Me and Ball Pythons
My first boid was actually a ball python.  I got her in 1991 as a wild caught adult at a pet store for $89. Before that, the only snake I owned was a corn snake and I thought having a python was the coolest thing in the world.  Of course, the ball python died of mouth rot shortly after I brought her home...probably from not being cared for properly in the pet store.  Fortunately, our hobby has come a long way in the past couple decades and keeping a ball python alive is a no-brainer, even for small pet stores like the one where I purchased that first one.  I got back into reptiles in 2001 after a three and a half year break (for college courses, etc.) and I've been keeping ball pythons ever since.

Clown Ball Python
 

Size
Ball pythons are a great snake for someone with limited space because although they get fairly large, they're terrestrial and like small spaces (they commonly live in underground burrows in the wild), so they can be kept in rack systems throughout their lives.  They still get big enough to be impressive, so it's really a win-win in terms of size and space requirements.

Temperament
Ball pythons are generally shy, inoffensive snakes that don't bite.  Instead of biting, they're "hard-wired" to curl up in a ball to avoid being harmed.  Their calm behavior combined with their "just right" size has made the ball python the most popular pet python in the hobby.  Some can be tricky and take a little longer to acclimate to a new environment, but once they settle in, they make great snakes.

Not all of them are mellow, though.  Every now and then, you'll come across a baby ball python that will strike if it feels threatened.  I get a kick out of snappy ball pythons. I picked out a group of about a dozen angry ones a few years back and even though they've calmed down, they've always been great eaters. 

Another thing I've noticed is that angry ball pythons seem to produce angry babies. I have some especially snappy adult females that produce entire clutches of angry babies.

Ball Pythons as Pets
Because these snakes tend to hide most of the time, I can't say they're all that fun to keep unless you're breeding them.  Fortunately, they're easy to breed and in that sense, they're really a lot of fun because of the variety of affordable mutations (morphs) available.  If the thought of designing your dream snake sounds like fun, ball pythons are definitely worth considering.

Projects
Ball pythons have always been more of a passion project for me than anything else.  Now that the prices of morphs are starting to become reasonable, more people like myself are starting to get back into them.  About two years ago, I started putting together a little project for my little brother, Cody (pictured on my about page). I have to admit, my interest in ball python morphs has certainly been rekindled. Now that Cody's getting old enough to think about breeding snakes more seriously, I can justify spending a few bucks to get some fun stuff for him to play with.  The ball pythons aren't a huge project by any means, but we have a few dozen animals and we're both having a blast.

Since this is just a fun project for my brother and I to work with, we're just working on a few really exciting combo projects that we think will be awesome.

Clown
This has been my favorite ball python morph since I saw one in a book back in the mid 1990's.  I'm a big fan of pattern mutations and in my eyes, the Clown is still the most appealing pattern mutation out there.

I was fortunate enough to pick up a male from Kevin and Kara at NERD this past season.  He's eating like a champ and I can't wait to get started breeding him to some attractive color mutations like Ghosts, Fires, Pastels, etc.
 

Orange Ghost
The Orange Ghost is another one that I've been enamored with since seeing one in the mid 1990's.  To this day, I still can't get over how gorgeous they are.  The Orange Ghost is essentially a hypomelanistic (meaning less melanin than usual) ball python, which has a frosted or "ghostly" look to it.  Sometimes the Orange Ghost is referred to as a "Hypo" or "Orange Hypo".  It is one of the very first ball python mutations ever proven and remains one of the most popular.  Rarity or lack thereof aside, I think it's still one of the top two or three best looking color mutations around...even more attractive than the albino, lavender albino and caramel albino, in my opinion.  In terms of combinations, the ghost works well with almost every other morph, as it brightens and gets rid of any dirtiness that may set in on other morphs as they mature into adulthood.  As far as ball pythons go, I think the Orange Ghost Clown would have to be my dream snake.  Hopefully some day soon we'll get to hatch one.
 

Fire
The Fire or "Fire Ball" is essentially a co-dominant hypomelanistic (meaning reduced melanin or black pigment).  While not nearly as extreme as the Orange Ghost, it's still a very pretty mutation and can be used to lighten and brighten other mutations.  The homozygous or "super" form of the Fire is a black eyed Leucistic, an all white snake with black eyes.  While I like the idea of the all white Leucistic, I really do like the Fire's appearance.  The Fire really tends to clean up any other mutation you combine them with, such as the Pastel Jungle.  One of the nicest Fire combos I've seen thus far is the Fire x Ghost combo. I imagine we'll probably be breeding our female fire to the male clown when she's big enough to go, but I'm sure we'll also make an attempt and combining the Fire with the Orange Ghost gene at some point.
 

Sable
The Sable project is one that a lot of people have snubbed because they haven't actually sat down and looked at the Sable and Super Sable.  While it's been marketed as a genetic "hypermelanistic" (dark) ball python, that's really not what I like about them.  What interested me in the Sable project is the fact that they have an extremely aberrant pattern, and it's even more extreme in the homozygous or "Super Sable" form.  When combined with color mutations, I think the pattern will become more obvious and people will start seeing what I see.
 

Sable x Light Colored Normal
Here is proof that the pattern of the Sable becomes more obvious when the snake is lightened up.  These snakes were produced by breeding a Sable to a light colored normal female that tends to throw light colored babies.

Like any ball python, these snakes have darkened a little since their first shed, but they're still several shades lighter than the regular sables. 

Pastel Jungle
For those who are new to ball pythons, the Pastel Jungle is a standard co-dominant mutation with the homozygous form being the Super Pastel Jungle.   The Pastels have always been one of my favorites and even though they're relatively common and the least expensive mutation in the ball python world, they're still an important ingredient for a lot of awesome combos.