looking for some advice

So I've been a snake owner since 12 now 19 i really love ball pythons and have started to grow a little bit of a collection im hoping to sustain the collection off of the offspring and maybe one day turn profitable without sacrificing the care and quality of my animals, anyways with that being said heres the numbers i got currently my feeders are running me a $1.6 a f/t rat from a great local supplier that feeds mazuri i just had 2 racks built with 32 quart tubs with heat for $450 i bought a used 32 quart tub rack from repticon with a ve-300 for $250 then i found a homemade rack online local for $20 dollars i just had to redo the heat tape and 9 41 quart tubs included so $100 total in that rack
so i got $900 in racks in thermostats enough to house 23 snakes for their lifespan i currently have 13 tubs filled with the following with pricing i was able to get quite a few package deals
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under 300 grams
Male maker Banana granite - paid $115
cinnamon 100% het for pied (Seen the parents and very clear markers) $100 for a pair
male spinner paid $50 (*package deal with female mojave and cinny het pied pair)
Super pastel male and firefly female paid $150 for the pair
Black pewter female paid $175
male Yellowbelly GHI $300 (Future ghi super stripe project)
Female Specter (GHI super stripe project)
400 - 800 grams
male mojave Yellowbelly paid $40 hes almost 500 grams
female fire lesser paid $175 she 750 grams
female mojave paid $50
calico Yellowbelly paid $115 as package deal with the banana granite
Caramel albino het hypo no kinks doing great 130+shipping
1000+ grams plus
1300 gram female normal het OG paid $40
Male LesserBee het OG (1500 grams) paid $150 delivered at repitcon
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i'm bedding my snakes with reptile basics cypress mulch at $12.99 a 2 cu bag, my question here is i'm just trying to decide what the next move is for the 10 tubs that are available should i buy more specters for ghi super stripe combos, should i get some more het pied females? i really like axanthic stuff and i could do a super stripe axanthic project. anyways id love to hear some options thanks! Brandon

Also when does the point come where its more cost effective to breed my own rats

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Originally Posted by bu998

Also when does the point come where its more cost effective to breed my own rats

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You may not ever want to breed your own rodents if you get reasonable prices from a local supplier that feeds quality food.

Some things to consider: you're young...do you live 'at home'? What about when that changes? It's hard enough to find a place to rent with one snake,
not likely with a colony & NO way w/ raising rats. I know everything is probably "perfect" right now, but you need to look 'down the road' a ways to plan.

How much time do you seriously have? Rats take a lot of time, feeding, cleaning, thinning out & monitoring the breeding...plus, they SMELL like RATS!
Do you have a place to do that, with proper temperatures for them, where they won't stink up your house? What about other pets that may go after them?

Raising my own rodents is something I've done for over 35+ years now...since before they were even "snake food". Rats, mice & Russian dwarf hamsters.
Done right, you'll have too many & sell the surplus to support your snakes. But, if you aren't living in a large city where prices are competitive on shipping
the supplies you'll buy on a regular basis, you may be lucky to break even. And still all that work. Don't forget you'll be filing taxes on your business, so
read up on deductions etc- I hope you're good at keeping records & math?
It is, however, very convenient to have all sizes available as feeders when you have finicky snakes like BPs.

Raising snakes OR rodents (or both) to sell? Don't quit your day job... and remember to set aside money for vet bills when snakes have medical needs too.
The "price" of a snake doesn't end with the purchase price. They can become egg-bound, ill or just fail to reproduce, so don't count your beeps before they
hatch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

You may not ever want to breed your own rodents if you get reasonable prices from a local supplier that feeds quality food.

Some things to consider: you're young...do you live 'at home'? What about when that changes? It's hard enough to find a place to rent with one snake,
not likely with a colony & NO way w/ raising rats. I know everything is probably "perfect" right now, but you need to look 'down the road' a ways to plan.

How much time do you seriously have? Rats take a lot of time, feeding, cleaning, thinning out & monitoring the breeding...plus, they SMELL like RATS!
Do you have a place to do that, with proper temperatures for them, where they won't stink up your house? What about other pets that may go after them?

Raising my own rodents is something I've done for over 35+ years now...since before they were even "snake food". Rats, mice & Russian dwarf hamsters.
Done right, you'll have too many & sell the surplus to support your snakes. But, if you aren't living in a large city where prices are competitive on shipping
the supplies you'll buy on a regular basis, you may be lucky to break even. And still all that work. Don't forget you'll be filing taxes on your business, so
read up on deductions etc- I hope you're good at keeping records & math?

It is, however, very convenient to have all sizes available as feeders when you have finicky snakes like BPs.
Raising snakes OR rodents (or both) to sell? Don't quit your day job...

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I have been saving receipts and keeping records of all my animals weight shed feedings size of prey etc. I work full time as a forklift operator right now so i have 6 hours a night to tend to my animals plus the weekends i really enjoy this hobby 🙌

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Originally Posted by bu998

... i really enjoy this hobby 🙌

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Me too. :sweeet: I guess that's my point too...things are never as much fun when they turn into "jobs", & when the income matters.

its funny because no matter how much money i spend on supplies snakes rodents etc i don't feel bad about it at all i feel like i'm benefiting every time thats how i know the passion is real i justify every purchase thinking i got a good deal lol and i dont just blow cash i've had to work and learn to save since i wanted my first car at 16 :salute:

Maybe that's how we know we're doing the right thing? The heart wants what the heart wants, & life is too short to ignore our inner voice.
And working for what we want makes all the difference in the world...I wish you every success. :gj: