Next big thing in the reptile hobby?

[Stirmi]

Hey fellow reptile keepers in your opinion what do you think is bound to be the next big reptile like bearded dragons and ball pythons, I think crocodile skinks and blue tongue skinks will become very popular in a few years when captive breeding becomes more common and for snakes i feel kenyan sand boas will become more popular soon. So lets here from you guys what do you think will become really popular?

 

[Spepper]

I did see quite a few sand boas for sale at an expo I was at recently.

 

[cantthinkofone]

ball pythons are like a pest thats hard to eradicate. im SOO sick of seeing them destroy shows. I dont pay $4 to see the same expensive morphs! Who is going to pay that much for a private collection?!? the answer is no one. Its a breeder sells to breeder game. and thats all it really is, a game. And I personally just dont like bearded dragons. I dont hate them, and I love the cute little babies, i just dont really like them. Geckos are getting VERY big around here. I don't mind the crested and gargoyle geckos, but the leopard geckos I dont like. they are turning just like ball pythons. personally I think the annoying trade market we call ball pythons will dictate for a couple years. Hog nose snakes are getting big. I wouldn't mind that at all

 

[klawfran3]

I'm guessing hognoses and some sort of colubrid. Just a guess anyways...

 

[viper69]

Blue tongue skinks, big--never
Leopard geckos were already big long before ball python morphs ever were..and still are
Ball pythons are here to stay for many many reasons. It's not breeders selling only to breeders- there are a lot of people with amazing morphs in their homes.

I do agree though that it gets OLD seeing nothing but BPs or leopard gex at shows!!!!

If I was going to breed a snake I would do is the Dominican Red Mountain Boa- they are docile, small, keep like a regular boa or ball. BUT the amazing thing about them is the few breeders that have them (all from the same locality) are producing all sorts of NATURALLY occurring pattern and color mutations WITHOUT selective breeding. Two snakes can produce up over 9 different morphs all in a single clutch.

Some of the mutations are calico (piebald in terms of looks basically) and hypos etc some that took many years to develop in BPs are already present in the gene pool that is breeding in the USA

Also, like BPs they have small clutches! They aren't on most peoples radar at all- there's only a small handful of people breeding them. This snake is from the Epicrates genus, like Braz Rainbow Boas, just doesn't have the humidity requirements like BRBs.

I'm blown away by how many naturally occurring mutations exist within such a small gene pool in this small island species- and even more blown away by how many morphs a single set of adults can produce In a single clutch !!

 

[cantthinkofone]

for me its breeder sell to breeder. who in their right mind thinks "well it costs 2,000 dollars... must be a great deal!" and then purchases it? Why pay thousands when you could have the same snake for $40 without all that selective breeding.

 

[viper69]

for me its breeder sell to breeder. who in their right mind thinks "well it costs 2,000 dollars... must be a great deal!" and then purchases it? Why pay thousands when you could have the same snake for $40 without all that selective breeding.

It isnt breeder to breeder- I know a high end BP breeder we talk about this all the time.

And it's not the same snake, it's the same species, but not the same snake at all. You are delusional if you think it is.

There are tons of things in life where people pay more for the "same thing", from haircuts to soap, glasses frames to computers, from car colors to car brands (a Honda is a car and so is a BMW). People buy automatic instead of manual shift even though automatics are more expensive to purchase and maintain.

A Trinidad Olive is not a Trinidad Gold.

In short it comes down to want and personal preference generally speaking. That's why there's a market for it.

 

[cantthinkofone]

Yeah I got that. I know they aren't the "same snake" I got that. Same species then. No need to go on a rant. We have different opinions that's how life works. All I'm trying to say is I've never seen someone at the shows I attend buy a ball morph other then people that were breeders.

 

[viper69]

Oh not a rant- just a million things come to mind that remind me of your thought I see morphs bought frequently and not by breeders- I own a BP morph and I don't breed, though I should because this one has 50% wild caught genes

 

[LordWaffle]

We have a hognose and I love it. It seems to be gaining some popularity and I think they have the temperament to get big.

 

[cantthinkofone]

I love hoggies

 

[Mephibosheth1]

im guessing hog-noses, BTS, and maybe carpet pythons

There were a TON of carpet pythons at the Sac Expo last year...

 

[viper69]

Here's a link to a calico Red Mountain Boa. I wish I had link to the breeder with all the other naturally occurring morphs. I'm not suggesting this morph is for everyone, but the pattern developed after 3 years, unlike pied animals which are born w/the phenotype.

Truly a remarkable diverse set of genes floating in this small island species of which there is not a huge population to begin with.

http://crispysnakes.tumblr.com/post/52832155563/calico-dominican-red-mountain-boa-epicrates

 

[JZC]

Here's a link to a calico Red Mountain Boa. I wish I had link to the breeder with all the other naturally occurring morphs. I'm not suggesting this morph is for everyone, but the pattern developed after 3 years, unlike pied animals which are born w/the phenotype.

Truly a remarkable diverse set of genes floating in this small island species of which there is not a huge population to begin with.

http://crispysnakes.tumblr.com/post/52832155563/calico-dominican-red-mountain-boa-epicrates

That is by far the most beautiful snake, maybe most beautiful herp, that I have ever seen.:worship::worship:

 

[viper69]

That is by far the most beautiful snake, maybe most beautiful herp, that I have ever seen.:worship::worship:

Just google Red Mountain Boa and hit images. You'll see a bunch of natural morphs that didn't occur from selective breeding at all. When I saw them in person I asked the breeder, "how long did it take you to breed all these morphs", he said "one clutch!"

There's one morph that has the deep red of the blood boas. The breeders really hit a jackpot in terms of natural morphs, the challenge for them is to figure out if they can increase their chances of getting a certain phenotype as opposed to developing one.

The only down side w/this species, like GTPs, is that from a baby you have no way of knowing what you will get, a calico, a deep red variant etc. As the link above mentioned..it was 3 yrs before the white showed.


What's interesting is that like Pie Bald BPs and these Calico's, the initial animals have pretty much normal head color and patterning. The head's phenotype is the last to go for some reason, the wonders of epigenetics and genetics.

 

[JZC]

Just google Red Mountain Boa and hit images. You'll see a bunch of natural morphs that didn't occur from selective breeding at all. When I saw them in person I asked the breeder, "how long did it take you to breed all these morphs", he said "one clutch!"

There's one morph that has the deep red of the blood boas. The breeders really hit a jackpot in terms of natural morphs, the challenge for them is to figure out if they can increase their chances of getting a certain phenotype as opposed to developing one.

The only down side w/this species, like GTPs, is that from a baby you have no way of knowing what you will get, a calico, a deep red variant etc. As the link above mentioned..it was 3 yrs before the white showed.


What's interesting is that like Pie Bald BPs and these Calico's, the initial animals have pretty much normal head color and patterning. The head's phenotype is the last to go for some reason, the wonders of epigenetics and genetics.

Nah, I think I should stop before I have a snakegasm!

 

[LordWaffle]

Gorgeous snake.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

Hopefully the next big thing is getting the constrictors off the lacey act. Gotta love that yellow anacondas are legal in florida and bred everywhere except florida.

 

[iamthegame06]

blue tongue skinks! once the northern ones and different patterns gets here in the US im so getting in to that! lol

 

[ArachnidKid1997]

Hognoses are becoming more and more popular for sure. Lots of new morphs appearing and i find the prices for normals are starting to drop slightly (at lest, in Canada that is) they're also a good size for most people, and my understanding is that they make decent pets (aside from the huff n puff threat displays )

I've also noticed a recent popularity in rhacodactylus ssp, especially cresteds and "leachies".