Have you ever been overwhelmed?

I am a hobbyist breeder. This is my first breeding season. I have enjoyed it a lot. I've also been able to acquire some new snakes from a good friend of mine who was just overwhelmed. He meant to only have a dozen or so and before he knew it he had 70 snakes. He has a family and even a grandkid now and just doesn't want to spend all his time at home dealing with snakes.

So I am trying to learn from his and others mistakes. That's why I am asking here if anyone here has gotten overwhelmed and what that threshold was for you.

Thanks.

We have around 70 and the snakes have never overwhelmed us but the rats are another story. We spend a couple hundred or more a month on feed and devote a bare minimum of an hour a day to them. I think if we ever got out of snakes the rat colony would be at least part of the reason.

I have about 20 or so that I take care of by my self but never overwhelming. The person I buy my rats from also breeds balls said the rats are the overwhelming part as well.

Everybody has a different level of what they are able to do. We right now have somewhere between 100 and 150 snakes that we are keeping forever and always. So when you think it takes about an hour to give everyone fresh water 2-3 times a week, plus spot cleaning, record keeping, breeding, emails, phone calls, taking pics of the website and customers, doing advertizing, then participating on a forum like this as a mod. On top of a mentally demanding full time job, a wife, house, two year old, two dogs, a couple of gecko's. It can get overwhelming. The trick is to have a schedule, and times for doing things..other wise you'll run around like a chicken with it's head cut off.

We are planning to expand to around 100-125 in the next year or two as well as adding a small Burm project. (I know there is no small Burm project :)). But we are also planning to streamline our rodent colony a bit with the addition of a climate controlled rodent building which we hope will help a lot.

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Originally Posted by Amon Ra Reptiles

We are planning to expand to around 100-125 in the next year or two as well as adding a small Burm project. (I know there is no small Burm project :)). But we are also planning to streamline our rodent colony a bit with the addition of a climate controlled rodent building which we hope will help a lot.

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Question with the ban on Burms and Ohio trying to Ban exotics all together how does that alter your plans if at all??

Well Ohios recently proposed legislation wont ban anything really, what it will do is require expensive permits to keep or breed Burms, boas, retics, and rocks. That being said, it won't stop our plans but it will alter them sure. Before we planned to produce several clutches of albinos and granites along with labyrinth and some hypo stuff. Now we will be limiting ourselves to labyrinth and hypo projects. We will jump through the necessary legal hoops when and if we have to but the casual owner probably won't want to so that will severely limit our customer base. We can't sell them outside of Ohio either so we are definitely slimming down our production. I don't to be stuck feeding a couple hundred Burms for a year because I sell them.

Anything more than ten overwhelms me. Even the 8 I have right now I'm finding a bit too much right now. I work full time and am a recently single mom of two young boys, and I'm finding it hard to get time to even clean cages. I will be downsizing more.

I think there's a fine line between managing things and being overwhelmed. The biggest problem is that in this hobby/business/industry people are highly competitive. Because of that I believe people regularly pass that fine line acquire too many animals. This might be for business reasons, bragging rights, or some other inconsequential reason they justify. I can't count how many people I've seen buy buy buy and then sell sell sell just in the short amount of time I have been doing this. Collection sales regularly occur for the very fact that people jump head first before doing enough research. I know I've been interested and reading about ball pythons since the late 90s. I have waited patiently until I could house and properly care for the animals. This has helped me be prepared for and avoid all sorts of things that many people experience. If I'm going to do something I am going to do it right. That's just how I was raised and how I have always led my life.

I think some people are animal hoarders too. I'm not calling anyone out at all but there is that fine line between collection diversity and just flat out taking on more than you can handle. That is part of the reason I just have a single pair of Super Dwarf retics in terms of fun side project with something that has always interested me. I see a lot of people with a wide degree of interests but I believe to ultimately keep your sanity you need to focus on what you are the most interested in. It is sad to see the number of animals acquired and sold due to being a passing interest.

Great topic Chris! Thanks for getting some discussion started.

Regards,

B

well I can say befoer I fell in love with (4thesnakelad) I planned on spending up to 70 % of my free time taking care of the snakes. I was doing rescues/ rehomming snakes a lot. I have some for sell cause of car repairs bill and such. I am actually spending more time doing house work than I have in the last 20 years lol. I can say I traveled more the last 3 months than I have in 2 years lol. I spending weekends in Philly ( for a anothe couple months) I am now starting ot travel back home as I have to maintain my mother's, and grandmother's properties. so I gonigot have less time. My problem has been getting my rats to breed fast enough to keep up with my demand.( not had a overload on rats/asf at any one time . ) I only have about 20 ball pythons .

