New Member and Company!

Hello Everyone,

I am new to the forums and want to introduce myself. My name is Michael Freedman, and I am the owner of The Florida Reptile Ranch. We are a new company that is focusing on ball pythons for now and will get into many more species, including boas, other pythons, tortoises, monitor lizards, geckos, etc. when we move back home.

We are currently located in Scottsdale, Arizona but will be back in Tampa early 2015. My family and I moved out here so I can attend med school. I have other businesses but am especially excited about this one because I get to make something I have loved for decades a source of income. I have kept everything from rat snakes, amphibians, green tree, water, nile monitors, chameleons, boas, plus many more and have experience with most species around. In high school I worked at an exotic pet store called “The Snake Pit” in Tampa, if anyone is from around the Bay area and remembers that place.

I have bought ball pythons from Europe and from several breeders in the States (some pics can be seen on facebook). I want to thank Tracy Barker, Wes Harris, Ryan Young, Bob Clark, Brian Barczyk, Amir Soleymani and Stefan Broghammer for speaking with me and giving me some incredible snakes. A special thank you goes out to Stefan for answering 1 million e-mails, being a stand-up guy and for his excellent English(!), to Brian Barczyk for answering my texts any time of the day and for giving me good recommendations, to Wes Harris for his time and insight, and to Tracy Barker for being my supplier, guide, advisor and friend in my new venture. Most importantly, thank you to my wife for her unwavering support.

Now that you are tired of reading, I would like to get some feedback about your experiences with other breeders and recommendations for business practices. We want to be around for a long time and want everyone to have a great experience with us. So, what do you want to see in a breeder? For example, Brian, Stefan and Tracy all gave me an inordinate amount of their time. They answered every email, text and phone call and they benefitted by getting a lot of business from me. Some breeders didn’t return my calls and lost out on a ton of money. What things really make a breeder stand out to you? What aspects of the whole process from marketing to answering the phone to shipping do you want to see? Personal attention? YouTube videos?

Thanks to all and I look forward to meeting you! Stay tuned for pics of new stock!

Michael Freedman
The Florida Reptile Ranch
www.facebook.com/thefloridareptileranch(work in progress)
www.thefloridareptileranch.com -> coming soon!

Welcome to the site!

I grew up in the Tampa Bay area (Clearwater) but an now in Orlando for college.

One of the biggest things for me is transparency. I want a breeder to be open and honest about their animals and practices. I want a breeder to be available for questions as you pointed out, and most of all I want a breeder to be completely above the table when it comes to complying with local/state level/federal rules about owning/breeding/selling exotic animals (we have some interesting ones here in florida) I think that a good reptile breeder should be active in the reptile community, as well as in his/her local community showing people that reptiles aren't something to fear, and that the people who own/work with them aren't crazy lunatics, but passionate people who can see past the societal misconceptions about them.

To me it's about a person answering questions you have without blowing you off. I always look to deal with my local breeders first(Sean Bradley - Exotics By Nature, Time Bailey - Bailey & Bailey Reptiles). I also have another friend who's a member of the forums(Luke Martin - Bronze Serpent Reptiles). I personally prefer to do business with them because for the main reason I can actually place eyes on what I'm interested in and then all 3 of those guys I've named have helped me with countless questions and given me numerous amount of tips. I've known Sean for something around 7 years, and Tim for about 4-5?. On a side note, all of those guys have great business practices.

Then they have some people I wouldn't deal with or even take free snakes from(if you're curious feel free to PM me), but I don't want to disclose anything here to avoid having a thread closed that wasn't mine from the start. Another one of the companies workers post here and I don't mind that person so I don't want to start anything. Then again I have my reasons for avoiding them from personal experiences or people I know that have had issues with them as well as how they handle things that I've seen.

Anybody can have great customer service when everything is going good and they haven't had a problem to fix. It's when a problem arises that the true colors of some of these breeders show their true color. For instance Chris(C Serpents) is a great guy and to me has unparalleled customer service that I've had to deal with. I orderd a rack and because Chris was so busy at the time and I really needed a rack he pushed and got mine done, but there was a mix-up with the shipping and two labels got mixed up. So I was going to receive the wrong rack and so was the other person in Washington. Chris immediately notified me of this problem and dealt with the annoying fedex to resolve this. He kept me updated every step of the way and even refunded me my shipping costs of the rack(which I did not ask for). He basically took money out of his own wallet to satisfy me and I hadn't even asked for anything. That right there shows me that he values his customers and that proved to me that he has amazing customer service. I've even ordered another rack from as well and not only is his customer service great, but his products are great as well.

One thing I avoid is when I ask people questions and they rather blow me off. I've had the experience to talk to a few people I was interested in buying from but after I asked a few questions they blew me off as they didn't think I was going to do business with them. To me that's crappy customer service because whether or not you think I'm going to purchase from you, any person with good customer service would help me regardless. So that has put me off from a few breeders, as well as ones who I don't think take proper care of their animals.

So in all my rant my theory is simple, stay true to yourself, your customers and don't be rude. Even if it's just some stupid question, take time to answer it and don't blow that person off. That's how you build your name in the hobby and that's how you get customers and repeat customers. Also if a transaction goes wrong and they come to you, fix it without them having to post on the BOI or a negative feedback review on you. To most people, if we have to go that far then it's already too late to remedy any situation because we were disregarded the first time.

Good luck with everything and I hope all goes well.

EDIT:
Like Aaron said which is a given about being honest. Don't be sketchy or lie about genetics. If you don't know then be honest, don't try to label something based off what you think. If you're unsure then say so, say it may possibly be het for this or may possibly carry this gene but don't price it as so because that's just bad business to me. Stand by your word and your product and keep your animals healthy.

I'm curious... If you're a new breeder, and I understand wanting to start strong.. But delving at LEAST $25,000 on a female snake? And mutliple others ones on top of that.. just eh.. I'm sorry, but to me this seems....fishy. :confusd:

I knew I saw the female super bamboo from somewhere, I shared it a few weeks ago on Facebook, from BHB, you have it listed as initial breeding stock, but its still on BHB's site... So...confused.. :confusd:

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Originally Posted by zeion97

I'm curious... If you're a new breeder, and I understand wanting to start strong.. But delving at LEAST $25,000 on a female snake? And mutliple others ones on top of that.. just eh.. I'm sorry, but to me this seems....fishy. :confusd:

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Just out of curiosity, how does that seem fishy?

/I'm in Tampa now. Wish you were starting up sooner!!!

Thank you Aaron, Neal and Yoshi. I will take that advice. I'm not new to the business world, so, to me atleast, most of that seems like common sense in any business.

Zeion, I am sorry that seems fishy to you. I have had a lot of success in the past and I like to swing for the fences. Feel free to contact anyone I mentioned for confirmation. Maybe I'll have them post here.

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Originally Posted by Neal

Just out of curiosity, how does that seem fishy?

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I added another to my quote, but this is also claimed to be the first stock. TO ME so far... This looks like the post from 2 years ago when a kid said he re-homed a big burm to Ben Siegal. Also, all the photos are ones the breeders have on there sites.. Now extra pictures of the animals are posted..

If I'm wrong ill apologize but it stills seems fishy to me..

Hey Zeion,

I grabbed the photos from the breeder's sites but I also have new pics of what's been delivered so far, like the super bamboo, the super bongo, the soulsuckers, etc. that are on FB. I don't know why Brian still has that listed?? Like I said though, you can call him...

Just FYI, I have purchased/am in the process of purchasing a lot of balls. So, a 25K snake is just a drop in the bucket.

Edit: You can see on my Fb page/personal page that most of those people mentioned above are either friends or have like my page. I don't think they would do that if I was just stealing pics from them.

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Originally Posted by FloridaReptileRanch

Hey Zeion,

I grabbed the photos from the breeder's sites but I also have new pics of what's been delivered so far, like the super bamboo, the super bongo, the soulsuckers, etc. that are on FB. I don't know why Brian still has that listed?? Like I said though, you can call him...

Just FYI, I have purchased/am in the process of purchasing about 140 balls. So, a 25K snake is just a drop in the bucket.

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I'm not that desperate, I nearly voiced my opinion and gave a few facts, I talk to Brian mostly about business, though I do have a few friends who talk with him regularly. My post was mearly to voice my concern that you could be a troll playing the reptile forums, it happens quite often on here and a lot of other forums. I don't seek to burn you down, nor do I see a point to bother Brian when I don't plan on purchasing another animal from him. I just mearly voiced my opinion. If you invested this much into the market, that's fine and dandy, if its all a rouse, oh well it happens. That's just how life works.

