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6 Most Expensive Ball Python Morphs Of All Time

By Saleema Lookman, RVT of LoveToKnow

Most ball pythons you find at the pet store are a standard brown and black and cost around $100. But if you're looking for one with a unique coloration, you can expect to pay a lot more than that. Ball pythons are available in thousands of attractive color and pattern mutations, known as morphs, and some of these can cost as much as $20,000. Feast your eyes on the most expensive ball pythons and find out why they cost so much.

Ball Python Morph Price Dreamsicle Ball Python $2,000 - $4,000 Fully Scaleless Ball Python $3,000 to $10,000 Zebra Pastel Ball Python $10,000 to $12,000 Sunset Ball Python $5,000 to $15,000 Monsoon Ball Python $12,000 to $18,000 Stranger Ball Python $6,000 to $20,000 © kuritafsheen / RooM via Getty Images

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Melissa King began writing in 2001. She spent three years writing for her local newspaper, "The Colt," writing editorials, news stories, product reviews and entertainment pieces. She is also the owner and operator of Howbert Freelance Writing. King holds an Associate of Arts in communications from Tarrant County College.

Terry Resident Raises And Breeds Pythons And Rats As A Side Hustle During Retirement

Brendan Heidner APG Montana

Slithers and squeaks frighten most people, however those noises are part of critter enthusiast Tom Yeager's everyday life.

Yeager, 74, started raising and breeding ball pythons and rodents about six years ago in a shop just outside of his residence on the eastern-most edge of Terry.

What the average passerby sees as an ordinary blue tin-sided shop is really a home to hundreds of pythons and rats he is raising to sell.

In an interview last week, Yeager said he grew up interested in unique animals and would occasionally bring them home, including frogs, lizards, bats and many others.

"I've always been into raising critters," he noted. "My folks never knew what I was going to bring home."

Although he started raising pythons originally in 2017, it was not until just a couple of years later he decided to make it more of a full-time gig following his retirement some time ago.

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"It wasn't until 2019 I really jumped in with both feet and spent close to $100,000 on snakes and equipment," Yeager said, noting he currently has approximately 250 pythons. "I wanted something to supplement my income."

Yeager is an entirely self-taught breeder who used resources such as YouTube and other helpful websites to research what it would take to get started.

His original research is primarily what sparked his interest in breeding pythons in the first place, he noted, adding there are over 200 different genes that can make the same snake have an entirely different look.

"The more I looked at them, the more I loved them," Yeager said. "If you (left) them in their normal state, they would look all the same, but it's by combining those genes with other genes where everything pops. It's just interesting."

In addition to raising and breeding pythons, Yeager also raises and breeds rats as both feed for his snakes, as well as for customers looking for feed.

He noted he produces approximately 250 rats every 10 days in order to keep up with feeding his own pythons while also storing some feed to provide to newly hatched pythons down the road.

Although he considers his work as a python and rat breeder more of a hobby, it is much more "consuming" than some may realize. He said he feels that strain of the work especially as he grows older.

"The biggest part of this job is constant cleaning," he said.

Additionally, raising pythons is not a "get rich quick" operation, rather it takes several years after hatching before a python is fit to breed, Yeager noted.

"I'll never see the results of some of these that I'm planning for, but somebody down the road will," he said.

Yeager's hobby isn't an inexpensive one either, however he has found ways to cut down his costs. The raising and breeding of rats is what allows Yeager to continue breeding his pythons, as it would get too expensive if he were constantly purchasing rats for feed.

"I couldn't afford to raise these snakes if it weren't for the rats," he said. "That really lowers the price significantly."

While still a self-proclaimed beginner in the python market, Yeager sells approximately 15 pythons per year. He added that he has not yet marketed his pythons widely, but may look to do so in the future. For now, it's enough to keep him interested in the hobby.

"I keep busy," he noted.

Despite many people's fear and lack of desire to own, or even so much see, snakes, one of the things that Yeager enjoys most about the species is the simple fact that they are "fun to look at."

He added he has a friend who often takes her own snake to a nursing home where she shows it off to the residents and uses it as a sort of therapy for them.

"Most kids, or even adults, if you mentioned snake (they say), 'Oh, I want nothing to do with that,' but through education you learn not to fear them and how you can enjoy them," Yeager said.

As he continues to raise and sell pythons, he also makes every effort to educate everyone about how to properly handle, care for and present snakes to others in a responsible way.

"I love to sell snakes; that's my business, but I want my snakes to be cared for properly," Yeager concluded.

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