List of 20 Most Expensive Snakes Worldwide

Humans have been keeping pets since time immemorial. However, over the years, what has changed is the type of animals that people have been keeping as pets. The hunger to keep unusual animals as pets have increased tremendously over the past decades, and this has resulted in what we know as the exotic pet hobby.

The idea of today’s article is to introduce the newborns in this hobby to the exotic reptile pet market and how much they can be charged for a rare variety. So with a short description of why the prices are so high and what determines them, let us get going with our today’s write-up, “20 Most Expensive Snakes in the world.”

The price of a snake depends on several factors. While snakes include both venomous and non-venomous species, it’s the non-venomous ones that can easily create a hole in your pockets.

While venomous snakes are complicated to handle and aren’t a choice for beginners, people usually prefer the non-venomous ones due to their temperament and docile nature. If you go through the article, you will find that most of the snakes are Pythons.

This is because pythons, especially ball pythons, have a huge demand in this industry due to their comparatively small size and variety of morphs.

Each morph has its color patterns and can be interbred to produce a wide spectrum of patterns and colorations. The rarity of a morph or species again influences the prices greatly.

Here’s a list of the most expensive snakes:

  • Green Tree Python- blue morph- $400,000
  • Reticulated Python- $1,000-23,000
  • Lavender Albino Ball Python- $4,000-$40,000
  • Monsoon Ball Python- $10,000-$20,000
  • Sunset Ball Python- $4,000-27,000
  • Stranger Ball Python- $2,000-28,000
  • Striped Ball Python- $400-4,000
  • Scaleless Ball Python- $1000-5000
  • Pastel Zebra Ball Pythons- $11,000-15,000+
  • Dreamsicle Ball Python- $1,000-$4,000
  • Pied Ball Python-  $200-17,000
  • Palmetto Corn Snake- up to $20,000
  • Leucistic Western Hognose- $6000
  • Black Headed Python- $1,800-$4,000
  • Angolan Python- $1000
  • Labyrinth Burmese Pythons- $1,000-$3,000
  • Boelen’s Python- $12,000
  • Albino Rainbow Boas- $2,500-$7,500
  • Carpet Ball Pythons: $500-3,000
  • Paradox Ball Python- $500-15,000
  • Blue-eyed Leucistic Ball Python- $500

Note: We are not breeders or sellers of any sort of pets, and this article is solely based on online sales. Prices may vary from place to place and also on the pattern or morph of the animal. For the prices, we have used morphmarket for reference.

List of 20 Most Expensive Snakes

1. Green Tree Python – blue morph

Green Tree Python

  • Price: $400,000+
  • Scientific name: Morelia viridis
  • Size: up to 5 feet
  • Lifespan: 15 years

Green Tree Pythons are one of the prettiest snakes in the world with their bright green color, small white patterns, and diamond-shaped head.

Green Tree Pythons have several morphs; the Biak and the Aru are the most common ones in the USA, priced at around $350-700 and $700-900, respectively.

Reports claim that the most expensive snake ever sold was a Green Tree Python with a rare blue morph at an alarming price of over $ 400,000. This makes the Green Tree Python sit at the apex of the list of Most Expensive Snakes in the world.


2. Reticulated Python

reticulated Python

  • Price: $1,000-25,000
  • Scientific name: Malayopython reticulatus
  • Size: up to 28 feet
  • Lifespan: up to 32 years

Reticulated Pythons are another group of constrictors that demand a heavy price from reptile enthusiasts. Reticulated pythons are not only the largest snake species but also one of the most expensive snakes in the world. 

Their price begins from anywhere near $300 but may go as high as $25,000-30,000. What determines their price is their morph, color patterns, and also their size. Lineage also determines the price of Reticulated Pythons, like many other snakes, to a lot extent.


3. Lavender Albino Ball Python

Albino Ball Python

  • Price: $4,000-$40,000
  • Scientific name: Python regius
  • Size: 6 feet
  • Lifespan: 20 years

Next up on our list of Most Expensive Snakes in the world we have the Lavender Ball Python. Another striking color morph of the Ball python family, Lavender Albinos, rightfully stands up to their names.

A light color that ranges from pale lavender to pink forms the base coloration, and the vibrant orange pattern sits on top. Their striking coloration can easily fetch their sellers a handsome amount of up to $40,000.


4. Monsoon Ball Python

  • Price: $10,000-$20,000
  • Scientific name: Python regius
  • Size: 6 feet
  • Lifespan: 20 years

Developed by Dave Green Reptiles, Arizona, the Monsoon Ball Python now ranks among the most expensive snakes in the world. The reason backing their pricing on the expensive side of the spectrum is their recessive gene, responsible for its coloration. 

