Here is a picture of some of my GHI’s.   It was a morph that the creator tried to keep away from me but I got into the project anyway.   Go figure politics in the ball world.   Some people will never grow up.   Anyway I think I should be ok and produce some this year as I am using multiple males and I should make some cool combo’s with them.   Now please don’t email me asking me for prices on them.   I don’t quote prices on anything until I have babies out of the egg.   I get those emails all the time and it really annoys me.   I think people who quote prices before they have the snakes out of the egg are just plain stupid.   It hurts the market and it gives the vultures time to run around and tell everyone that such and such quoted me this.  And they go hunting for the lowest price and people start dropping their prices to compete.   Good job no market stability. 

My health is improving so that is good.  Maybe one of these days I will feel better.  My season is still going slow but it is going to pick up.   We are getting slammed with snow right now.  That is what I need.  My Pastel Candy male is locked up with a Mojave that has big follicles right now.   I am going to have a good number of het Candy’s and Toffino’s this year.   I will be selling most of the offspring to make my money back.   I think that I should make a good chunk of it back this year.   Well I have to go and move snow so I am out!

My wife and I went to the Bahamas right after the new year.   We stayed at the Atlantis resort.   It was a very awesome experience.  I even left my iphone at home and didn’t take calls.  I really liked it.   It was weird being disconnected from the world but it opened my eyes a little how much you can get tied up into when you run your own business and work a job and have a family.   It can be damn tiring.   I saw tons of sharks and even snorkeled with them so that was very cool.   Things you don’t get to do here in Nebraska.  

Once we arrived home I became very ill.   I had to go to the hospital as I had a bad kidney infection and it had spread into my body.   I was very sick and even on Oxygen.   Wow that sucked.   I don’t think that my body is ever going to recover from all the tests that they did on me.   I hate needles and I was getting stuck on average 5 times a day.   Can you say ouch!   I am home now and getting back on my feet.   It might take me some time but I will get there.   I am not going back to the hospital that is for sure.

On the snake front I don’t have a ton of things going on.   My dad came down and helped me move out some old rodent racks that were going bad.  I got new stainless steel ones so we shall see how they hold up.   I was getting damn tired of all the floods that I was dealing with.   Rats and mice suck and we in this business have to deal with them everyday.

I don’t have much breeding right now.   I am not sure how my season is going to end up.   The last two years I have had just bang up great seasons.   Maybe I am due for a bad one.   To be honest I could use the rest.   It has been crazy!   But hey the success has been great.   Here is a picture of my Pastel Candy male breeding a het Albino girl.   I should make a good number of het Candy’s this year and Toffino’s.   I need to make my money back on that project so he is going to work hard over here.   Can you say 15 clutches from one male.   I can and he is going to do it.   He has the distance I can see that.  

I need to get some old males like my Super Phantom and Lesser Clown in the breeding mood.  It has been to warm here and we haven’t seen any snow.   I wish I had a foot of snow on the ground right now.   That is what I need.   Bring on the bad weather.   I know it sounds weird doesn’t it.   I am a snake charmer that is for sure.   I need to get my Banana project back on track.   It looks like I am going to have competition this year.   That is fine I will be competitive and still do just fine.   I laugh at all of the discussions that go on about the Banana project.  It really shows how many people want it.   Even those that have some want more!   It is the best thing ever to happen to the ball world.  It is like the Pastel it can be mixed into anything and make it better.   I am very happy that I was able to see how BIG this project really was going to be.   It has changed my life forever!

I just checked and it has been forever since I last posted.   Wow I have been busy.   I have been traveling and busy with two children.   I am also part of Blue Blood Brewing.  Go check out them out they have a website and they are on facebook.  My friend Brian makes some damn good beer.   I am thinking that the company is going to do very well.  

On the snake front I got killed with my last clutch of the year.   I bred a Lesser Champagne female to a SpinnerBlast Coral Glow male and I got a pair of Champagne’s and SpinnerBlast Coral Glow female.   I really wanted to make the Coral Glow Champagne.   Oh it will be done in 2012 for sure.   I have been working on getting the snakes up to size for this breeding season.   When you have more snakes it is tougher.   I see now why people who get bigger so often fail.   You have to stay at the right size to be just right.   I have never been a advocate of people getting huge and have buildings and buildings of snakes.   To me it feels like to much commercialization.   It hurts the business in the long run trust me.   I know! 

