I'm at an impasse so I seek outside opinions.
Hi all,
It's been a while since I've posted, this is mainly due to being far too busy to think about much else other than the rapidly expanding Rat Breeding that I've been doing. Pet rats are funding my vacation it looks like, while culls feed the collection.
One of the local ladies that I've bought feeders from is also a smaller ball python breeder who earlier this year picked up a collection from someone and has offered me a deal that I am leaning towards taking. The deal is shaping up like this:
I receive (2) adult female snakes from her, these snakes being a Mojave Pastel Spider Hypo and a BEL (from a Mojave het Hypo to a Mojave Black Pastel het Hypo). In exchange, I will pair them to my Banana Enchi Hypo male and split their first clutch from each female with her.
I know that the offer is serious as these are two girls that she has duplication on all their genes. She would be getting some good genetics and I've be getting into the breeding game about a year or two in advance of my original timeline.
I know that there are pros and cons to doing this, so I am here to get more input than I can get out of my own thoughts.
I am financially ready to take all this on, I've already got the adult rack on order and should be here within the next month. I'd be buying an Incubator for pickup at the Fall Tinley show and going that route.
Is there any reason to NOT do this? Worst case, any excess babies I could easily just pass off to her for sale through her existing channels and she's totally okay with that.
Thanks again for all your help. I appreciate you all greatly.
Best,
Paul
Re: I'm at an impasse so I seek outside opinions.
Breeding loans can be tricky and stressful. I prefer to go at it alone, if I fail it's on me plus there is so much that can go wrong with a breeding loan. I think it's too risky for me to bring in outside animals, I quarantine all new arrivals for 6-9 months specially since you say she recently picked up these animals herself. At the end of the day a breeding loan would last about 16 months for me. It's not worth it to me to take care of someone's snake and feed them for that long. I would do all the work and end up having to give them half my clutch. If you decide to go that route I suggest you work out everything in advance and have it notarized. Include everything that can happen during this period and address it. Work out who gets first pick of the clutch, what happens if the snakes get sick or if it dies. This may sound like a great idea but unless you really know the person and will be working closely with them it's not worth the headache.