Herp breeders - how do you keep your records?

While I've only barely begun trying to breed reptiles, I've just recently earned my Master's in Library & Information Science with special focus in archives and records management. As I've been looking for gainful employment as an Archivist and thinking a lot about records in general, I've wondered how breeders in the herp community keep their records.

My own practices are fairly simple due the small number of critters I have - just Excel spreadsheets on each individual animal. It has their basic info such as species, sex, provenance, as well as shed and feed charts. Would anyone who breeds and keeps on a larger scale like to chime in on your own recordkeeping practices? Do you use exclusively paper records or do you use some sort of database software like FileMaker Pro? What about mobile apps? I've been tooling around with a bunch of half-baked ideas on this based on practices from the RM/archives/library fields, but I'd love to hear input on what people are doing already.

(Brought over from previous thread)

I've just started in this hobby, only have 5 Ball Pythons, but I can already tell that organization is a huge key to success. I just started using iHerp to keep track of my collection, and have begun labeling all of my tubs with QR codes that directly link to that animal's iHerp page so I can easily update it with feeding, shed, etc.

I use a note book. And in it is random chicken scratch unless you know what book is then youll see its got feed dates size of pray, when they shed full or not, any random notes, sex guessed age, and names. There's a order just a messy one

I used to use Excel. Now I use Google Docs/Spreadsheet since I can access it anywhere.
Sometimes I use good old fashion pen and paper.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by satomi325

I used to use Excel. Now I use Google Docs/Spreadsheet since I can access it anywhere.
Sometimes I use good old fashion pen and paper.

---

Hmmm... you know, as trick as the iHerp interface is a good, old fashioned spreadsheet might do the job just as well... wonder how hard it'd be to rig up QR codes for a Google Doc... Probably not very.

Ive been using composition books for years and years. I make a grid like page for each snake, I put its name gender, morph, and hatch date in block at the top, and record its meals, quarterly weights, and any other pertinent data that I feel needs to be recorded about that snake. If we end up selling that particular animal, the page gets torn out and given to the new owner. Its an old fashioned system that works great for me. Computers annoy me too much, which is why I use notebooks.

The QR code thing is definitely interesting, I'll have to look into that.

Slight tangent from the original point, but do you use an ID number system for your herps? If so, how do you come up with the IDs? Is there a commonly used system or do people generally create their own?

For available hatchlings I use index cards, for my breeders I use this http://reptilescan.com/users/sign_in (Android Version), I only record what is important to ME (Ovy, pre-lay shed, egg laying, clutches.)

Excel is fine for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Deborah

For available hatchlings I use index cards, for my breeders I use this http://reptilescan.com/users/sign_in (Android Version), I only record what is important to ME (Ovy, pre-lay shed, egg laying, clutches.)

---

That program has EVERYTHING I want, but... I'm not paying $25 for a mobile app.