Hey guys, i have been on this forum for along time now surfing around gathering information of all kinds.

I am yet to buy a book on Ball python care/breeding etc but I will certainly buy one before I buy any ball python.

So today I have decided I think, on the animal I wish to buy which as the title states is a double het pied and albino, I'd like to get more experienced peoples view on a starting animal, as I wish to enjoy the animal lots but i also wish, to have the thrill of eventually successfully breeding something fantastic as, I have very much fallen in love with piebalds

Its been well over a year that my interest has grown enough to want to get a BP, but with the growing mutation rate the choice is insane and i'd like to know a few pros and cons to buying a dbl het albino pied

Thanks Ballnewbie

Well first off, I'd say you have nothing to breed him to. You will have a normal looking (albeit very expensive) pet. If you are willing to spend that kind of money, and eventually want to breed it to produce the Albino Pied you are after, buy a female for now. Once she is 2 years old you can get a male to breed to her. By then, they will have come down in price.

Glad you ahve done some homework before jumping in... however.... the odds of producing an albino pied from hets is pretty far up there. DOuble recessive genes are hard to hit on. And like Shawn said.... they aint cheap! My suggestion is to start with something a little less expensive and if and when you do decide to breed it, you will get results and the satisfaction of producing your first clutch! :cheers:

b-noob,
it seems your post needs the attention of someone who has balls...
double het males are indeed reasonably priced.
they are attractively priced because that's how people get motivated to buy them.
there is a fascinating "it can be done" feeling when you purchase something for a few hundred bucks today, that will someday produce an animal that sells for twenty thousand bucks today. to take the money aspect out of it, since no one here does anything with these amazing creatures "for the money"... you essentially have an opportunity to acquire an animal for which there is little demand, and produce something for which there is great demand.
but time decay is an evil concept. evil, but true.
the years and anguish associated with your cute little double het male finally bringing home the bacon are unimaginable to all but those who actually suffer through them. not trying to be a neggy, i'm actually an optimistic sort, but even someone with my sense of humor and infinite patience, can falter in a quest to go about this journey taking that route.
do yourself a favor, buy a female d.h. albino pied. there's a reason they sell for more than ten times what the males sell for.
it is there you should begin your quest.
and good luck, you came to the right place for help here.
welcome to our boards,
ck

Thanks all 3 of you for your replies, I knew getting the DH male would be going out on a limb and a long shot.

As i live in the UK it is just not possible to find a DH albino pied from a reputatable breeder, as I am quite sceptical about not being sold the Hets that I am paying for when buying off a guy from a forum who has no background.

I guess for my first snake I will have to make a much bigger commitment than I bargained for.

Thanks guys thats why I signed up after being a guest for so long.

Thanks all 3 of you for your replies, I knew getting the DH male would be going out on a limb and a long shot.

As i live in the UK it is just not possible to find a DH albino pied from a reputatable breeder, as I am quite sceptical about not being sold the Hets that I am paying for when buying off a guy from a forum who has no background.

I guess for my first snake I will have to make a much bigger commitment than I bargained for.

Thanks guys thats why I signed up after being a guest for so long.

b-noob,
if trust is your issue, sometimes your best bet is to start saving so you can just do it yourself.
if i'm you, and i'm not, but if i was, i'd buy a nice little female albino.
if you need to save money to do so, then let's have at it !
you don't want a few hundred pound to get between you and your dreams now do you ?
then...
two years from now, get a nice male pied.
then...
raise them up as long as you have to for the fireworks to kick in, and you're on your way.
good luck,
ck

You've gotten some good advice BallNewbie.
Though it has nothing to do with you I can't help but remember Woodage's vid. "Albino Piebalds, they are sick, I will make them".

i'd like to know a few pros and cons to buying a dbl het albino pied

Thanks Ballnewbie

Albino Pieds are a very cool snake.

Problems could be many.
1) Expensive $1500.00 or more.

2) Hets look like normals.
You will need trust in the breeder you buy from.

3)DLB Hets pairing would get you.
Het Albinos
Het Pieds
Dbl Hets
normals
They all look like normals.
Hard to sell what you don't know what it is.

Now the good part.
DBL hets could get you.
Albinos
Albinos Het Pied
Pieds
Pieds Het Albino
and a 1/16th shot at Albino Pieds :wamma:

This is a long project with lots of unidentifiable offspring.
Not a project I would recommend to a newbie.

How about a nice Bumblebee to a Pastel. :cheers:

How about a nice Bumblebee to a Pastel. :cheers:
Or a nice normal male? :lmao:

Or a nice normal male? :lmao:

you could give him yours when it hatches brada.
'course the shipping will be 500.00.
ck

Thanks all 3 of you for your replies, I knew getting the DH male would be going out on a limb and a long shot.