You can see by the picture that I just had my first breeding of the season.  It is a Pastel Butter Genetic Stripe male to a Genetic Stripe female with 17mm follicles.   I waited for quite some time before I started this year.   I have some very important young males that I need up to size and working this year.  I think I can say that I should have GHI production this year.   I know that morph is heavy in demand so I think that it will do me just fine.   Like everything out there it will come down in price like everything else.   I think in 2012 we will see more prices coming down faster.   The economy is not that good and there are a lot of people out there in the game now.   Hell I seen people giving Banana males away on breeding loan this year.   Ouch!   Some people don’t think about the business in the long term.   You can’t control it you just have to learn how to roll with it.   And that is something I have learned to do real well.   Bring on 2012 !

Today is my birthday and I turn 35.   Wow do I feel old.  I can’t believe where has the time flown to.   I am looking forward to having a great day as I get to spend it with my friends and family.

Here is a picture of the Extreme gene that I got from the Contender aka Ken Macek in Tinley.   I think that this gene is going to make some great combo’s in the future.   He has done some cool things with it and I feel more are coming.   Have you seen the Butter Extreme Gene.   Talk about one hot snake. 

I have had people telling me how they are starting to breed over at their places.  I am waiting still.   I have some young kickass males that need to get up to size.   If they are not going by January I might be pulling what hair I have left on my head out.   Wish me luck.   If I get the things going that I want to then it is going to be a great 2012.   I should be thankful because 2011 rocked and I have never had so much success in my life.   I did real well this year and I hope to do half as good next year.   Fingers crossed.   I can see what combo’s I want to make so let’s hope that it happens. 

I have another investment that is getting ready to talk off here this week.   It has been in the works for some time and I feel that it is going to work out great.  I am very excited about this project and have all the faith in the world that is going to go big time.   More on that later.   I also have some new toys that have to arrive soon.   I might put up a picture of me running around at night with a night vision PV14 strapped to my head.   I feel that it is time for a few more toys.   Just eight years ago and could have never dreamed of owning the stuff that I have now.   You have to love the Reptile Business.   It is a great business and I hope that tons of more GOOD people get into it.

I finally broke down and updated my available section.   I need to make more time to do that.   I promise it is something I am going to work harder at to do.   It doesn’t really take that long and I just need to make the time.

I got back from the Tinley Show.   Wow is all I have to say.   There were lots of ball pythons there.   My daughter Alexis had to go to the ER on Sat due to Croup.   That was scary and I had Kallie with me while Gretchen was with Alexis in the ER.   Talk about stress.   It was hard to focus.   I have to thank some good friends for all their help otherwise I wouldn’t have made it through.   I was wiped out after the show though.   I still haven’t recovered.   I do want to thank my customers and friends who bought from me there.   I really appreciate it.

Here is a picture of my Champagne Enchi male.   He is pounding rats and I am hoping that he is going to be a great breeder this year.   I have to start thinking about this breeding season and I am making prepartions for it right now.   I have some young males that I am focusing on so it might be a light year.   That would be ok I guess.   I need a break.   Yeah right if you know me I can’t sit still for too long .   I am excited about some future projects.   I know that this is going to be a good Toffee and Candy year for me.   I look forward to selling het’s and visuals next year.   Can you say Karma!

First off I wanted to show everyone a ugly picture of me and cute picture of my daughter Kallie Wagner.   She is a sweetheart and smiles all the time.   My two children are a challenge but they are the love of my life.   I am very thankful for them!  

Next off I am going to tell the story of the Banana and also explain the genetics behind them.   Who would have guessed that the most sought after morph out there would be a sex linked gene in a ball python.   I have never seen this in a ball python before and none of the expert genetic wizards could guess what was really going on with them.

It started in 2008 when I bought my first Banana from Tracy Barker from VPI.   We did a big deal and I bought her 2005 Pastel Woma Coral Glow female.   When I got the snake in I was just in awe.   She was around 1800 grams when I got her and I just loved her colors.   She was a good eater right off the back.   I was very nervous when I first got her because I had never had such a huge investment in just one snake.   I was a tad bit nervous!   Then I went to Tinley Park and I attended the show there.   I had to slip away from the show on Sunday and I went with a good friend over to Will’s house and I bought my Banana male.   It was a small baby but the fact that it was a boy was just plain awesome!   I remember eating dinner that night in Chicago with some friends and I had to bring him in and have him right next to me while I ate dinner.   He was all I could think about.   I know that this was going to be BIG!   I was in love with the colors on the Banana and I knew that there was a lot of potential there. 