I am personally curious as to how you manage your life, with multiple businesses, a family, and med school. Its a big jump to take, from 0 to 140 animals, and you speak as though 25000 is a 'drop in the bucket' for you. I'll be honest, some skepticism here, but mostly curiosity. You seem to have your cards securely in all the pots, what's your motivation? (Coming from a 21-year old working class stiff.)

Sent from my Huawei Y301A1 using Tapatalk

Well zeion, this is mostly directed to you, not you Archie.

To make money you have to spend money. Spending $1000 on a snake, and breeding wiill net you profit but not the amount as quickly as a snake that isn't as common.

Example:
When CG's came out, they were 50k or something of that nature. People spent $50k, then bred and sold as well as holdbacks. They may of spent $50k on a snake but that same snake netted them I guarantee you well over $100k in profit. I wouldn't spend that much money but then again I'm not into the hobby to make a ton of money. I'm in it because I enjoy dealing with snakes and I would like to cover my costs, but anything else is awesome and I'll be thankful for that. Now granted if I wanted this to become a business to live off of, then yes snakes that aren't as common would be needed to actually return expenses.

The business aspect of the hobby is really fascinating to think about, for sure. No matter what view you take on BHB's debut episode on the Scaleless, Brian goes pretty in-depth with the layman's terms of how to grow a herp business. If it hasn't been watched by anyone questioning the logistics of a big-time reptile company, it's well worth the 20 minutes or so watch. (Unrelated to my last post on this thread, just hoping to provide a resource.)

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I'm extremely jealous and wish you the best of luck. Seriously, sounds like a dream.

If you ever need an employee, let me know. I'd be happy to relocate from CT to FL for you! :gj:

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Originally Posted by zeion97

I'm not that desperate, I nearly voiced my opinion and gave a few facts, I talk to Brian mostly about business, though I do have a few friends who talk with him regularly. My post was mearly to voice my concern that you could be a troll playing the reptile forums, it happens quite often on here and a lot of other forums. I don't seek to burn you down, nor do I see a point to bother Brian when I don't plan on purchasing another animal from him. I just mearly voiced my opinion. If you invested this much into the market, that's fine and dandy, if its all a rouse, oh well it happens. That's just how life works.

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Hey,

Ok. That is fair. I've been on forums since 2001; so, I know how they work, and I know some will see me as that possibility. However, in life, and it has served me well, I always give people the benefit of the doubt until they prove to me otherwise. I believe it's a much better, positive, outlook on life. But hey, any publicity is good publicity, so they say, and I appreciate your comments.

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Originally Posted by Archimedes

I am personally curious as to how you manage your life, with multiple businesses, a family, and med school. Its a big jump to take, from 0 to 140 animals, and you speak as though 25000 is a 'drop in the bucket' for you. I'll be honest, some skepticism here, but mostly curiosity. You seem to have your cards securely in all the pots, what's your motivation? (Coming from a 21-year old working class stiff.)

Sent from my Huawei Y301A1 using Tapatalk

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This is the third time I wrote this. I think there are some errors in the site.

http://www.cafepress.com/+do-not-med...-dragons+gifts

I will take your comments as a compliment.

I believe I read in a Robert Kyosaki book in the 90’s that a business is not truly successful unless you can walk away from it and it will continue to produce income like you were there. The secret is that I always stay aware of opportunities and I don’t wait for them to knock. I walk down to the road and flag them down. Then, when you have something with potential that you want to pursue, get it up and running in an independent fashion and then look for the next thing. Never become complacent. Every opportunity pens doors for more opportunity. It’s like a web because you are getting into more and more aspects of business and you can start to link all of your personal experiences and knowledge together and come up with new ideas. It’s basically business wisdom but the most important part is just doing something. A friend of mine in the military says they have a saying that goes “Get to 80% and go!”, meaning that you will never be fully prepared for anything in life and if you always wait until you think you are, you will never accomplish anything. Like Nike says, just do it! I owned my first business at 22 by buying an inexpensive franchise. However, it is not for everyone. You have to decide what your personality abilities jive with.

