Normal offspring fait?

[Freakie_frog]

I have a somewhat morbid question. Breeders that breed co-doms what do you do with the normals? I know some of you keep them and sell them but for someone like me the cost to feed all the normals would soon surpass the profit of selling a $50 - $60 normal. And it would cost more to keep them than it would to sell them wholesale. I plan on holding back the females but the males ??? Once you get enough females for a smaller project where do you go from there? Does it ever come to having them put down? Breeders please let me know.

[Nate]

i don't think anyone intentionally kills any of their snakes that they produce. Breeders are willing to put months of work into a normal, even if the results are 30 bucks.

[Freakie_frog]

See I could not bring myself to kill any of my little ones. I was just wondering if it was like sale them wholesale to the herp stores around town(my plan). Or if they ever have to put them down. Thanks for the quick reply.

[frankykeno]

Ed, this is something my husband and I have discussed at length going into our first breeding season with the BPs. We are looking at breeding 1 male to 3 females so if we are terribly unlucky or the odds are just against us we could end up with 3 clutches of all males (they will all be possible het albino's btw but basically they are normals for all breeding purposes).

For us it's a moral question. We know that it's our responsibility to ensure the proper care and life of any creature we knowingly produce. These aren't accidental breedings. Since we are, on purpose, introducing sexually mature creatures we feel we are bound morally to provide for all their healthy offspring...normal or morph. We've already got a list of 3 approved people that want normal males for pets and we'll continue to network and build on that list in preparation for eggs this year. We are going to join our local Herp group to network there as well. Also we are searching for decent pet stores that might like a few males but are also going to keep them properly even in a pet store environment. We know that financially normal males are not going to make any money for us, and that's fine, just a part of the cost of a snake breeding operation. We've discussed other issues like selling to minors, return policies in the event the snake can no longer be kept by the purchaser, live shipping guarantees, etc.....all just part of building this small hobby of ours up year by year.

In the end, Ed, we may end up housing and caring for a lot of normal males over the years and that's fine with us. We put their parents together, we're responsible for these snakes...for us that's a pretty easy decision.

[Freakie_frog]

Joanna;
Thanks so much for the insightfull post! I feel the same way you do in that the offspring will be my responsibility to care for and provide for. I will be keeping some males and females for my little program till I get the right ratio. Then I have a deal with our local Herp shop here in town to buy them wholesale to sell as pets.

[Laooda]

I'm going make an assumption here... If you were to locate a GOOD local herp shop, even one an hour or so away? (and realize that they are probably not going to give you much of anything for norm. males) but will care for them, and educate their customers as they buy... and a good store will... That they would MUCH rather purchase livestock from a small, responsible breeder- than an importer/ etc... As long as you match a fair price... Just a thought!

I think (Might be wrong) the ratio of normal BP owners that have them as pets, vs. the ratio of morph owners/ breeders is still very high on the pet side! ? ! ?


EDIT: Yea, what you just said ED! lol!

[markface]

i work in a petshop that has a really good reptile department . i'm actually one of 2 assistant mgrs in the reptile department . we buy alot of normal male bp's from local breeders to resell as pets . so for me , selling the males to the petshop is my best option .

[rabernet]

I've thought about it as well. I know I'll also have 50% possible het boys that I will offer first here as normal male pricing ($20 or $30 obo + shipping). Maybe even $20 is too high, I don't know. My main concern is finding a good home for them, and for many members here, a nice, well started pet is really all they are looking for.

[joepythons]

I have a somewhat morbid question. Breeders that breed co-doms what do you do with the normals? I know some of you keep them and sell them but for someone like me the cost to feed all the normals would soon surpass the profit of selling a $50 - $60 normal. And it would cost more to keep them than it would to sell them wholesale. I plan on holding back the females but the males ??? Once you get enough females for a smaller project where do you go from there? Does it ever come to having them put down? Breeders please let me know.

Well myself i have had no problems finding homes for any of the normals(males or females) i have produced the last 2yrs and i see no problems in the future either.I never add in the costs to feed them until they go to a new home ever.I have never heard of anyone having to put them down either.If it came down to it i would just give them away before i would kill them.

[Rapture]

I've thought about it as well. I know I'll also have 50% possible het boys that I will offer first here as normal male pricing ($20 or $30 obo + shipping). Maybe even $20 is too high, I don't know. My main concern is finding a good home for them, and for many members here, a nice, well started pet is really all they are looking for.

I wouldn't think that $20.00 retail is too high for a male if you are producing quality healthy animals. True enough, they are not worth much for breeding purposes, but a healthy pet snake is worth a fair amount.