Thanks for all the replies. I know I haven't hit the "overwhelmed" mark yet. I have 14 (soon to be 15) Bp's. I had 2 a year ago. I had 7 a month ago. The only reason I have ballooned is my friend offloading to me with great deals. But I've told him that this one he's getting me tomorrow is the last. I am in enough debt to him as it is. LOL!

And while my wife loves the snakes, she's worried I am gonna turn into BHB with snakes everywhere. I laughed and told her no way. I could see myself have 100 someday but certainly not thousands. I don't want to have so many that I'd have to hire help. LOL! Right now I am focusing on not being financially overwhelmed. I am coming off a bad year but I've put my foot forward on the breeding in the hopes that I'll hit some good numbers to help make back the money I've invested.

Anyways, keep the replies coming. :)

Awesome topic! Very applicable to this hobby

For the specific reason of avoiding being overwhelmed, I've kept my collection pretty small (1.2 BPs, 0.1 pine snake, a couple geckos). My boyfriend has his male BP, and his daughter has a leopard gecko. The pine snake was my last one until we have a better living situation, and I don't want to get any more ball pythons until I've had my first season with my oldest pair. I knew I wanted to breed from the beginning, but it was a motivation to try to create my favorite designer morphs from the best looking breeders I could afford. Before I can do that with peace of mind, I need to just try it with one pair and subsequent hatchlings :P

Everyone has a different point of being overwhelmed, and while I don't think I'm anywhere close to it I can see how it could easily get to that limit. For me it'd probably be 20 snakes, but having more resources in the future and being careful with scheduling, etc could mean more. I think it's tempting to bite off more than you can chew because there are just -so- many different morphs and combos, not even touching all the different reptile species! It can seem deceptively easy to get "just one more" (we all know how that works out ;) ) since snake care is also incredibly easy compared with other pets.

While it can be difficult to admit, it's up to the individual to avoid being overwhelmed, or adjust if it has already happened. Hoarding happens when people can't see it, and it puts the animals in jeopardy. Again though, it's different for everyone, people have to figure it out somehow and for some it's the hard way

I'm strictly a hobbyist and have met my limit with 6 bps, 1 milksnake and 1 boa - I am just way to fastidious with my collection to ever let anything go - I drive myself nuts with worrying about them too much. I overdo everything in regards to their care so I know for myself that I don't need any more snakes.

That is easier said than done - but I have decided to not let myself get any more snakes.

I forgot to also mention that - you also need to keep in mind all the money that "can" be spent on vet bills in the event one or all get sick. I've had one snake with a hemipene problem that set me back thousands - didn't anticipate that so this also scares me away from getting anymore - I want to be able to provide the best possible vet care my snakes may need and I can't honestly say that I could do that with many more snakes.

I've not felt overwhelmed at all and have no specific number in mind that would be the breaking point. Like Brian, I set my mind to something and do it...and since this is my hobby, if it starts to feel like more work than play, I'll know then that it's time to start cutting back.

I can vouch it is all too easy to fall into the "just have to have another" trap. I see so many new morphs and new combos, and I think "Oooh, I have half of the ingredients to make that same morph, if I bought a so-and-so I could make that!" Then I start thinking ok, if I get a so-and-so, what else can I breed it to and make what with it. Then I start thinking I could breed so-and-so to my current snakes and produce a such and such, BUT if I bought a so-and-so and a such and such, I could make so on and so forths! The next thing you know, you went from thinking about adding one new snake to adding three or four or even more.

I had to snap myself out of that dangerous mind set in a hurry. I had to remind myself the entire reason I decided to breed ball pythons was to produce the pied I have longed for since they were first imported, not to make one of every morph out there. So I refocused myself and my efforts to only those few morphs that make attractive pieds and pied combos that I can afford and that also sell well. I have a total of 21 snakes right now, four of which are actually my husbands breeding stock. I don't spend as much time with them individually as I once did, but they all know me and respond to me, and I know I give them good care.

I have reached my limit currently, I am content with my collection right now. There are a few more morphs I want to add in the next few years, to expand my pied offerings, but I no longer want to produce a pied of every morph I see.

Gale

Never felt/am feeling overwhelmed myself, but I know I have a limit but I don't know what that limit is yet. I will slow down here soon after acquiring a couple species that I really want to own and work with, and wait until me and my bf can get a larger place. I believe that when I quit enjoying the little things (even taking them out to clean some poo because I like to see handle my snakes and take care of them) is when I reached my point and need to stop adding more. All my snakes are permanent family members though, and if I couldn't get rid of the two baby bunnies that my two older rabbits accidentally had (vet said that they were both girls...ahem) then I defiantly can't see me getting rid of my snakes!