Oh, and my motivation has always been the same. To be happy (that includes family to me), to try everything in life that interests me and to make a lot of money. Money represents freedom to me. It gives you the ability to do what you love, go where you want, and experience life to the fullest (while staying in really nice places and driving really nice cars). Also, it gives you the ability to create change. You can help people and influence good. One thing I love is reptiles and amphibians (well lots of animals really). That is why I am here.

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Originally Posted by Neal

Well zeion, this is mostly directed to you, not you Archie.

To make money you have to spend money. Spending $1000 on a snake, and breeding wiill net you profit but not the amount as quickly as a snake that isn't as common.

Example:
When CG's came out, they were 50k or something of that nature. People spent $50k, then bred and sold as well as holdbacks. They may of spent $50k on a snake but that same snake netted them I guarantee you well over $100k in profit. I wouldn't spend that much money but then again I'm not into the hobby to make a ton of money. I'm in it because I enjoy dealing with snakes and I would like to cover my costs, but anything else is awesome and I'll be thankful for that. Now granted if I wanted this to become a business to live off of, then yes snakes that aren't as common would be needed to actually return expenses.

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Exactly! Don't forget all snakes regardless of the price eat the same amount of food, need the same space requirements, etc. The expense ratio goes down with more valuable snakes and that is always a good thing. So, it costs me the same to keep my snakes as it does for you to keep your snakes. However, mine sell for a lot more money.


Thank you Mike41793.

Thank you Crazymonkee. I posted some pics in the pics section.

Very interesting! Who do u purchase your feeders from?

Scottsdale, eh? That's not too far. I can swing by and check out the legitimacy of your operation. Just for the sake of your reputation, of course ;) Seriously though, you're building a stunning collection of snakes and I wish you the best in your newest business venture. Welcome to the forum!!

Welcome! I haven't made any purchases in a long time, but want to start collecting again. Hope to purchase from you in the future.

Sent from my SPH-M820-BST using Tapatalk 2

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Originally Posted by granitestate

Welcome! I haven't made any purchases in a long time, but want to start collecting again. Hope to purchase from you in the future.

Sent from my SPH-M820-BST using Tapatalk 2

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Thank you. That means a lot to me, especially since I'm a newcomer!

Nothing too crazy, but they can't all be $20,000 snakes! Candino male...
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps1a0b825d.png

What a bunch of tin-foil hat loons. Nice way to welcome the new guy...:rolleyes:

Floridareptileranch looks like he's about to fire up the bp market. I can't wait to see what you guys produce. :gj:

Welcome to the hobby.But the one big thing i dont get. If u bought these ball pythons . Call me crazy but why wouldnt u be taking ur own pictures of them? Damn i be making videos with All these high end snakes. ??? I dont get why ur using the breeders pictures still???

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Originally Posted by Neal

Well zeion, this is mostly directed to you, not you Archie.

To make money you have to spend money. Spending $1000 on a snake, and breeding wiill net you profit but not the amount as quickly as a snake that isn't as common.

Example:
When CG's came out, they were 50k or something of that nature. People spent $50k, then bred and sold as well as holdbacks. They may of spent $50k on a snake but that same snake netted them I guarantee you well over $100k in profit. I wouldn't spend that much money but then again I'm not into the hobby to make a ton of money. I'm in it because I enjoy dealing with snakes and I would like to cover my costs, but anything else is awesome and I'll be thankful for that. Now granted if I wanted this to become a business to live off of, then yes snakes that aren't as common would be needed to actually return expenses.

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But if you paid $50k for a baby CG and 2-3 years down the line the price drops way down.....how do you tend to make back that money? I mean the price will continue to drop right? So I dont think its a full proff profit. Yes it is possiable, but not full proff. Im not knocking anyone that has paid alot, but just look at the way the Bananna's have dropped.

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Originally Posted by CompetitionReptiless

Welcome to the hobby.But the one big thing i dont get. If u bought these ball pythons . Call me crazy but why wouldnt u be taking ur own pictures of them? Damn i be making videos with All these high end snakes. ??? I dont get why ur using the breeders pictures still???

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Well I can't speak for the OP, but not all of have the equipment for awesome pics. I'm pretty sure he'll get new ones up, and some (the cinny bamboo for instance) he does not have yet

Plus with a couple businesses I'm sure time is tight :)
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by ROACH

[/B]But if you paid $50k for a baby CG and 2-3 years down the line the price drops way down.....how do you tend to make back that money? I mean the price will continue to drop right? So I dont think its a full proff profit. Yes it is possiable, but not full proff. Im not knocking anyone that has paid alot, but just look at the way the Bananna's have dropped.

