MSB Reptiles
Premium lineage. Unmistakeably Monarch. Elevate Your Collection.
Located in Huntersville, North Carolina
MSB Reptiles
Premium lineage. Unmistakeably Monarch. Elevate Your Collection.
Located in Huntersville, North Carolina
About Us
ABOUT MSB REPTILES
A lifelong love of animals. A passion for exceptional reptiles.
Hi, I'm Miri Sydney Burnish, owner and breeder behind MSB Reptiles.
My love for reptiles started long before MSB Reptiles had a name. In third grade, my dad gave me my first snake — a California Kingsnake named Midnight. What began with one little kingsnake quickly became a lifelong fascination with reptiles, animals, husbandry, genetics, and everything that makes these incredible species so unique.
In 2015, I turned that passion into MSB Reptiles.
What started with Ball Pythons and Kingsnakes has grown into a diverse collection that includes Ball Pythons, colubrids, boas, reticulated pythons, rare colubrid species, lizards, tortoises, tarantulas, and more.
Today, my primary breeding focus is producing exceptional Ball Pythons and colubrids, with a particular passion for the Monarch gene.
MORE THAN A HOBBY
Animals aren't simply something I work with — they've shaped nearly every part of my life.
Alongside MSB Reptiles, I work professionally as a zookeeper caring for a wide variety of exotic species. That experience has only deepened the way I approach my own animals: with patience, attention to detail, respect for the individual animal, and an unwavering commitment to excellent husbandry.
Every animal at MSB Reptiles matters to me.
Whether I'm planning a pairing I've been dreaming about for years, watching a clutch hatch, raising a future breeder, or helping someone welcome their very first snake, I believe the same level of care should go into every step.
THE MSB STANDARD
MSB Reptiles was built around a simple idea: produce animals I am genuinely proud to put my name behind.
That means thoughtful pairings, exceptional husbandry, quality genetics, transparency, and customer service that continues long after an animal arrives at its new home.
I want every customer — from a first-time keeper to an established breeder — to feel comfortable asking questions. I'm always happy to talk husbandry, genetics, breeding plans, or simply help you decide whether a particular animal is the right fit for your collection.
Because ultimately, this isn't just about producing beautiful reptiles.
It's about contributing something meaningful to the hobby that gave me so much in the first place.
Premium lineage. Unmistakeably Monarch. Elevate Your Collection.
— Miri Sydney Burnish
Owner, MSB Reptiles
THE monarch story
Where it began. Where it's going.
The Monarch project holds a particularly special place at MSB Reptiles.
In 2019, MSB Reptiles acquired the Monarch collection of Rance Meier — the originator of the Monarch gene.With that collection came not only incredible animals and genetics, but a piece of Ball Python history that I am incredibly proud to continue working with today.
THE BEGINNING
The story of Monarch began years before anyone knew the gene existed.
In 1999, Rance acquired a pair of Pastels that initially proved exceptionally difficult to raise. For nearly a decade, the pair grew slowly and were inconsistent feeders. Eventually, things changed. The animals began thriving, breeding consistently, and the female finally produced her first clutch.
There were only two viable eggs.
What emerged from them, however, was anything but ordinary.
Rather than the Normals, Pastels, or Super Pastels that were expected, the hatchlings displayed unusual yellow-orange coloration, rich purple tones, and a striking reduction in black pigment.
One also displayed the pattern of a Genetic Stripe.
Those two animals would ultimately prove to be a Pastel Monarch and a Pastel Monarch Genetic Stripe.
Further breeding revealed that the original Pastel pair carried two independent simple recessive traits: Monarch and Genetic Stripe.
The following clutch provided additional combinations and, importantly, the first animal expressing the Monarch gene without Pastel or Genetic Stripe — allowing the appearance of the individual recessive trait to be seen clearly.
A new Ball Python mutation had been established.
THE NEXT CHAPTER
Years later, Monarch became part of my own story.
When I acquired Rance Meier's Monarch collection in 2019, I took on a project with an incredible history and enormous potential.
Since then, Monarch has become the cornerstone of MSB Reptiles.
My goal isn't simply to reproduce the gene. It's to continue exploring what Monarch can become through carefully selected pairings, complementary genetics, exceptional examples, and generations of thoughtful breeding.
There is still so much left to discover.
And that's exactly what makes it exciting!