As i live in the UK it is just not possible to find a DH albino pied from a reputatable breeder, as I am quite sceptical about not being sold the Hets that I am paying for when buying off a guy from a forum who has no background.

I guess for my first snake I will have to make a much bigger commitment than I bargained for.

Thanks guys thats why I signed up after being a guest for so long.

As your in the UK, get in contact with either Darren at crystal palace, or a believe PiReptiles have produced double hets this year. If you wanna to keep the prices low, and cant afford a female double het. Go out an purchase a double het male, and an albino female. Any albino female you produce from this pairing will also be 50% het for pied. So you keep them all, and the long process begins. Fun fun fun

As your in the UK, get in contact with either Darren at crystal palace, or a believe PiReptiles have produced double hets this year. If you wanna to keep the prices low, and cant afford a female double het. Go out an purchase a double het male, and an albino female. Any albino female you produce from this pairing will also be 50% het for pied. So you keep them all, and the long process begins. Fun fun fun

also a good angle, 'cause you can look for the pied markers on the hatchlings !
but i would start with the female albino in this scenario as well.
male double hets will be produced as by-products of many attempts at the elusive albino-pied. they will be plentiful for years to come. but your albino girl will still need a 2 year head start.
good luck,
ck

Brick, i was indeed going to purchase my dbl het male from CPR, so I knew what I was going to get but, I was talking about for example buying off of a forum, and some guy saying it is double het. but saying and being are two different things :).

CK, I thought pied markers are not a gauranteed?

I guess i will hunt around and try to pick up a nice albino, but first will purchase a few books :).

Once again thx for all your nuggets of information, Danny perhaps u can post working links to woodage's vids please? :)

Pied markers are not a guarantee of anything but if you follow brick's plan (a damn good one) you're probably going to want to prioritize amongst the females, it's not likely that they aret all going to be het. so you would want to breed the one's that have the best chance. You'll then have to decide if you believe and trust in the marker or not. Or just breed them all :lol:

Brick, i was indeed going to purchase my dbl het male from CPR, so I knew what I was going to get but, I was talking about for example buying off of a forum, and some guy saying it is double het. but saying and being are two different things :).

CK, I thought pied markers are not a gauranteed?

I guess i will hunt around and try to pick up a nice albino, but first will purchase a few books :).

Once again thx for all your nuggets of information, Danny perhaps u can post working links to woodage's vids please? :)

I still think the key is to get yourself a Female (ANY FEMALE) BP near breeding size before you invest in your male. If money is an issue for you, you are going to regret purchasing a male het., dbl. het or otherwise that will do nothing for you for 2-3-4 years. The whole time you are waiting to get a female up to size, he will just be declining in value, so by the time you do have a female near breeding size, you will be able to purchase the same male for substantially less. So, according to your budget, get a couple normal females... Albino Female.... or the Double Het female you were wanting. Once she crosses 1000 grams, start looking for your male of choice.

Brick, i was indeed going to purchase my dbl het male from CPR, so I knew what I was going to get but, I was talking about for example buying off of a forum, and some guy saying it is double het. but saying and being are two different things :).

CK, I thought pied markers are not a gauranteed?

I guess i will hunt around and try to pick up a nice albino, but first will purchase a few books :).

Once again thx for all your nuggets of information, Danny perhaps u can post working links to woodage's vids please? :)

Ive think ive seen double het males in the 300 US price range recently, correct me if im wrong americans:), so at 495 quid for a CPR animal it sounds about right. CPR as far as i know, imports the majority of their animals from NERD. And the higher price in the UK, also reflects what other breeders are doing, ie not as many of these crosses as the US breeders.
While double het males may end up being the junk of this kind of project, i dont think they will fall as much as some have stated. They are still a double gene carrying animal, and im sure at that price many a newbie would be happy to pay. Remembering aswell, that even for someone not going after the albino pied its a useful animal. Why own a het pied AND a het albino male, when you can own just ONE that can do the same job, and that eats half as much, shits half as much etc etc etc.
I still think buying the albino female is the way to go aswell, but you can also pick up some normals adult females. Yeah you would be producing 50% poss double hets, but if you in this for the long run, and dont want to spend a lot, its the way to go. If you stick with it, sooner or later, you will hit on the odds.
Thats the thing about ball pythons, there is many different options. You can buy the ingredients for an albino pied for about for nothing these days, but it might take you 6/8 yrs to produce one. Or you can go and drop 20k, and your paying for someone elses hard work. There is also a heap of combinations in the middle, and its just about working out which option is best for you!!!