SD retic

Hello, I am considering getting a SD retic.
How much would it cost and where would I get one?
I would like it to be about 50% SD and %50 normal.
It doesn't have to be a fancy morph.
Thanks.

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Didn't you just say last month that you didn't have the money for a thermostat for a ball python? Now you are considering a retic? A retic is not a snake for a beginner that is cash strapped .

I'm going to second what JordanOrNoDan said. Thermostat is actually a relatively small expense in the grand scheme of these animals lifespans. A SD retic is going to eat a LOT more than a ball python, mess its cage a LOT more, and be a MUCH bigger handful in general as well as becoming a MUCH larger animal. Even a 50% SD can reach an impressive size in a short time and requires an enclosure to match. They are a significant investment to a collection, albeit very rewarding, but require a lot more experience, planning, preparation... wait until you're squared away with ball pythons and other more introductory type species before branching out. I've kept reptiles for 22 year and just got my first SD retics in the last year and a half and while I was prepared for more work, they exceeded my expectations but I was ready for an intense learning experience.


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You are 15 and the sum total of your snake experience is six months with a ball python.

You can't afford the $30 for a thermostat and you want an SD retic? I have one and the enclosure + RHP + thermostat set me back about $300, found locally used.

The food bill for them is also higher, mine gets a jumbo rat about every 10 days.

What are you planning on doing with it when you get a job and move out, or go to college, or go into the military, when the snake can live for 20+ years? You can probably talk a landlord into letting you keep a ball python, a retic not so much.

As others have said, retics arent cheap. Caesar my SD is a freakin pig that eats a jumbo rat every 7-10 days and poops and pees like the world is ending soon. And that is just the food part. That's not mentioning the $700 cage i just bought him as well a $460 thermostat not to mention all the substrate he goes through. Then factor in my time. Retics are nothing like a ball python aka pet rock.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

You are 15 and the sum total of your snake experience is six months with a ball python.

You can't afford the $30 for a thermostat and you want an SD retic? I have one and the enclosure + RHP + thermostat set me back about $300, found locally used.

The food bill for them is also higher, mine gets a jumbo rat about every 10 days.

What are you planning on doing with it when you get a job and move out, or go to college, or go into the military, when the snake can live for 20+ years? You can probably talk a landlord into letting you keep a ball python, a retic not so much.

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I see this a lot. Actually too often.

While I support the fascination many younger folks have for reptiles, I don't agree with the accommodation of multiple animals, or more than 1 in such a short time by young and inexperienced folks. 6 months of owning a royal python with no or limited quality equipment and now looking into retics sends red flags up as you can see here. Most commentators here are established adults trying to help you.

If I go back even 3 years on this board I can find names of people who came into the hobby unprepared, went all out with purchases and sold or placed them or worse, killed them due to poor care. Typically they are never heard from again.

Your age is actually not the best for much more than what you have. Schooling, life changes, girl/boyfriends, jobs moving, driving, everything coming in life is right around the corner for you.

As neat as snakes are, they can take a quick back seat to teenage life excitement and your age is more unpredictable at this stage than say a person 5 years younger

I know this because I'm the primary care giver for mine son's 6 year old royal.

I happen to love the hobby and have a SD x Dwarf retic along with a coastal carpet and boa.

Every setup cost ME, not my 14 year old a fair amount of cash.

You may want to properly set up your royal and reconsider this.

None of us want to read a "Help me!" Thread 3 weeks from now.

No offense or knock on you, but too many knowledgeable folks are echoing the same massage here.

