Ask NERD

Kara messaged me about the ammount of PM's she is getting from users asking about her business and experiences. We thought it best to make a public thread out of it where users can ask her all sorts of questions and she could answer. So if you have any questions about her business, her experiences, or anything else, she'll be happy to answer. So lets kick it off, ask away.

lol, i bet i was the first to send the pm... i simply asked her to explain her occupation, and how she went about getting into it. i would love to find a job like that.

LOL...actually Will, you weren't the first, but you were the most recent! ;) Basically my "occupation" involved a little bit of everything we do here @ NERD - cleaning cages, taking care of snakes, dealing with customers, giving tour facilities, setting up & working our table @ herp shows, etc. etc. etc. Primarily my focus has been on the website re-design, as well as both print and online advertising, but the rest of everything takes up the majority of my time. Baby season keeps me extremely busy since I work mostly with hatchling and juvenile snakes, and that can mean upwards of 600 animals in my designated room at a time. I typically put in a 10-12 hour day, but during baby season & show season, those days can easily go to 14 or 16 hours.

I joined the NERD crew just over a year ago. Up till that point I was raising and breeding snakes in TX and was also holding a career in print media...my move to NH was the result of a long-distance relationship in which the long-distance part was getting very, very old. ;) At that point I packed up all my animals & moved 1800 miles Northeast, so it was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me.

Will, what part of this industry are you considering for employment? Are you looking to start your own breeding programs or are you interested in doing things at a zoological institution? There are a lot of cool occupations that involve herpkeeping, but thery're also extremely competitive and more of a labor of love than a fat paycheck. If I can help steer you in any particular direction or lend any advice, just let me know!

K

Basically Kara you live all of our dream jobs. Most people sit there wishing they could make a business out of herping, maybe small time breeding. I'll probly end up with breeding as a part time thing, but never take it quite to your level. So people marvel at the morphs they wish they could keep, and wish they could do it too. I love looking at NERD's pics, lucky you! You get to see them in real life and care for them. Hehe

Needless to say people are full of questions, lol, as you've figured out.

Speaking of adds, interested in a banner swap or something? I only have 2 adds up so far, so NERD would be up a lot on the site.

HEy Kara..........when I get older I want to do soemthing with reptiles......I am no doubt breeding but not for the cash....for the joy of the hobby and to introduce more species to the general public. Such as Womas and Blackheadeds(thats my dream).

Well what is a good career to work with them?? LIke besides breeding?

I would most likely get into zoology. I'm in love with all animals, just have a very big soft spot for reptiles. I would love to care for reptiles at a zoo, it's most definitely my dream job. It just seems like it would be a waste of time trying any way I look at it. The demand for positions are incredibly low

I think the most important thing is to determine how you value your herpkeeping experience. Is it a hobby that provides "downtime" from other aspects of your life - i.e. career, relationships, etc. If so, it may be a good idea to better investigate how to spend more time partaking in your hobby, or making it more enriching for you instead of trying to turn it into a career. I know it sounds like fun to think "wow, working with snakes all day must be GREAT!" But what do you do when your hobby becomes your entire life? What do you do for escape? Can you handle doing something 27/7 (cause this isn't a 9-5 occupation) without burnout? Will it still be as fun when you depend on your animals to make a living? Are you financially comfortable enough to not have to stake everything on a single project or animal?

Remember that there are a lot of ways to be an actively involved herper without making it your whole life...and I only say that to warn about burnout. ;) Get involved with your local herp society...start spending time in the field herping for your native wildlife...volunteer at a zoo or wildlife museum just to get your foot in the door. If you know an already established herp breeder, discuss the possibility of doing an internship with them for more experience.

If you're determined to make herps your career, you must determine if you want to go the academic route (herpetology), the propagation route (herpetoculture), the medical route (veterinary practice), or follow some other aspect. A good place to start is having a college degree in biology, and following it up with additional coursework in zoology - this can open more doors for you along the way - i.e. pursuing a teaching degree or applying at an AZA-accredited facility.

If you're absolutely just nuts about your animals and want to continue to enjoy them without having a ton of pressure from other aspects in your life, keeping reptiles as a hobby & getting to a point where breeding them allows you to pay for your hobby is a feasible idea.

K

I actually want to be a herpetologist. Keeping snakes is awsome, and breeding even better. But watching a 20 foot anaconda sleep in a tank is nothing like chasing them in a swamp. I love the natural aspect of it, I'd get too bored. I wish I could go herping in Africa some day...

Kara, do you ever go herping outside of NH? Or are you more in the herpetoculture aspect of it?

