What to do with hatchlings?

I have several ball pythons that I want to breed next season. I'm not trying to make a profit or anything, but it would be nice to make back some of my investment. I was just wondering what would be the best way for just a hobby breeder to sell their hatchlings? Would a classified ad work? Would a pet store buy them? Would a larger breeder buy them? Thanks in advance for you input!

I would recommend you find someone local to you who is certified to ship...or you can try to get fedex certified on your own, if you're willing to put that much time and effort in for just a few snakes.

If you keep accurate records and such, then I bet you could sell them quickly with a classifieds ad on this forum, Fauna, or Kingsnake. Fauna and Kingsnake aren't free, but you will get your ad out to quite an audience.

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Originally Posted by nathanledet

I would recommend you find someone local to you who is certified to ship...or you can try to get fedex certified on your own, if you're willing to put that much time and effort in for just a few snakes.

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Or even better Nate. ;)

If your going to take on the task of breeding be able to deal with and ship the animals on your own. :D

Just my two cents.

I don't think that being certified to ship is a necessary requirement in order to breed. There are a lot of people who breed and simply go through someone else who is already certified. There are a lot of hoops you have to jump through to get certified, and some people simply don't have the time.

I don't see a problem with having someone else ship for you if they're certified.

I don't see a problem having someone else ship for you. But if you're going to get serious about breeding, even as just a hobby, then you should get certified. It's not that hard and doesn't take that much time. A couple of phone calls, mail off a box, sign some stuff - nothing that takes more than 5 min out of your day.

You should definately be prepared to keep your snake's offspring should they not sell right away. Equip yourself with the proper baby racks, tubs, heating and thermostat before you even think of breeding. A top-notch incubator is also needed; researching that is a must. I tried going the easy route and had a cheap Hovabator fail on me and it cost me 2 cluches.
That being said, it is not always easy to sell your snakes, especially if you do not have a reputation to go back on.. factoring in the cost of the incubator, the money spent on feeding your snakes, tubs for future babies; I do not think that you should count on making back the money you spent on the original snakes. I still have to do my own math personally, but I do not think that I did!

I sell my normals to a local pet store. I've been doing it for years. He likes to sell locally bred snakes. He breeds alot of his own snakes but no BPs. I get more for them than if I tried to sell them at a show for $25 or $30 each.

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Originally Posted by nathanledet

I don't think that being certified to ship is a necessary requirement in order to breed. There are a lot of people who breed and simply go through someone else who is already certified. There are a lot of hoops you have to jump through to get certified, and some people simply don't have the time.

I don't see a problem with having someone else ship for you if they're certified.

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True one or two hatchlings I could see your totally right

Thanks for your input everyone! I have another question on the same topic: Do I have to keep all of the hatchlings in seperate containers?

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Originally Posted by Pecan'nPumpkinPython

Thanks for your input everyone! I have another question on the same topic: Do I have to keep all of the hatchlings in seperate containers?

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You don't have to, but you should definately house them separately. It causes stress and if there's a problem (suspect poop, regurge, etc) it can be hard to pinpoint it on what animal did it. So yeah, house them separately.