Which is truly a better investment? Of course co-doms go down in value quicker but they are much easier to produce in numbers than recessive mutations.

Maybe in Ball python terms the co-dom could be king but Retics? Recessive projects have seemed to hold value much longer. More eggs per clutch sure but far less folks producing them ;)

I agree with Harry in that its a supply and demand issue regardless of genetics or species. Which is why I think SR seem to have held their value longer but eventually they will equal out. Albinos have already come down into the average co-dom price range and they are still a killer morph and a great investment. But for me the value of any morph is in its combo potential. JP

Bingo! Its all about the combo these days and its not what is is but what it can make!:D

Recessives SHOULD hold value longer , especially considering some of the co - dom morphs are bred to freezer bait ugly status. Even some of the recessives have been non-selectively bred and no longer resemble the original. In those cases , a longer look at crosses usually find something to clean up the genes.

I'm a fan of some morph crosses but its starting to get out hand in some cases. Take the Jungle x Motley x Arabesque crosses in boas. 3 pattern mutations that try to blink out each other. Some nice boas do pop out but those particular pattern mutations that do are already on the market. Some argue its a fast & sure way to get 3 morphs + out of one breeding but the end result is usually animals that still don't resemble the original morph that everyone loved enough to bother breeding it.

The simple answer is about patience. Co-doms are a fast end result where recessives can take longer.

Depends on what you consider your investment - Long term or short term...Long term - Recessive mutations hold value longer than co doms...Quick return on your initial investment - Co doms beat the pants off of recessives any day of the week but they seem to loose about 1/2 their value each year until they hit that leveling off price...I like both recessives and co doms / doms so I have some of each...Double and triple co doms is the way too go if your trying to stay ahead though...

I also think it depends alot on the ability to produce a super and what the super looks like in co-doms, also the combo factor comes in if it makes crap combos and there is no super you'll see prices fall. But you look at recessives that are a 1:4 just to produce and combos are even harder I think recessives are where the investment money is spent and the co-doms are what pay the light bills and rat bill every month.

I agree with what's been said - but my favorite projects are combos with both recessives and dom/codom traits. :cool:

Co doms , Recessives and combos all have ther place in the market. Who is your market? If you are selling to high end breeders you better have some combos ! If your selling to college students that have limited extra income due to rent food beer did i say beer. Co doms are in there price range! I really believe the largest market is in the $1000.00 or less category. Depends who your market is ! Wish I could take my own advice , I have 5 yr projects that by the time they mature will lose value. Its a challenge for than a money issue. One of these years I will breed for profit and maybe be able to spend it all on more 5 year projects.:rockon:

I think by the term investment...

An animal that will always be popular and always sell Guaranteeing sales and return on the initial investment. Whether it be combo's or base morphs themselves...

some that come to mine regardless as to how low they have come... but yet seem to always be a Hot animal! Especially when selectively bred...

-Pastels
-Albinos
-Spiders
-Pieds
-Lessers/Butters
-Clowns

That's just a couple base morphs that I think people will always sell regardless of price... There are more but that's just a few that come to mind...

As for combo's I think there are plenty of them... but I think it all boils down to the Pet trade... of course prices will eventually level out on alot of these animals and when you put 5 or 6 differen't morphs next to each other and they all have the same price it's going to be which one out of the group will sell more than the others... I think some of the key determining factors are overall extreme differences vs. a normal and color or contrast.

For us I know we definitely want to focus on Bright animals and stuff that will just pull you out of the aisle to check it out! However I do like the black pastels and some of the projects with the gene like the Silver streak, pewter, silver bullet... But pieds, pastels/pastel combo's and pieds is what we are really trying to focus on.

I think the recessives are a better investment because the combo price is far better. (How often do you see Albino Pied's for sale, and when you do how much do they cost!)

I think starting with recessives is always a good idea and then mix them into the co-dom and get the best of both worlds. (Albino Motley and albino super motley)

I agree that mixing too many co-doms makes for some unattractive snakes that make no sense to me.