I absolutely go field herping every chance I get!!!!! I travel to another state (won't say where) to visit a Timber rattlesnake den at least twice a year - we saw over 50 Timbers in 2 trips this year (combined) and it was really fantastic! I used to live in TX, so field herping in West Texas was practically a weekend ritual when I could get away. I plan on returning quite a bit next spring & summer to do more field herping in my old stomping grounds. West Texas is easily one of my favorite places to go snake hunting. If all goes well, I hope to add an Arizona trip within the next year or so, and maybe down to the Carolinas in the spring for some Canebrake action! Field herping is a BLAST!!!!

K

Perhaps Maine? We got a small reservation that the state won't disclose. I guess a small number live here.

Nope...although we are following leads from your state F&G to document that population. ;) Timbers are an obsession around here!

K

Thanks for the info Kara. It's good to know I could actually pursue a career I'd enjoy. Up until just recently I've been so confused, I've changed my major 3 times and I'm only a freshman. I am 100% positive I'm sticking with biology though. I really don't know what it is I want to do, but I do know it's going to have something to do with animals... preferably reptiles.

Now this question gets kind of personal, so don't answer if you don't want to. Just want to get an idea of what kind of profit there is in it.

Being basically the biggest dealer of morphs in the USA, and many other areas. You deal with a lot of cash. 3,000 an animal being common. So with such money going in, you definitely have a lot going out. Is it a good business to be in from a $ perspective? You got enough to live life comfortably and have some extra I'm assuming. Unless you're kinda just scraping by. Just wondering how it is as an occupation. Most people are hobbyist, some reply on it for extra cash, but you got your life staked into it. Is the market rather stable or is it all luck? Sounds risky, wanna give us an idea?

While the morphs can bring in excellent income, you'd be surprised at how many of the "bread & butter" species make up a good deal of our revenue - stuff like bloods, normal ball pythons, Burms, retics, various monitors, etc. We're fortunate to have an extremely diverse group of animals to work with from low-end to high-end, and being able to offer that kind of selection definitely helps. There is a LOT of overhead involved - everything from payroll to feed bills, utilities, insurance, travel expenses...etc. etc. etc. - the list goes on and on! We make a decent living - enough to support the funding of a new, 14,000 square foot facility with living quarters, but then again we don't live very extravagantly so it's not like we're blowing money everywhere either. The majority of our revenue goes right back into the business.

As far as the market goes, that's where diversity is extremely important. The market changes on a daily basis, so it helps not to have all our eggs in one basket, so to speak.

K

Well, if you think about it your future is based on eggs! I bet you'd be in deep trouble if you got a lot of slugs. Seems risky! You're a definite risk taker!

when you drop by AZ maybe you could donate a BP to my collection! ;)

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Originally Posted by KLG

While the morphs can bring in excellent income, you'd be surprised at how many of the "bread & butter" species make up a good deal of our revenue - stuff like bloods, normal ball pythons, Burms, retics, various monitors, etc.
K

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Hi Kara,

I don't know if you still check this thread or not but... I was wondering what you might recommend as a good start for someone to get their foot into the business...on a very, very entry level (ok..hobby level) basis. For instance, would starting out with a single male pastel of breedable size, or male albino ball python be a solid choice for learning how to breed, and if successful would financial recovery of the initial investment be possible? Would woma pythons, or blackheaded pythons make a better choice instead of ball morphs? How about BCI, or true reds, or even dumeril's boas? This post is becomming slightly clutter-brained, so let me rephraise the question....Would you recommend that it may be more probable for a learning breeder to have more initial success in the business (both breeding and financially) with species other than ball pythons? And if so, what would be a species or two that you would suggest for the beginner?

If you have a chance to reply, I thank you in advance!

Jeremy

Jeremy,

What are your goals? Do you want your hobby to pay for itself, or are you looking to eventually make reptiles your sole source of income? What kind of "return" are you expecting on your intial investment?
Additionally, what is your experience & success with breeding snakes thus far?

K

I'm not sure what my goals are. Sure I'd love to make reptiles my sole income, but I know that can't really happen. I have never bred reptiles before, so I think for this year, my goal is just to gain some hands on experience. I have the money to put into the hobby, but I am also preffering to invest in the "right" animals that allow the opportunity to recoupe my investment. I know I can do this will ball pythons, (albino or pastel) but was wondering if their were other species (RTB, Woma Pythons, etc.) that may be a better choice for the learning breeder and still offer the opportunity to recoupe my investment.

I could afford more, but I'd be more willing to spend about $3K on animals close to or at breedable size, this spring. And then put them together for '04-'05 season. If possible, I would like to regain the money. If I can get back profit, fine. But I'm really just worried about not losing a lot of money for more than a year.