Sometimes, even ordinary ball pythons, but carriers of this recessive gene, get sold for thousands of dollars since they are difficult to find and breed to produce this morph.


5. Sunset Ball Python

  • Price: $4,000-27,000
  • Scientific name: Python regius
  • Size: up to 6 feet
  • Lifespan: 20 years

The Sunset Ball Pythons are also a product of a recessive gene mutation that has caused a coloration that quite resembles the sky during a setting sun.

Credits for this ball python morph go to Brian Barczyk from BHB Reptiles, who managed to buy the probably only one from Africa for $70,000. 

With an auburn red color, which is most vivid at the head, and then slowly elongates along the entire body, the play of rusty and burnt orange colors makes it one of the most sought ball pythons.


6. Stranger Ball Python

  • Price: $2,000-28,000
  • Scientific name: Python regius
  • Size: up to 6 feet
  • Lifespan: 20 years

Stranger Ball Pythons are quite new inclusions to the Ball Python family, with its introduction only in late 2012. Since then, this particular morph has been gaining quite a high price in the pet snake trade. 

Stranger Ball Pythons are often mixed with other breeds like the Pastel Ball Pythons that produce morphs costing anywhere between $2000 to as much as $29,000. 

Thinking about buying one can lead to a huge hole in your pocket unless you have some strong finances and dedication toward this hobby.


7. Striped Ball Python

  • Price: $400-4,000
  • Scientific name: Python regius
  • Size: up to 6 feet
  • Lifespan: 20 years

The next member of this list of most expensive snakes in the world is the Striped Ball Python. One of the finest results of selective captive breeding, the Striped Ball Python, is due to a mutation at the genetic level that determines the color and pattern of a snake.

As the name suggests, Striped Ball Pythons have a thick dorsal line that runs along the entire length of the body. Whether the line is continuous or broken is determined by the genetic makeup of the animal.

Often breeders carry out selective breeding to alter the color and thickness of the line along with the other body patterns. The price of the snake is determined by all such factors and also by its rarity.


8. Pastel Zebra Ball Python

  • Price: $11,000-15,000+
  • Scientific name: Python regius
  • Size: up to 6 feet
  • Lifespan: 20 years

The Pastel Zebra Ball Python is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful snakes among the entire morphs list of Ball Pythons and is also a prime factor for its position at the end of the price scale. 

The genes that are responsible for this morph are recessive, which is a prime factor for its high pricing. Zebra pastels display a base coloration of bright yellow topped with stripe-like patterns of light to dark brown, which makes it one of the most sought-after snakes in the reptile hobby.


9. Scaleless Ball Python

  • Price: $1000-5000
  • Scientific name: Python regius
  • Size: up to 6 feet
  • Lifespan: 20 years

Scaleless Pythons are themselves of a highly-priced variety, and when bred with other high-end morphs like the Pied, the Pastel, or the Pinstripe ones, the price jumps by several folds. 

Going by the name Scaleless Pythons have patches of their bodies that are devoid of scales. Sometimes it’s the body or the head, or it may only have ventral scales, depending on the morph.

Scaleless Ball Pythons, when bred with other exotic varieties, produce some of the most highly valued morphs in the snake hobby.


10. Pinstripe Ball Python

  • Price: $200-$3,500
  • Scientific name: Python regius
  • Size: up to 6 feet
  • Lifespan: 20 years

Pinstripe Ball Pythons are just like regular ball pythons, with a dominant gene that distinguishes them from ordinary ones. 

With the regular standard colors as the base color, Pinstripes have thinner dark-colored patterns, which are reduced to thin stripe-like, hence the namepinstripe.” 

Plain pinstripes may have a low price, but when morphed with the high ends like the Pastel or the pied ones, their prices rise by several multiples.


11. Pied Ball Python

  • Price: $200-17,000
  • Scientific name: Python regius
  • Size: up to 6 feet
  • Lifespan: 20 years

Pied Ball Pythons are a general name for a wide group of morphs, which have regular body patterns along with a large white patch on the body. This patch may be only restricted to a part of the body or may cover the entire body, leaving just the head.

Pied Balls resulting from interbreeding with other ball python morphs produce a wide spectrum of morphs that can be sold for thousands of dollars.

The length of the white pattern or the combination along which it occurs, like the pastel ones, determines the price of Pied Ball Pythons.


12. Dreamsicle Ball python

  • Price: $1,000-$4,000
  • Scientific name: Python regius
  • Size: up to 6 feet
  • Lifespan: 20 years

Dreamsicle Ball Pythons fall among the most expensive snakes in the world, buying which is not a cup of cake for all. Dreamsicles are valued in the snake hobby due to their vibrant golden yellow coupled with pure white colorations.

