My first snake, Morticia, came to me when I bartered a fancy rat for a future turtle. At the next show, the turtle wasn't here yet, but she had captive hatched balls from Benin, West Africa. Morticia had a heart on her head, and I couldn't say no. I'd wanted snakes for years.
My second snake, from the same show, I bartered feeder mice for. I chose the darkest male he had. Gomez came out of the same shipment of captive hatched imports as Morticia.
My friend had been talking about maybe getting rid of his snake for awhile. I get a text one day, he needed him gone today. OK, today's a good day. My friend showed up with this handsome guy, with a burned belly. I can have him, heal him up. He came with his tank and a colony of feeder mice. I named him Phoenix, and he's healing up real well. He shed beautifully and is eating like a champ. He gets rats and mice now.
A potential feeder customer asked me if I collected ball pythons. ?? I have a few, but no, not a collector. Told me he had a friend who wanted to sell his 1.0 mojave. I didn't have the budget to set up a new snake, so had to pass. I could barter, but no $$. So the guy brings his snake to the show, but he really brings 3 snakes. Beautiful snakes. We horse traded our asses off, and at the end of it all, I brought home a 1.0 mojave and a 1.0 pinstripe. Gorgeous boys! Now I have a collection, and a place to start to build a plan for a breeding program. These boys are nice, breeding size, and obviously need girlfriends.
At that same show, a fellow vendor was setting up his table when his '16 normals caught my eye. Joel wasn't even done unpacking and setting up before I claimed this pretty girl for my own. Her darkness really appeals to me, and I'm pondering the genetics of normal phenotypes and potential future projects. She's a great eater, and has relaxed into a very nice girl. Here's Kali fresh out of a shed.
I put the word out to my snake and rodent friends that I was looking for a breeding age lady, but needed to be able to barter. Feeder rodents are a good barter item, and I'm grateful that I have them. A friend of mine had a 0.1 Normal who didn't lay this year, and no longer fit into her program. There's a chance she has retained sperm from a lesser pairing earlier in the year, and that would be ideal for both of us. The plan is to pair her with my Mojave and if the odds gods agree, hold back a 0.1 Mojave for future projects. Big Momma is my biggest girl now at nearly 2500g.
Through the wonders of barter, I've added a 0.1 chocolate and a 0.1 sub adult fire spider to the lineup. Holy Moly! They're both gorgeous, and the list of morphs I'd like this chocolate girl to contribute to is going to keep her busy for years.
I traded more pretty mice and rats for a proven pair ~ 0.1 pastel and 1.0 fire, that came all the way from West Virginia.
Did you know I raise rabbits? I'm trading rabbits for this lovely pair of '16 hatchlings, a 1.0 cinnamon and 0.1 yellowbelly, although this cinnamon boy is such a good eater, he looks older than he is.
There are more morphs that I'd like for my breeding program, but this gives me a very solid start. I'm really excited about these projects, and look forward to sharing my journey and meeting more people.
If you're interested in barter, I have need of a few breeding size females to balance out my project, and would love to talk to you. I potentially have rats, mice, asfs, American blue and white rabbits, pork and quail as barter items.
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