BP Breeding: Profitable or no?

Just to clarify, no, I do not plan on breeding BP's, I'm pretty content with my single normal BP.

However, I see a lot of people talking about breeding on here. How many of you actually make money from breeding Ball Pythons? Do you do it to make money or do you do it to improve the species/make a new morph (Or both)?

I ask simply because I breed Rottweiler dogs, and even though I sell the pups for 1000$ each, I lose money with each litter due to vet bills and care expenses. I was curious if snake breeders experience similar losses.

I don't think I've even come close to breaking even when I figure in feeding, caging, electricity, supplies, and vet bills. It's just a hobby for me, though. I haven't gone out of my way to try to make a profit and many of my animals are just pets and not breeders.

It has the 'potential' to be profitable but 9 times out of 10, no, it isn't realistically profitable.
Many of us would be glad to just break even;or even if we did manage have a bit extra on top that could be considered 'profit' it would likely go back towards the snakes in one way or another.
The only people who can actually say breeding ball pythons is 'profitable' are the big breeders on the high end who have access to the morphs that everyone else drools over, or the next cutting edge thing that nobody has and that the demand will be super high for.
If you have the money and resources to get in on a newer project that turns into something big then one can turn profit, but as I said most breeders in the hobby aren't in that position.

I myself have kept ball pythons for about 6 yrs and this is only my second year breeding,and I ended up keeping most of my first clutch. If I was gonna try and turn profit I shoulda done it 3-4 years ago :P Right now its a hobby where I want to make some cool looking animals.

Theres a ton of expenses you'd have to stack up first before you can count anything as profit. The initial cost of the snakes, caging,cleaning solvents & preventative sprays,heating/electric, food rodents, and this is before you've bred anything. Preping for babies means you'll need a hatchling rack, incubator, more food rodents for the babies, not to mention all your time and effort of routine care and cleaning.
Also a lot of your 'profitability' is up to random chance depending on what genes you use, unless your using genes that will give definite results [ex: albino+albino= albino], and the fact that balls only have 1 clutch a year, so if you crap out on a clutch, you have a whole year of feeding & cleaning to wait to try again :rolleyes:

A lot of people think that breeding ball pythons will make you quick easy money.

That's not the case. When you factor in food cost, equipment, breeding stock and other things, it does become quite expensive. It usually will take a few years before you even begin to break even, let alone make a sizable profit.

This year, I'd be lucky to "pay off" my incubator. But I'm not doing it for the money, so it's not a big concern to me.

A lot of people try breeding because they think they'll make a lot of money, but this is not the case. These people usually end up quitting the hobby.

It depends alot on the person imo. You won't make money breeding a spider and a normal in your bedroom. Many people that get into this business do not always have the greatest business knowledge either. There alot of other factors as well.

It has potential to make money, but so does collecting baseball cards. The majority of people keep the nicest ones they've got on display and spend much, much more than they 'make'.

I agree that a lot of people get into it trying to make quick money. Those are the people selling their animals for half price in 'collection sales' because 'real life is nuts'.

When you factor in time and energy I don't think it's very profitable. Even the big breeders are not driving around in fancy cars. They do it because they like their job more than a different one. It's like creating another type of business. It takes a lot of money up front, way more time than the profits are worth, and a huge amount of energy. If you're lucky and work really hard, your efforts pay off by putting you slightly into the profit zone. NOBODY is rich from ball pythons. FEW people are getting by. VERY FEW people are 'somewhat well off' from it.

You'd have to write off all expenses.

Most of us don't even report income from our sells.

For me personally, its just a hobby that (mostly) pays for itelf SOME of the time. I have no intentions of becoming a big breeder..not at all.No way I could deal with that many snakes! We actually shrunk our collection this year from 30 animals to 21, to cut down on expenses a little. Mostly, we breed for fun and excitement. This year well probably only produce two or three clutches if we're lucky. But, when we do produce we sell mostly to indviduals as pets, a few stores, and trade with other breeders for higher end multi gene animals. Last year, we might've come close to breaking even. This year it wont happen at all as weve spent a lot of money at the vets this year. But we did pick up some nice higher end animals for our collection through trade. So next year will be a good breeding year. If you do it for the fun of breeding, and the love of the animals, the $$$$ doesn't matter-whether you get some back or not. But, if your in it for the money and only for the money, STOP RIGHT THERE. Invest in something like houses or trading cards, or comics or collectibles. A person who is in it only for the money has NO business doing business with animals.

If you are clever, good at business and savvy with financial decisions you could make money selling ice to an Eskimo.

Yes, Ball Python breeding can be profitable if you know what you’re doing and make wise decisions.

