colours and you dont need an incubator, just something that holds humidity.

if you want easy and good value, rhac's are the way to go.

just a thought for you to consider.

Adam