Re: Do you think its a good idea?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
toddmbecker1234
Honastly not really. Once you figure out how much it costs you to raise those lil hatchling females to adults it is cheaper to just buy several adult females when the time comes. I know you can buy baby females for around $35 each but it is going to take you aproximately three years to get the breedable. I purchased six adult proven breeders all over 2,000 grams for $150 each. IF you add up the amount of rats and time it just isnt financially sound to buy a bunch of hatchlings for that purpose in my opinion. Todd
I disagree 100%. You are always better off getting younger females and raising them yourself. As already stated it is quite common for a female of breeding weight and age to NOT want to go for at least a year after getting rehomed....
To take that one step further though, with a few exceptions breeders aren't exactly interested in selling their best breeders. For example, when it comes time for a breeder to sell 5 of his 20 female breeders to make room for other stuff, what are they likely to sell? I'll tell you:
1.) A snake that just laid last year and is not getting up to wait very quick and likely won't go the next year. (this could be a 2,000 gram girl! you have no idea how much she weight prior to weighing her last clutch!!!)
2.) A snake that tends to lay a high percentage of bad eggs
3.) A snake that won't produce at all
4.) A snake that only produces every other year or worse
5.) A problem feeder
6.) A snake that despite large size only lays 2 or 3 eggs each year
7.) Ultimately a snake that they have determined to be no longer worth keeping as a breeder.
So really the question is would you rather start with a young snake that you can raise up correctly and have the best chances of producing healthy kids? Or would you rather rush and buy someone elses older snake that for probably more reason then one they decided was no longer worth their trouble keeping... Even though they already put the time and money into raising it to a breeding age... Or maybe they bought someone elses undesirables too...