 It started right away with the drama.   After I was in the project I had a friend at the time then claim that he had them also.   His stories or lies got better as the days went by.  After three months he was telling everyone that he 12 of them all het for Pied.   They came from Africa.  It turned out all to be a lie.   I guess he has a problem and can’t tell the truth.  In the snake world weird I know?   Then another friend had one.  He sent pictures of one of Nerds snakes and claimed it was his.   That turned out also to be lie.   At this point they started to pile on.   I kept hearing that they were going to be everywhere.   I said oh well I am going to do my best with project as I knew that this was going to be the hottest project going ever.

 In 2009 I got a clutch from my Coral Glow female.   I produced a Killerbee Coral Glow female, Spider Coral Glow male and a SpinnerBlast Coral Glow male and female.   I was on cloud nine.  At that point was when everyone and I mean everyone came at me wanting one.  I was overwhelmed to say the least.   I didn’t see the market flooded with them and decided that I was going to ask top dollar for my snakes.   I did see breeding from my Banana male but I didn’t get any clutches from him.   I was a little disappointed in that but I knew that the future was going to be bright.  

Then in 2010 I had my SpinnerBlast Coral Glow and Banana male breeding.  Now this is where sex linked trait begins.   You see both of them were produced from a female Banana.   So they are F1 males.   I like how one man out there who wants to be a martyr didn’t know you could get male Banana’s from a female Banana.   No one ever said that you couldn’t.   More on him later.   So anyway we knew that you could get males from female Banana’s.   Will had done and Kevin had done it and I had done it.  There was also someone in Canada who had done it as well.  

 I hatched out my first five clutches and damn all I got was female Banana’s.   It didn’t make sense to me.   I had 20 Banana’s on the ground and no males.   It was disenchanting to say the least.  I then spoke to Kevin at Nerd.   He told me that he had seen the same thing from F1 males.   I believe at the time he told me that he hadn’t produced a male from a male.   I hadn’t so I figured wow this is sex linked in some way.   I was upset because I had everyone and there brother wanting a male from me.   It is very hard when people are wanting to throw big money at you and all you produce is females.   I started to tell people what I was seeing.  Some believed me others didn’t.  They thought it was a marketing scheme or devious deception.   It was neither.   I did get lucky and I produced two male Will Slough bloodline Banana males and a Spider Coral Glow male.   I sold the Banana males to Rick Cunningham and Brad Boa.   I kept the Spider Coral Glow male for myself.   I just liked the way he looked.   I did well that season and produced quite a few females.   People wanted them as now they could get into the most sought after project out there.   I made many new customers and new friends.   I also made many jealous enemies.   People really want into the project and they will say anything to bash it in a effort to bring the price down so they can afford it.  Others want to see it do bad on a personal level that they want to harm me.   I guess success comes at a huge price.   I can bare it.

  In 2011 I breed all three males for this season.   The trick is the Spider Coral Glow male is a F2 male.   He was produced from a male Banana so that is why he is F2.   I did have people some who are very close to me say that they thought the Banana and Coral Glow are separate gene’s.   Everyone knows how I feel about it.  I don’t believe that.   They could be a different as a Butter is to a Lesser.  I fought that battle and I will tell you this I never want to live through that again.   I started to produce more female Banana’s and in fact I haven’t hatched a male from my Will Slough Banana male this year.   It again started to frustrate me.   Then I heard a rumor that someone had just hatched a clutch of male Coral Glows.  It didn’t make sense.  But then it was explained to me that a F1 male made the F2 Coral Glow male and the resulting offspring from the F2 male are all male.  I was shocked.   I even heard that others were doing it and someone didn’t want me to know about it.   You can guess who that was.   I even heard that hidden gene word was used.   I said wow go figure.  Then I got my first offspring in a split clutch from my Spider Coral Glow male.   And one male Spider Coral Glow came from that clutch.  It was the only Coral Glow in that clutch.   I was very excited to hatch my first male of the 2011 season as I had customers waiting for him.   Then I hatched out two more clutches from him and bam all males on one and 3.1 in another clutch.   I couldn’t believe it.   I guess the sex linked trait reverses itself on the F2 male.   It should be noted that on a F1 male when you get all female Banana’s the rest of the clutch whether they be normal’s or morphs are all boys.   And I mean everything else is a boy!   It is weird.   When the F2 male is used the none Banana’s are all females.   Tell me this is sex linked!  