Oh and forgot to mention, not sure if others' retics are very social but Caesar loves when one of his doors is left open in the evening and to be petted and just socialized with. During the day, he sleeps for the most part so he's quiet but at night, if you dont open a door and leave it open, he will push most of the time. Once its open, he just relaxes at the open door and waits for petting haha. With you being so young as i didnt follow your first post so i know nothing about you, you would have to dedicate a lot of time not just to cleaning and upkeep. And i know when i was a late teenager, I had my hands pretty full with my 5' Nile Monitor which i ended up having to rehome as i couldnt take care of it anymore. Really miss him still. He was awesome.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Oh and forgot to mention, not sure if others' retics are very social but Caesar loves when one of his doors is left open in the evening and to be petted and just socialized with. During the day, he sleeps for the most part so he's quiet but at night, if you dont open a door and leave it open, he will push most of the time. Once its open, he just relaxes at the open door and waits for petting haha. With you being so young as i didnt follow your first post so i know nothing about you, you would have to dedicate a lot of time not just to cleaning and upkeep. And i know when i was a late teenager, I had my hands pretty full with my 5' Nile Monitor which i ended up having to rehome as i couldnt take care of it anymore. Really miss him still. He was awesome.

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Dude, you need to shut-up about all these Hallmark moments with Caesar, you're gonna get me into so much trouble when i finally crack and get one of my own. (to the OP: See, even at 35 one should agonize over the choice to get such an animal)

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Originally Posted by dkatz4

Dude, you need to shut-up about all these Hallmark moments with Caesar, you're gonna get me into so much trouble when i finally crack and get one of my own. (to the OP: See, even at 35 one should agonize over the choice to get such an animal)

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Haha. He is pretty awesome. The one downside is he isnt so much into being carried around like the boas. He seems to really love his cage or his new skill he learned is he hangs down to the floor and then lets go with his tail and wanders off. I've caught him sitting on the floor a couple times lol. Here he is tonight doing what he loves to do in the evening. I walk by and just reach in and give him some petting and he just sits there haha. You can see Vicky in the cage below wandering around too haha.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...e4595897_h.jpg

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Originally Posted by dkatz4

Dude, you need to shut-up about all these Hallmark moments with Caesar, you're gonna get me into so much trouble when i finally crack and get one of my own. (to the OP: See, even at 35 one should agonize over the choice to get such an animal)

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LMAO - Sauzo certainly is a bad example to those of us trying to show some self restraint....(says the guy that started with "just a ball python" and now has a Caulkers Cay, Sunglow, and a Columbian coming next week, and sights on more eventually) LMAO

I agree with everything y'all have said.
I was not clear about one thing, I forgot to say in the future.
I don't plan on it for a while, it is a interest but I know it is not a good idea to get one yet.
I am sorry for the Miss understanding.
Also, I looked around here and saw that the $30 dollar one was not recommend so I was going to get a nicer one.
And last but not least I have had a BP for about six months that but have had a snake or been around them my whole life. So I know how much work they are.
Have a good day.

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I'll actually have some lavender albino babies for sale in a couple years if you are interested. I'm waiting about a year and a half to pair them up, probably in the fall of 2018 with hatchlings in 2019. I'll probably sell them for $750 or so, that should give you some time to save up for it if you are interested. The cross will be:

Female white albino: 50% Jampea Dwarf, 50% Mainland
X
Male purple albino 37.5% SD, 50% Jampea Dwarf, and 12.5% mainland
=
So the babies would be lavender albino 18.75 SD, 50% Jampea, 25% Mainland.

What you really want to look for is the percent of mainland blood. I'm guessing these babies with only 25% mainland may be about the same size as a SD with 50% mainland blood.

By the time these are paired up and hatch out and a reasonable sized snake it will be about three years out, if you are only 15 now you'll be 18 by the time these start getting sizeable, perfect timing!