I plan to work my way up to small time breeder. Any money i make will most likely just be to pay for the hobby itself though haha. I could never see myself hatching more than like 10-20 clutches a year. I'd be happy with like 30ish bps. :gj:

Monetarily, no. Most people who breed their bps will never make an actual profit if you take into consideration the expenses for bedding, heating, caging, feeding etc. Not to mention the time you put into your collection caring for them. I do believe their is profitability in other areas though. I have met some great people through the sales of my bps. Some of whom turned into good friends. That in itself I consider one of the profits of this hobby!

Q: How do you make a small fortune breeding ball pythons?
A: Start with a large one.
:P

Just like with any business, someone looking to make quick money with minimal effort will be sorely disappointed.

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Rickys_Reptiles

If you are clever, good at business and savvy with financial decisions you could make money selling ice to an Eskimo.

Yes, Ball Python breeding can be profitable if you know what you’re doing and make wise decisions.

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This seems to be the most accurate reply :gj:

It can be done, I've made a living at breeding ball pythons for over five years now. Is it easy? No. Are there people who do it? Yes. Many people dream of turning their hobby into a business; however, make sure you really love the snakes, and the hobby, as it's not as glamorous as some may think. I spend my days cleaning water bowls, feeding snakes, cleaning cages and answering e-mails. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and wouldn't trade it for anything.

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Originally Posted by Dave Green

It can be done, I've made a living at breeding ball pythons for over five years now. Is it easy? No. Are there people who do it? Yes. Many people dream of turning their hobby into a business; however, make sure you really love the snakes, and the hobby, as it's not as glamorous as some may think. I spend my days cleaning water bowls, feeding snakes, cleaning cages and answering e-mails. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and wouldn't trade it for anything.

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Roger that Dave!!

I work 60+ hours a week in the ER and stay up till midnight or later tending to things when I get home. All to get up at 5am the following day for my "real" job.

Two years ago I decided to jump in with both feet into the ball python breeding business. I've invested a lot of money into my business. I think that's the key. The old adage that says "it takes money to make money" rings true. If you start with a pastel and a spider and expect to make it big, that's going to be a very long and very slow road. It costs the same amount of time and money to raise that pastel and spider as it would a coral glow and a ghi, but the offspring from the latter would bring in a whole lot more income.

It's been a long two years since I started, and I've yet to make any profit. Best case scenario, I don't see myself being in the black for at least one or two more years. It's not a glamorous job, not even close. Two years of cleaning poop, feeding and general maintenance and so far, no profit to show for it. Had I not loved the animals I was working with, I'm not sure I could have made it through the past two years. However, now that things are picking up and I'm getting clutches and babies, the past two years of labor have paid off. Not financially, not yet, but seeing those babies that I labored so long and hard to produce makes it worth it.

I'm officially addicted. I hope I'm able to make decent money at doing this. Not because I want the money, but because the money will allow me to continue hatching out these wonderful snakes!

I have been in and out of the hobby since 2004. Due to certain life situations, I haven't been able to get back to breeding until this year. I just recently separated from the Army. My husband and I started expanding out collection in 2012. By no means, did I expect to make a lot of money out of this. I do it for the love of the hobby and the animals that I work with. Yes, it would be nice to at least break even or make some profits but I didn't get into this expecting that.

I think that it is possible to make a living or some good money breeding ball pythons. But like everyone else has said, it takes a lot of hard work. And the saying, you have to spend money to make money, is definitely true. I believe it also takes a good reputation and knowing all the right people. If you aren't willing to get out there and network, you are never going to be able to sell what you produce. In this hobby, it is all about how your represent yourself and what quality of animals you have to offer. If you go around buying the cheapest animals you can find, you are certainly not going to make any money.

But back to the point, I believe it is profitable. But only with hard work, good quality animals, and a good reputation.

I am still a year off from hopefully producing my 1st clutch (But, the snakes may have other plans and not breed when I'd like them to).
If making money was my concern I'd be breeding feeders instead.
I hope to offset the expense of my pets and little more.

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Originally Posted by MrLang

It has potential to make money, but so does collecting baseball cards. The majority of people keep the nicest ones they've got on display and spend much, much more than they 'make'.

I agree that a lot of people get into it trying to make quick money. Those are the people selling their animals for half price in 'collection sales' because 'real life is nuts'.

When you factor in time and energy I don't think it's very profitable. Even the big breeders are not driving around in fancy cars. They do it because they like their job more than a different one. It's like creating another type of business. It takes a lot of money up front, way more time than the profits are worth, and a huge amount of energy. If you're lucky and work really hard, your efforts pay off by putting you slightly into the profit zone. NOBODY is rich from ball pythons. FEW people are getting by. VERY FEW people are 'somewhat well off' from it.

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Your first two paragraphs are spot on , but you last couldn't be farther from the truth. If you think "Big" breeders are not driving fancy cars, living in nice homes and making stacks of cash you might want to grab a towel because your still wet behind the ears :) There are people making a good living breeding snakes ! Is it feasible for everyone to do ? No, but it can and is being done.


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