The color patterns and the vibrancy of the colorations are what determine its price, which can easily go up to a few thousand dollars.


13. Palmetto Corn Snake

  • Price: up to $20,000
  • Scientific name: Pantherophis guttatus
  • Size: 24-72 inches
  • Lifespan: 20 years

Palmetto Corn Snakes are a variety of regular corn snakes, but it’s their coloration that distinguishes them from the regular ones. When young, palmetto corn snakes display a pinkish coloration with barely perceptible dots.

As they mature and shed skin in the process, they turn a brilliant white color with speckles of orange, red, and sometimes black or grey. They occur in nature in extremely small numbers but are becoming increasingly popular in the snake-keeping hobby.


14. Leucistic Western Hognose

  • Price: $6000
  • Scientific name: Heterodon nasicus
  • Size: up to 20 years
  • Lifespan: 20 inches on average

Apart from Ball Pythons, the only snake that can match up to ball python morphs is the Leucistic Western Hognose snake. Leucistic beings under it all the snakes that have stark white bodies and black or blue eyes.

Leucistic snakes are quite common in the market, but what makes the leucistic hognose snakes so expensive is their rarity.


15. Black-Headed Python

Black Headed Python

  • Price: $1,800-$4,000
  • Scientific name: Aspidites melanocephalus
  • Size: 6 feet
  • Lifespan: 28-30 years

As the name suggests, Black Headed Pythons have the majority of their bodies in the color range from cream to brown and several other shades, while their heads are completely black.

The majority of these pythons are calm. These Australian snakes frequently prey on other reptiles, including other snakes and even mammals, and are quite rare, making them one of the most expensive snakes.


16. Angolan Python

Angolan Python
Angolan Python
  • Price: $1000
  • Scientific name: Python anchietae
  • Size: 6 feet
  • Lifespan: up to 30 years

Endemic to Southern Africa, the Angolan Python is quite related to the Ball Pythons due to their temperament and care requirements.

Angolan Pythons are quite rare due to the risk catchers are exposed to, as the land was a war front and may have several unearthed land mines. Therefore the ones available are the captive-bred ones that have a black body with contrasting yellow or white stripes.


17. Boelen’s Python

  • Price: $12,000
  • Scientific name: Simalia boeleni
  • Size: up to 10 feet
  • Lifespan: 15-20 years

What’s special about Boelen’s Python is its color shift that occurs as it matures from a hatchling into an adult. The animal kicks off with a reddish-orange color and slowly turns black as it reaches maturity.

These animals are found at high elevations of over 7,500 feet and are extremely difficult to breed in captivity, resulting in their rarity and high price.


18. Albino Rainbow Boas

  • Price: $2,500-$7,500
  • Scientific name: Epicrates cenchria
  • Size: 4-6 feet
  • Lifespan: up to 30 years

Rainbow boas have a high value in the reptile pet industry and are one of the most expensive snakes in the world. The reason for their high demand is their iridescent sheen, coupled with their large structural patterns.

Among rainbow boas, the Brazilian Rainbow Boa is the most popular one, especially the albino variety, which is indeed a rarity.


19. Carpet Pythons

  • Price: $500-3,000
  • Scientific name: Morelia spilota
  • Size: 2.5-4 meters
  • Lifespan: 15-20 years

Carpet pythons occur in as many as eight subspecies, and the prices vary depending on the species and the color patterns. Size varies in the range of 3-5 meters and may weigh as much as 15 kg. Carpet Pythons belong to the class of constrictors, who kill their prey by constriction.


20. Labyrinth Burmese Python

  • Price: $1,000-$3,000
  • Scientific name: Python bivittatus
  • Size: 10-16 feet
  • Lifespan: 20 years

Labyrinth Burmese Pythons bring a diverse range of patterns. Where regular, predictable square-like patterns cover the dorsal of a Burmese Python, the Labyrinth Burmese Python, on the contrary, displays an additional layer of vertical patterns.

There are several individuals where huge sections of the horizontal lines are absent, leaving a neat black strip where the base color was absent.

In other cases, the square-like patterns can be shrunk, resulting in structures that resemble wobbling bubbles but have no relation to lateral patterning.

Here, we wind up our article on “20 Most Expensive Snakes in the World“. We do not encourage keeping snakes directly from the wild, and it is advisable to check for the lineage, whether it is captive-bred or not.

Please check out our other articles on snakes, their vision, and also on several other reptiles. Until then, goodbye.

References:

Rarest.org- 10 Most Expensive Snakes you can own

Petkeen- 12 Most Expensive Snakes in the World


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