By the way, I don't use paper substrate with my retics and chase the mess every few days like most people. I use a thick layer of coconut husk substrate, maybe 4 inches deep. I only have to clean out the tub every 6 weeks. I spot clean probably twice a week. Works great. And I never have to scrub down the tub like I see everyone do, the coconut husk keeps all the mess separated from the plastic tub, I just remove the coconut husk and lightly spray and wipe down the tub. Usually I just scoop it out by hand followed by using a vacuum cleaner for the rest, spray wipe and fill it back up with fresh substrate. It's a monster tub about five feet wide and takes a whole 10 pound block of Reptichip, so it costs me about $17 per month. Big rats don't cost that much either, I'd say maybe $3 each from a local breeder, I'd say you are looking at about $30 per month to house and feed a large snake like this (about $360 per year). You can use cheaper substrate and come out ahead but you will be doing a lot more labor compared to coconut husk. I'd rather pay the extra money and not have to chase the mess all the time. My retics are as low maintenance as my ball pythons with my setup.

Here's a photo of my female white phase albino 50% Jampea dwarf.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2FRetic-12.JPG

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Originally Posted by flyfishing-falconer

I agree with everything y'all have said.
I was not clear about one thing, I forgot to say in the future.
I don't plan on it for a while, it is a interest but I know it is not a good idea to get one yet.
I am sorry for the Miss understanding.
Also, I looked around here and saw that the $30 dollar one was not recommend so I was going to get a nicer one.
And last but not least I have had a BP for about six months that but have had a snake or been around them my whole life. So I know how much work they are.
Have a good day.

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Good outlook.
See where life takes you and keep it on the back burner.

You have time!!

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

By the way, I don't use paper substrate with my retics and chase the mess every few days like most people. I use a thick layer of coconut husk substrate, maybe 4 inches deep. I only have to clean out the tub every 6 weeks. I spot clean probably twice a week. Works great. And I never have to scrub down the tub like I see everyone do, the coconut husk keeps all the mess separated from the plastic tub, I just remove the coconut husk and lightly spray and wipe down the tub. Usually I just scoop it out by hand followed by using a vacuum cleaner for the rest, spray wipe and fill it back up with fresh substrate. It's a monster tub about five feet wide and takes a whole 10 pound block of Reptichip, so it costs me about $17 per month. Big rats don't cost that much either, I'd say maybe $3 each from a local breeder, I'd say you are looking at about $30 per month to house and feed a large snake like this (about $360 per year). You can use cheaper substrate and come out ahead but you will be doing a lot more labor compared to coconut husk. I'd rather pay the extra money and not have to chase the mess all the time. My retics are as low maintenance as my ball pythons with my setup.

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That is a really interesting strategy. "litter box" maintenance is one of my main concerns re. retics, i'll definitely be keeping this in mind when the time comes.

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

I'll actually have some lavender albino babies for sale in a couple years if you are interested. I'm waiting about a year and a half to pair them up, probably in the fall of 2018 with hatchlings in 2019. I'll probably sell them for $750 or so, that should give you some time to save up for it if you are interested. The cross will be:

Female white albino: 50% Jampea Dwarf, 50% Mainland
X
Male purple albino 37.5% SD, 50% Jampea Dwarf, and 12.5% mainland
=
So the babies would be lavender albino 18.75 SD, 50% Jampea, 25% Mainland.

What you really want to look for is the percent of mainland blood. I'm guessing these babies with only 25% mainland may be about the same size as a SD with 50% mainland blood.

By the time these are paired up and hatch out and a reasonable sized snake it will be about three years out, if you are only 15 now you'll be 18 by the time these start getting sizeable, perfect timing!

By the way, I don't use paper substrate with my retics and chase the mess every few days like most people. I use a thick layer of coconut husk substrate, maybe 4 inches deep. I only have to clean out the tub every 6 weeks. I spot clean probably twice a week. Works great. And I never have to scrub down the tub like I see everyone do, the coconut husk keeps all the mess separated from the plastic tub, I just remove the coconut husk and lightly spray and wipe down the tub. Usually I just scoop it out by hand followed by using a vacuum cleaner for the rest, spray wipe and fill it back up with fresh substrate. It's a monster tub about five feet wide and takes a whole 10 pound block of Reptichip, so it costs me about $17 per month. Big rats don't cost that much either, I'd say maybe $3 each from a local breeder, I'd say you are looking at about $30 per month to house and feed a large snake like this (about $360 per year). You can use cheaper substrate and come out ahead but you will be doing a lot more labor compared to coconut husk. I'd rather pay the extra money and not have to chase the mess all the time. My retics are as low maintenance as my ball pythons with my setup.

