Why breeders sell yearlings?

[Clarke.93]

Ok so ive been going around on this site and so far from what i have gathered is that breeders sell the yearling snakes and are like 3-4 foot long but why is it i saw stimpsons and carpets for sale in a pet shop and were only like 15cm or so.
so my question is why do breeders sell them at a year or so and pet shops by the looks alot earlier?
this is just by what ive seen so dont take me for an expert.

 

[FAY]

Breeders sell hatchies. Sometimes they sell that at a year old, maybe keeping them to see what the colours are like or how they turn out. Maybe they are hold backs and then decided to move them on.
Could be a number of reason, but MOST breeders will sell hatchlings.

 

[Clarke.93]

oh ok thanks for clearing that up, i was just under the impression pet shop was trying to get quick bucks since all the ads for snakes are around the year mark.

 

[jamesbecker]

majority of adds atm are for yearlings or older snakes .. in a couple weeks there will be plenty hatchlings advertised for sale

 

[saximus]

Yeah it's all about the time of year you check on here. At hatching season there are hatchies galore. Through the rest of the year it's like Fay said, they are just trying to get rid of stock they don't want or people selling pets that they didn't breed themselves

 

[Clarke.93]

cool, thinking of buying one soon, what would you guys suggest for a rookie?
btw im a bit worried about the big 5-7 foot snakes should i still buy a hatchie?
im not phased at all by the yearlings and older

 

[saximus]

If you don't want it to get big and you're a first timer then you might want to look at Antaresias. They don't get more than 4' on average and known for being placid (although this depends heavily on the individual snake)

 

[Clarke.93]

ok cool, ill have a look now.
just thought that having it while it grows over the years id get use to it. in th past month though ive lost alot of fear i use to have of them

 

[saximus]

Yeah you would get used to it as it grows. Like a child you don't notice how fast they grow until one day you think "What happened to my pencil sized baby?"
My personal opinion is that ants are a little boring (begin flaming now...) so you might wanna check out Bredlis or Murray Darlings or Darwins. They are all known for being nice and easy for first timers and are nicer snakes IMO

 

[beeman]

Yeah you would get used to it as it grows. Like a child you don't notice how fast they grow until one day you think "What happened to my pencil sized baby?"
My personal opinion is that ants are a little boring (begin flaming now...) so you might wanna check out Bredlis or Murray Darlings or Darwins. They are all known for being nice and easy for first timers and are nicer snakes IMO

It may be your opinion but i would be you havent seen a lot of good quality Ants as those with them hardly post pics!

To the original poster, We sell both hatchies and yearlings, The hatchies when they are feeding and sloughing well, plus they come with a written record of history from hatching.
The yearlings are the ones we had decided to hold back to see how they develope and they also form a part of what may or may not be kept for future projects.
Again all our yearlings come with the same detail as our hatchies.

 

[Clarke.93]

Damm i love the BHP's guessing now its a reptile for the experienced?
ill have a look at those snakes what are Antaresias anyway?

 

[saximus]

BHP's can't be much harder than any other snake to look after. As long as temps are right and food and water are always in supply it shouldn't be a problem.
Antaresias are also called the Children's group. They consist of Children's, Spotted, Stimson's and Pygmy pythons

 

[Clarke.93]

oh ok, how big do they all grow and whats the price range on them?
What snakes do you have?

 

[No-two]

3-4ft, anywhere from $100-$400, more at petshops. BHPs are very easy to keep, but they get big fast.

 

[saximus]

This is probably one of the best concise descriptions of the various species you'd be interested in:

http://www.southernxreptiles.com/Article%20PDFs/road_testing_lr.pdf

I have a Jungle, a Water Python, a Bredli and a pair of Spotteds. So with the BHP thing I'm not speaking from experience but unless they are class 2 most snakes only need the same basic things to be happy and healthy

 

[wokka]

I prefer to sell yearlings or at least 6 month plus hatchlings so they are feeding well and have no problems for the new owner. A bigger snake has more resiliance and is more forgiving if temps are not spot on or it misses a feed for a while. They also have a bit more substance if they are handled a little over enthusiastically.

 

[Wookie]

Cheaper to sell them straight away without having to feed them for a year.

 

[Just_Plain_Nuts]

I reckon the best ones to get are yearlings, this way they are usually calmer, better feeding and you get to see their true colours and markings...

 

[Scleropages]

Ok so ive been going around on this site and so far from what i have gathered is that breeders sell the yearling snakes and are like 3-4 foot long but why is it i saw stimpsons and carpets for sale in a pet shop and were only like 15cm or so.
so my question is why do breeders sell them at a year or so and pet shops by the looks alot earlier?
this is just by what ive seen so dont take me for an expert.

I sell yearlings sometimes because I keep most of what i breed until they color up around a year or so of age.

 

[FAY]

BHP'S can be daunting for a first time owner. They have a very strong feeding response which can be scary. Some may disagree, but for a 1st python I would not get a BHP. I would get some experience first with other pythons. Totally up to you though! JMO!