On the Economic Viability of Ball Python Breeding

Hey everybody,

I just posted an article on my web site that discusses the economic viability of ball python breeding. It includes a detailed calculation of potential costs over a six-year period in an effort to determine what it take to truly make a profit. If you get a chance, please give it a read (it's fairly long).

It's too long to post on this forum but I'm hoping to discuss it here.

http://ballpythonbreeder.com/2010/04...thon-breeding/

http://ballpythonbreeder.com/images/viability.jpg

Cheers,

Thank you for writing this up! I learned that A) My business model doesn't suck and B) I'm not delusional. <lol>

An added bit of advice to make those 3-5 years go by more smoothly--you initial investment should NOT be hatchlings, it should consist of a mixture of recessive hatchlings, adult females, and male co-dom morphs. This will give you offspring in your first or second year of operation, and the money from those animals will enable you to pay for your operational costs without putting in more money from outside. At least, this has worked for me. After my initial investment, my breeding business has been self-sustaining. I have not made back my initial investment (in profit that isn't reinvested), and do not expect to do so for about 2 to 3 more years, but I don't have to put in anything from outside to maintain it and keep it growing.

Also, when I did the math and figured in bedding and feed, as well as equipment, raising my own rodents came out to approximately the same amount as buying them frozen, but with added labor costs. Remember that your time is worth money, too! Unfortunately, as we all know, some balls won't eat frozen, and hatchlings prefer live, so I do both. But don't feel you're losing money if you buy frozen. Buy in bulk, and buy efficiently, to save money on feeders.

In response to the vet portion of the equation...

Like a farmer, who must weigh and consider the cost of keeping livestock, sometimes it is not a prudent business decision to spend a lot of money on a vet. This, of course, depends on the animal. If its a high end animal, then it may be warranted, while alternatively, if its a low end animal, it makes no business sense to hang yourself with an overinflated vet bill.

In other words, the value of the animal has to justify the cost of the vet.

Brandons Balls.

Loved the article, Colin. Not enough people treat their business as a business.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BrandonsBalls

In response to the vet portion of the equation...

Like a farmer, who must weigh and consider the cost of keeping livestock, sometimes it is not a prudent business decision to spend a lot of money on a vet. This, of course, depends on the animal. If its a high end animal, then it may be warranted, while alternatively, if its a low end animal, it makes no business sense to hang yourself with an overinflated vet bill.

In other words, the value of the animal has to justify the cost of the vet.

Brandons Balls.

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In general, I agree.

In the world of risk management we avoid spending more protecting an asset than the asset is worth (which is frequently more than just its acquisition/replacement cost). Sometimes there are intangibles that justify additional expense (customer confidence, public perception, etc.), though. I can translate that to also say that a snake is a living thing worthy of vet care regardless of its financial value (e.g. an intangible value). From a purely business perspective it's an easy equation. From a human perspective ...not so much.

I really like the article. This will help me explain a few things to a friend of mine. He purchased a snake from me and I was telling him about some of the cost of certain snakes and so on and he decided to go out and get a bunch with out really looking into the market and the price drops and so on. Now he is breeding rats, 3.12 for 14 snakes of various sizes, and thinks that is going to save him money when at this time he will not save anything because he has immature rats..... Anyways excelent article and nit really lays it out there for the people who think they know everything. Yes a few small bits were left out but you explained that all well, prices going up on supplies and such. So all in all I am going to save that article to show to my friend and then explain it more to him and try to get him to see that what he is doing is going to end him in the hobby if he isn't careful. Thank you again for the article and the excelent breakdown of everything.

Tom

Nice read Colin. Well thought out and on the mark.

Excellent article Colin. This will actually serve as a great point of reference for the many people I talk to who decide to jump into this on a whim.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ColinWeaver

In general, I agree.

In the world of risk management we avoid spending more protecting an asset than the asset is worth (which is frequently more than just its acquisition/replacement cost). Sometimes there are intangibles that justify additional expense (customer confidence, public perception, etc.), though. I can translate that to also say that a snake is a living thing worthy of vet care regardless of its financial value (e.g. an intangible value). From a purely business perspective it's an easy equation. From a human perspective ...not so much.

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I totally agree. Thats why its hard to work both sides of the fence. On the one hand, you wants to practice good business, and on the other, sometimes feelings win out, even if it results in a loss. The message here is, sometimes money is not the most important thing.

AWESOME entry Colin. Man, I love your blog.
Covered everything I did wrong initially and have since corrected (impulse purchases leading to a bunch of open ended projects), and everything Ive been modeling now in order to have my hobby self sustain. Great read, again. Thanks for writing all that up.