While I am nowhere near the success of Kevin and don't dream of ever achieving that success or growth of NERD and will never be an Adam, here is how I started and where I hope to be.
Since as early as I can remember I have been fascinated by snakes and lizards. They have always had a special place to me. I remember flipping every rock and board to see what I would find underneath. As soon as they allowed me to keep my first snake, my room has always had enclosure with snakes and lizards I had caught in the yard and treasured them as if they were priceless.
My passion for herps was put on the back burner during my military years, but was rekindled after seeing the reptile display in a pet store. Not knowing what to do after the military, I decided why not do what I love. After owning a few boas, pythons, monitors and chameleons, I decided to pursue this hobby as a full time business. As you can imagine, no one was surprised to hear that I wanted to work with reptiles.
Our focus up until this year was on Boas and Boa morphs and with the support of my wife Katherine and friends in the hobby we built quite a nice size collection of high end Boas. Unfortunately before we were able to get things really rolling, we moved and state laws banning Boas and large constrictors really put a squeeze (no pun intended) on our love for Boas!
After coming to the harsh conclusion that moving again was not an option and having to part with my Boas. I researched everything from Jungle Carpet Pythons, Green Tree Pythons, Jaguars, Bloods, etc, etc. Finally, my wife said "what about Ball Pythons?" and I decided that I would do some homework. After a few weeks of researching and seeing how they are relatively small in size, almost unlimited colors and patterns, tons of potential, and thanks to last year have started to come down to reasonable prices that most hobbyist can afford without mortgaging their homes. We decided to look further into Ball Pythons!
We chatted with keepers, spoke to and met with small and big breeders, etc, etc. Needless to say, we instantly fell in love with the species.
Once certain on what we wanted and the direction we wanted to go in, as well as a business plan that continues to evolve. I began selling off my Boas and current equipment/cages to help fund purchasing Ball Pythons, racks, tubs, the best thermostats and set up rat breeding colony to ensure I have a steady supply of healthy live feeders. I also early on decided I only wanted to own and support 100% CBB Ball Pythons Vs Imports as much as I could in my collection. I started out purchasing fifty 100% CBB females from Mike Wilbanks at Constrictors.com for starters to raise myself Vs buying large females, I'm in no rush and prefer to start out right. Later this year I hope to purchase Ball morphs such as a Pied, Caramel, Albino, Pastel, Spider, Lesser and a few others at the Daytona show or early.
The best part for me is, I do not depend on this to pay my bills or support my family. I am not in any credit card debts or in a hole because of my snakes. Any profit made can and will go straight back into the business, which is more like an overgrown hobby, at least in my case.
I know this is a full time, full blown business for some that depend on it's income to feed their families, which can be a source of stress at times. But, for me it's 100% hobby! A hobby with the potential to support and grow itself to the level I want it to be at. The day it stops being fun and actual work for me, I will sell off all my snakes, tubs, racks and take up fishing! :sunny:
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