Who's Making Money Breeding Ball Pythons?

This poll was suggested during discussion in another thread. So, who out there is making money, losing money, or breaking even?

Hmmm...good question....
Last year I kept track of every dime for the year....Rats and Mice, supplies, show fees and expenses, racks, ads, you name it I logged it. Every snake I bought and sold and produced...
I hatched out 70 Ball Pythons and 29 Red Tails...kept 14 babies out of what I produced...higher end stuff...2.4 Dbl het Albino/Pieds 2.2 Dbl het Axa/Pieds, Spider Het Pied, Pastave female, Het Albino female and a Lemon Blast male.
Spent $17,150.00 buying snakes and had $5,400.00 of babies from 2011 that I sold in 2012 and by the time I closed the books for 2011 I had lost $11,254.00. Now if I would have sold what I kept I would have came out ahead but what fun is that.
Travis
Lair of Dragons

Colin Weaver wrote an interesting artical on the subject of trying to turn a profit BP breeding

http://ballpythonbreeder.com/2011/03...on-investment/

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Originally Posted by Lair of Dragons

Now if I would have sold what I kept I would have came out ahead but what fun is that.

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Travis, yours is an excellent example of a net loss that I would consider a sum total gain!

Mike Wilbanks had a video on the "ball python game" pretty recently. The gist of it was basically you cant go wrong investing in balls lol! I havent bred yet, plan to this fall though. I dont ever see myself breeding for profit really. My ultimate goal is just to profuce high quality animals that i love and that hopefully customers love too. I'll probably hold back as many as i can my 1st few years anyways. Most holdbacks will be the best snakes i produce. So ya, eventually if i can make a little extra cash doing it then ya thatd be awesome. Even if i can make enough just to cover food/bedding/other costs id be happy :)
I'll see if i can get a link to mikes video, hang tight everbody...

EDIT: heres where i saw the video from:
http://thereptilereport.com/mike-wil...the-ball-game/

This my first year breeding. Whether I break even or get a profit will depend on the odds of what hatches. We'll just have to wait and see.

I don't care if I never make a dime of profit from my snakes. Sure...it'd be nice if my hobby paid for itself, but it's just that: a hobby. People have all sorts of hobbies...for my dad it was his Corvette...and I promise you that never MADE him any money. This is my hobby. :)

We just started so we aren't expecting to come out ahead for at least another year or two. We'll be lucky/happy if our handful of clutches can pay for this year's expenses.

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Originally Posted by spitzu

We just started so we aren't expecting to come out ahead for at least another year or two. We'll be lucky/happy if our handful of clutches can pay for this year's expenses.

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I found that very hard to do....I keep buying BP's and started out with spending no more than $400.00 for a snake the first year...then the next year it went up to $700.00 and this year I have bought some to where its up to $2000.00. Only been back in BPs for three breeding seasons. Collection went from 5 first year and 1 clutch...second year had 30 something BPs and 15 clutches and the count now is 67 in year three years and if I hit 100% female production it would be 28 clutches. I am averaging spending about $1500.00 a month adding more morphs this year so far and I dont have a single egg out yet...got to love it and my wife understands the addiction....thank God.
Travis
Lair of Dragons

I can't answer yet as I just started breeding. I plan to start tracking expense, but I know that so far I am way behind. I haven't made a single penny yet, but hope to change that soon. I finally have eggs, 2 from one of my cresties and some one the way from my ball pythons. With any luck in a few years, my hobby will at least pay for itself. :D