  So I needed to wait until Brad Boa or Rick Cunningham hatched out a male from their males from the Will Slough bloodline to prove that Banana’s behaved the same way as Coral Glows.   Today on 9-29-11 Rick Cunningham produced from his Banana male and got a Banana boy in the clutch.   It was only Banana in the clutch.   I am very excited for him and shocked because when I sold him the male I told him good luck producing some boys with him!   I guess I was wrong!   I can’t believe how this mutation works.   For those out there that doubt enough breedings have gone on to determine my theory on them I say this,  enough have been done.  

 Yes this is a game changer that is for sure.   A certain someone just produced some F1 males and I say good for him.   The ones I am selling this year are F3′s.   The theory is that since they were made from a male that they will throw all males also.   To be honest I don’t know.   I have heard someone else does and they are saying that F3′s throw boys.  I will find out next year.   I think that the demand for this project is both a curse and a blessing.  Everyone talks about it and everyone wants it.   Why else do they compare a Candy to a Banana.   It was marketed as looking like a Banana because the Banana is so damn HOT!   I love them even as they mature.   Their colors start to fade a tad bit but that yellow is still gorgeous.   I love the project as everyone out there knows and I have tried to protect it the best I can.   I am going to sit back now and enjoy the ride as more of them are out there and I know as they come down in price the demand is only going to increase!   I am very excited I have a clutch hatching out from a Genetic Stripe female that was bred to my Coral Glow Spider male.   Can you say Coral Glow Genetic Stripes in my future!   I think someone one time called the cross the Banana Split.   I hope to be the first to produce them!   

So there it is no shady marketing no big marketing scheme.   Just a sex linked ball python mutation!   It is funny how people you once called friends can turn on you so fast and spread such nasty rumors.   As more people have the morph and are working with it they to will see that what I am writing is the truth.   Do you think some will apologize for their ignorance?   I think not.

I hatched out some Desert Spiders het Ghost this past week and I hatched out a Goldenrod or Ghost Desert male.   That is pretty cool.   My friend Josh gave them that name not me.   I do find it humorous though.   I had two more clutches laid this week and I think I only have two more to go.   I will hatching snakes in December by the looks of it.   That is cool.   I do love having the babies and they are damn pretty!   I have to raise up some males for this coming breeding season or next season is going to be a light one for me over here.   I could use a light one if you want to know the truth!   The industry has been wearing on me.

Anaheim has come and gone.   It was great seeing friends and hanging out.   I wish I could do that more.   Also California is a beautiful place.  I wouldn’t want to live there but it is nice weather and people are generally pretty nice there.  Not like the East Coast people. 

Now to address some issues.  First off in three weeks the last piece to the Banana puzzle will have hatched out and I can clear two things up at once.   I am very excited about this.  For everyone out there that is spreading rumors about me and the project I say good riddance.   The truth is the truth and these individuals will owe me a apology.   I know most of them don’t have the balls to do that.   I don’t want this project to turn into the Toffee/Candy project.  I was deceived on this one along with many others.   First I do like the morph and I am going to be working with working with it in great depth this next year.  I hope to make my money back on the project and not have to right it off as a loss.   I hope to be able to provide het’s and visual animals to people working with Albino’s that want to make a cool snake.   Some of us lost on the project and I understand others want to protect it.   I do respect that but what was done was done and you can’t ignore it or put it in the closet like some want to do.

Now for the last part.   A certain individual who I use to call a friend has been making statements about me and calling me Bernie Madoff.   I laugh at his posts and his accusations.  He thinks I attacked him.  I did not.  You never saw me post anything about him nor did I even pick up the phone for him.   He doesn’t deserve that much of my time.   I unfortunely  got tons of emails and phone calls about him and his pricing.   Hell I didn’t even know what he was pricing things at until the 20 phone calls came in.   I was in Daytona and trying to focus on my own business.   He probably was attacked by people that invested in the project.   They didn’t want the price of their Banana stock to go down.   I specifically told someone who spoke to both us I can’t stop people for selling their snakes for cheaper.   It is not my job.   My job is to produce snakes and then sell my babies.   This same person told me what this once friend of mine said.  He said that the certain individual has a bone to pick with me because he thinks I lied about the project.  He said that this person posted the way he did so he could throw it in my face.   Wow I said.   I told him I wasn’t the one getting all worked up.  Others were.   I guess people lose their minds sometimes when money is involved and people want glory in this business also.   I could care less about the glory.   I am here as a business and I am not going to deceive or screw anybody to make money.  In three weeks when I explain all of the Banana genetics a certain person who wants to be a Martyr will owe me a huge apology for the lies that he has spread about me.  