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1 CG now, in 2-3, even if dropped down to 15,000 each if he can get at least 5 good hatches out of it, that's 25k profit off of one snake in 2-3 years. Or am I wrong?

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Originally Posted by CompetitionReptiless

Welcome to the hobby.But the one big thing i dont get. If u bought these ball pythons . Call me crazy but why wouldnt u be taking ur own pictures of them? Damn i be making videos with All these high end snakes. ??? I dont get why ur using the breeders pictures still???

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Thank you! One, I don't have them all in my possesion yet. I have racks and cages being shipped to me. So, they are still holding onto most of them.

Also, I JUST bought a camera and I don't know how to use it yet. Also, as you can read from my intro, I am VERY busy. I will get to it. I have taken pics of a few that I have in my possession. They are on my facebook page.

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Originally Posted by ROACH

[/B]But if you paid $50k for a baby CG and 2-3 years down the line the price drops way down.....how do you tend to make back that money? I mean the price will continue to drop right? So I dont think its a full proff profit. Yes it is possiable, but not full proff. Im not knocking anyone that has paid alot, but just look at the way the Bananna's have dropped.

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Hey, most things don't drop like the CG. There were some behind the scenes things going on there. Yoshi has the right idea. If you buy a snake for 25K and its 5K three years later, then you still only need five to make your money back. Anything else is profit.

I seriously considered doing something like this gentleman, despite the fact that I didn't have a whole lot of knowledge about ball pythons. To be honest, about 15k$ could get you a really good start, and that includes racks, food for the year, electricity and a good start on breeding. If you could find a bank to finance you (which I couldn't, since most won't take animals as collateral), you could probably make your money back in two years. And, I think most business-minded folks would agree that a two year turn-around is pretty good.

If it looks fishy, reserve judgment and wait for someone else to take the plunge. Then, hop on the train a little later.

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Originally Posted by irishanaconda

Very interesting! Who do u purchase your feeders from?

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Hey, sorry I missed this. I got them from Layne Labs since they are so close.

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Originally Posted by CompetitionReptiless

Welcome to the hobby.But the one big thing i dont get. If u bought these ball pythons . Call me crazy but why wouldnt u be taking ur own pictures of them? Damn i be making videos with All these high end snakes. ??? I dont get why ur using the breeders pictures still???

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LOL I have to second that. Hell 30 minutes after the thing came in the mail I'd have as many pics of it on my smartphone, which actually takes pretty good pictures if used with the correct lighting. :D

Welcome to the forum and to the hobby/business. One thing I've learned posting stuff on forums is that haters will hate on you. Especially if you have really nice animals or possibly something new....the jealousy comes out.

I'm about 1 hour north of Tampa and would like to check out the collection when you get back to Florida. Good luck with your new venture.

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Originally Posted by FloridaReptileRanch

Hey, most things don't drop like the CG. There were some behind the scenes things going on there. Yoshi has the right idea. If you buy a snake for 25K and its 5K three years later, then you still only need five to make your money back. Anything else is profit.

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Yes I understand that, and thats if everything goes right and she actually lays eggs and they hatch. Dont get me wrong here....I do wish you good luck in this business! Just last year I saw one business owner had a Bananna for sale for $25k and now I look at their site and their down to $2500. Thats just one year. So if I had bought two from him for that $25k for Male and $27k for a Female I would have to sell 21 to get my money back. So that would take a few years to get done and thats if the prices didnt fall any further.

Thank you MS2. For sure you can come out and see the setup when we get back.

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Originally Posted by ROACH

Yes I understand that, and thats if everything goes right and she actually lays eggs and they hatch. Dont get me wrong here....I do wish you good luck in this business! Just last year I saw one business owner had a Bananna for sale for $25k and now I look at their site and their down to $2500. Thats just one year. So if I had bought two from him for that $25k for Male and $27k for a Female I would have to sell 21 to get my money back. So that would take a few years to get done and thats if the prices didnt fall any further.

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True, but with a codom you would also breed that male to 5 other females and get 50% bananas. Thank you for the good luck wishes!