Ball Python Breeding

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silvertip0

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 21, 2010
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hudson valley ny
I have a male Black Pastel that I have had for 11years and I was wondering if I could breed him or is there a certain age that they stop breeding. And if he is still able to breed I was thinking about breeding him with a Pastel or Spider. And anyone know the price range for a breeder size Pastel or Spider.
 
There are ample reports of 10+ year old Ball Pythons breeding...

Black Pastel bred to a Pastel will result in a variety of appearances in the offspring. The odds will be: 25% Normal (Wild Type), 25% Pastel, 25% Black Pastel & 25% Pastel and Black Pastel.

For reference, a Pastel and Black Pastel specimen is commonly refered to as a Pewter. Pewters are very pretty snakes and are saught after by many hobbyists. They are my girlfriends favorite morph. A hatchling typically sells for around $500.

Breeding a Black Pastel to a Spider will result in the same as above, just replace "Pastel" with "Spider" in each percentage. Although I have never heard of a "Black Pastel Spider", so I cannot suggest what this will look like.


Hatchling pastels go for around $75 (inexpensive male) to $200 (expensive female). Prices on adults will vary greatly based on gender, size and appearance. An adult female (1,500+ grams) will go for around $400~500. Though a little more or a little less may be found.

Hatchling Spiders for for around $150 (inexpensive male) to $350 (expensive female). Prices on adults will vary based on gender, size, appearance and head wobble. It's uncommon to find breedable adult females, mostly because spider morphs are highly saught after and breeders snatch them up.

Also, be aware that Spiders come with "head wobble". This is a genetic retardation that appears to different degrees in all Spiders. Most breeders will boast that their Spiders do not have wobble, but most, if not all, breeders that say this are flat out lying.

I was at a reptile show a few weeks ago and had three different breeders assure me their Spiders do not wobble, yet while they were saying this their snake began to wobble in front of me.

I'm not trying to convince you not to go with a SPider, I'm just trying to ensure you know what you are getting into. Use google and you tube to get an idea of what I mean by "head wobble".


www.faunaclassifieds.com is a good place to shop for Ball Pythons... I bought 2 of my 3 from breeders who advertised there (the other was bought at a reptile show).
 
I used the genetic wizard on Worldofballpythons.com and it said the babies would be 25% normal 25% spider 25% black pastel 25% black bee. Should I try to breed him or just raise up a pair of something else?
 
Personally... I'd seek out a female Pastel and try to make a Pewter... If you have available funds, buy a mature female. If money is a little tight, buy a young one and grow her out...

"Black Bee" sounds like the right term for a Black Pastel Spider. I've just never heard of or seen this particular combination. I perseonally steer away from anything Spider because of the head wobble.
 
Is the head wobble a bad thing? Also is there another snake ether a boa or python that would be easy to breed other than ball pythons because I want to start breeding but would there be some other snake that would be better?
 
I do suggest you use both Google and You Tube to review the head wobble (search: spider head wobble). It is a genetic trait that is attached to the 'Spider Gene'. All Spider Ball Pythons are affected by it.

The degree can be extreme to slight that affects the snakes equalibrium. In extreme cases they will roll their heads upside down and 'crawl' in a corkscrew pattern into the air. In less extreme cases it expresses as the head bobbing or wobbling from left to right.

Personally, I view it as 'a bad thing' and I do not plan to add a Spider to my breeding stock because I do not feel comfortable producing animals that I know will be retarded. But I do suggest you play with Google and You Tube to better formulate an opinion of it yourself. Many people have no problem keeping or breeding them, while others feel the complete opposite. I have personally seen no 'judgement' amongst hobbyists whose opinions differ with one another.


In general, Ball Pythons and King Snakes are considered great "first snakes" for keepers as well as breeders. Since you already have a mature male of a valued morph, I see no reason not to stick with the Ball Python. Any morphed offspring produced by your snake will be easy to sell and normals can usually be sold or given away to a good home rather easily as well.


Just for reference... I recently decided I wanted to do a reptile breeding project. I considered several species of snakes as well as lizards and at the end of my research I decided to go with Ball Pythons. Some of the biggest reasons were: Ease of care, ease of breeding, ease of egg care (though same in most species), each individual takes up little room, and off spring created are easy to move to a good home.
 
My friend is getting a 4ftx30inx18in and we talked about getting a male Spider and a female Pastel and a Black Pastel and keeping them together for breeding the moving the male to a 40g or a 29g then keeping the females together? Do you think this will work? We would feed them seperatly and provide enough hides and sources of heat. The head wobble doesn't bother me and bumblebees and black bees are some of my favorite morphs and I would love to produce them. And would an extream cause case of head wobble be a problem with breeding or the price?
 
silvertip0;4800700; said:
My friend is getting a 4ftx30inx18in and we talked about getting a male Spider and a female Pastel and a Black Pastel and keeping them together for breeding the moving the male to a 40g or a 29g then keeping the females together? Do you think this will work? We would feed them seperatly and provide enough hides and sources of heat. The head wobble doesn't bother me and bumblebees and black bees are some of my favorite morphs and I would love to produce them. And would an extream cause case of head wobble be a problem with breeding or the price?

If I'm not mistaken some cases of head wobble are so severe that they make it extremely hard for the animal to eat. I would say that it would definitely lower the price of the snake.
 
Yeah, a crazy head wobble can result in the animal being put down due to not being able to function. One with a noticeably slight head wobble could probably be sold at a higher price IMHO.
 
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