One last lesson in the ball industry.   Don’t offer a snake a lower price than your competitors and not think that the entire industry won’t find out.   It kills me that people think that everyone will keep their mouth shut.   On that note all I have to say to that certain person is welcome to the Banana project I have been dealing with it for three years!  

Daytona has come and gone.  It was nice seeing old friends and making new ones.   The show was lighter this year than in years past.   Not as many people.   I guess we knew that was happening.   I still sold stuff so I can’t complain.   The traffic could have been a few more people for such a large show.   I had a good time though so that was great.

I have Anaheim this weekend in California and I am very excited about that.  I get to hang out with my West Coast friends.   That is going to be great.   I hope that people come this weekend with it being a holiday.   If you are coming please come stop by the table and check out our goods.   We are going to have some cool stuff there.   I think we should do alright.

I put up a picture of my Pastel Ghost Desert male that I got from my good friend Josh Marki.   This male is going to be put some good work over here.   He is just awesome.   I laugh anymore when I see people dogging on Deserts.   I compare the females to Pieds.   It appears that they take a long time to grow up.   Same story different morph.  

I have a Desert Honeybee hatching out this week.   That excites me greatly.  I have four more clutches to be laid over here and then I am done for the year.   I did alright with 56 clutches here and more other places.   That was enough work for me.   I still have some very cool stuff to hatch.  I am sure that you have seen the pictures of some of stuff over on Bush League.   My boy Chris takes great pictures for me.   He is my right hand man!  

I see all over the internet a certain troll is bashing Banana’s.   He wants to take pressure away from his Candy’s being compatible with Albino’s and that market going down.  I will say this I have never culled a Banana nor would I.   If you believe that you are a idiot.   I could have sold that Banana for money.   If you know anything about me you know I love money.   I make no qualms about it.   I didn’t get this successful by sitting on my hands and saying ok.   I have worked hard for everything I got and I will continue to do so.  That Banana project is the best ball python project out there.   It is the best project that there will ever be in the ball python market.   Everyone wants them that is why everyone talks about them all the time.   I really sit back and laugh at it.   All the time Banana talk never stops.   Certain people don’t know how to market the snakes and think that they are hot shit when they hatch out some but hey it is just there own inferiority complexes coming to light!   I still sit back and laugh.   Some will drop prices I have not.   If you want them from me you are going to pay.   I think I have made that loud and clear.    There is one more piece to the puzzle that needs to happen with the Banana gene and I will post it here everything I know about the gene.  In the mean time if you want one you know where you can get one!

Things have been going great over here.   I have been hitting some great odds and like usual things are sold right as they come out of the egg.   I am truley blessed in the snake business.   I can’t believe how great it is going for me.   I only could dream that it could stay this way forever!   He He  I am sure my haters love to hear that!

Here is a picture of a new snake that hatched out from a Pastel to Spider Coral Glow clutch.   It doesn’t make sense on what it is.  It looks like a Butter Killerbee but hey who knows.  I need to raise it up and find out what it is.  I have been hatching out Lesser Clowns and of course more Banana stuff.  I just made a Lesser Banana and I do like it.   It is cool.   And it ate last night so that makes me happy!  

I will have a variety of stuff for Daytona next week.  Some Champagne’s and cheaper stuff and of course the super high end stuff like Lesser Clowns and Banana’s.   There might even be a male for sale on the table!!   You never know!   Bring your cash if you want that bad boy!    The show season begins with Daytona and I will be in Anaheim and also Tinley Park this year.   I look forward to seeing everyone.  Old friends and new customers is what is all about.   I don’t look forward to seeing a certain few but hey it is the snake biz and that is how it goes.  I just found out my number one fan will be in Daytona.   Great! 

See you soon!