Thanks,
Jeremy

Ball pythons are a very good place to start, and if you can afford to put money into something like a pastel or albino then there's certainly nothing wrong with that, but you also need to remember that buying a morph doesn't guarantee results the first time out. Never put money into reptiles that you can't afford to lose - because there's always a chance that things won't work out as you'd hoped. I don't say that to be a downer, just to be realistic.

As far as choosing a species goes, there are certainly some that are easier to breed than others. I don't think that boas are necessarily a good place to start unless you're willing to raise them from babies. There are a lot of health problems in boas that cause less-than-honest individuals to sell off sub-par adults as perfectly healthy, and this can totally ruin the rest of your collection if something goes wrong. Buying adult boas can be scary unless you are 100% on who you're dealing with. Additionally, boas aren't always easy to breed - they require a lot of attention to detail, females have a long gestation, etc.

Womas are great snakes - there will always be a demand for them, but I personally think if you're going to get womas you should spend some $$$ and get the most drop-dead gorgeous snakes you can find, since there are a LOT of ugly womas out there. I've seen ugly womas sell for as little as $400, but the sexy ones still go for $1200 each and should hold their value for a longer time.

I think a lot of it depends on what YOU are going to be happy working with as well, what you are inspired to put your time and effort into and what you feel will be the most rewarding - not just financially - in the long run.

Look at it this way too, Jeremy...there will always be snakes out there to invest in. The market isn't going to suddenly go away, so if you decided to find some nice, proven breeders of a species you're interested in (they don't have to be expensive, just "practice snakes") you could always take next season to try your hand at breeding something just because and learn the fundamentals of snake reproduction before taking the plunge into something a little more expensive.

Good luck!!

K

Ok. Thanks for your input, it really means a lot. The morph I'd most like to work with in bps is Albino. Financially though I think a Pastel male and some normal females maybe be best. I have never owned one, but I think Woma's are really the most beautiful of all snakes. I have a lot to think about before May comes around, and thanks again for your advice.

Jeremy

Hi Kara...

I was wondering if you could post some info on your Jet Black Ball Python?? I don't see any info on your site...but I was reading Vinnie's and he says he got his hets from NERD... He had a picture of your animal I believe. That is one of the most amazing morphs I've seen!! Even the hets are amazing looking...

I was just wondering if you could clue us in on how the project is going and if you have any updated pics???

Thanks

There is only one Jet Black Ball in the Country at this time and it is presently owned by Kevin McKurley of NERD.
I hope Kara doesn't mind me helping him with the Black Ball.

Anyways heres a link to more information about the Jet Black Ball -
http://www.cuttingedgeherp.com/pytho...ythons&UID=103

Kevin+Kara=NERD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blink

There is only one Jet Black Ball in the Country at this time and it is presently owned by Kevin McKurley of NERD.
I hope Kara doesn't mind me helping him with the Black Ball.

Anyways heres a link to more information about the Jet Black Ball -
http://www.cuttingedgeherp.com/pytho...ns&UID=103

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Actually Kevin sold that snake a while back. We're doing a joint project with the person who now owns it since we have several hets.

And just to clarify, it's McCurley, not McKurley. ;) I know it was wrong on that website initially.

K

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KLG

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blink

There is only one Jet Black Ball in the Country at this time and it is presently owned by Kevin McKurley of NERD.
I hope Kara doesn't mind me helping him with the Black Ball.

Anyways heres a link to more information about the Jet Black Ball -
http://www.cuttingedgeherp.com/pytho...ythons&UID=103

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Actually Kevin sold that snake a while back. We're doing a joint project with the person who now owns it since we have several hets.

And just to clarify, it's McCurley, not McKurley. ;) I know it was wrong on that website initially.

K

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Aww, I'm sorry for the wrong information :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marla

Kevin+Kara=NERD

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Yeah I know Kara is an employee of NERD, but the Jet Black Ball was Kevins right? I'm confused =/

Also, I was wondering if NERD will have pastel balls for sale at Daytona.

Yes, we'll have pastels in Daytona.

K

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KLG

Yes, we'll have pastels in Daytona.

K

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Yay! I love you guys *tear*
I can't wait till the 14th ... :shock:

Hey Kara, I have another question if you don't mind.
I was wondering if you guys (NERD), will have normal BPs that are 3-4 feet for sale at the Daytona show. Also I was wondering how much a 3-4 foot BP would cost at the show from you guys.

We'll possibly have normal males that size, no normal females. Prices will vary according to the snake.

K

Sweeeeet, I seriously can't wait.
I already have two normal females, so I'm looking into getting a normal male.

Hey, I was wondering if you had an information for taking care of Viper Boas.
Also, does NERD have any Viper Boas for sale?