Here's a photo of my female white phase albino 50% Jampea dwarf.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2FRetic-12.JPG

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I'd be surprised if you could get $750 for a hatchling as a new retic breeder in a very saturated market. Especially a couple years from now as prices will continue to drop for single gene morphs. Sure, that's what vital exotics roughly prices theirs at, but they are a very well established retic breeding operation with years of experience in breeding a variety of reptiles.
Also, your math is off. The babies will be 18.75% SD, 50% dwarf, 31.25% mainland with the parents percentages where they are. That's still got some serious growth potential and should be expected.
$3/large or xl rat is a freaking bargain price. And that's provided the OP has access to a rat breeder locally. Expect it to be at least double or even triple that price from a pet store which is a more likely scenario for most keepers. I pay $7-8 large and xl and where I'm moving an xl frozen rat is $8.99. Could order online but then there is the issue of having to order in large quantities and have a place to store a couple hundred dollars worth of feeders.
Not trying to knock ya, just being realistic about things.



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I paid £250 last summer for my SD Purple Albino for what it's worth ( UK )

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

I paid £250 last summer for my SD Purple Albino for what it's worth ( UK )

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So about $325 American after asking google...
Sound about right?

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

$3/large or xl rat is a freaking bargain price. And that's provided the OP has access to a rat breeder locally. Expect it to be at least double or even triple that price from a pet store which is a more likely scenario for most keepers. I pay $7-8 large and xl and where I'm moving an xl frozen rat is $8.99. Could order online but then there is the issue of having to order in large quantities and have a place to store a couple hundred dollars worth of feeders.

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Holy Carp! Dude, get yourself a small chest freezer off Craigslist and order online, rabbit is $2/pound. Or hit up local backyard rabbit, chicken, and quail producers, you can find them in Facebook groups, and they'll gladly sell you their culls.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Holy Carp! Dude, get yourself a small chest freezer off Craigslist and order online, rabbit is $2/pound. Or hit up local backyard rabbit, chicken, and quail producers, you can find them in Facebook groups, and they'll gladly sell you their culls.

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Yeah, I know, steep prices. Where do you order your rabbits from at $2/lb? I'm moving to a small town in Mississippi with very few options for frozen feeders and am having trouble finding local backyard breeders. I have recently been considering getting a chest freezer and ordering bulk from rodent pro or similar online feeder suppliers. Open to suggestions!


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Yeah, I know, steep prices. Where do you order your rabbits from at $2/lb?

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Monster Feeders / Matthew Martin out of MN. I would get a chest freezer and have a filled 65 pound box shipped, you'll come out way ahead. Since your two SD's are still young I would ask for a size range based on what they'll be growing into over the next few months. You can get rats for the BP too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I'd be surprised if you could get $750 for a hatchling as a new retic breeder in a very saturated market. Especially a couple years from now as prices will continue to drop for single gene morphs. Sure, that's what vital exotics roughly prices theirs at, but they are a very well established retic breeding operation with years of experience in breeding a variety of reptiles.
Also, your math is off. The babies will be 18.75% SD, 50% dwarf, 31.25% mainland with the parents percentages where they are. That's still got some serious growth potential and should be expected.
$3/large or xl rat is a freaking bargain price. And that's provided the OP has access to a rat breeder locally. Expect it to be at least double or even triple that price from a pet store which is a more likely scenario for most keepers. I pay $7-8 large and xl and where I'm moving an xl frozen rat is $8.99. Could order online but then there is the issue of having to order in large quantities and have a place to store a couple hundred dollars worth of feeders.
Not trying to knock ya, just being realistic about things.



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I'd be more surprised if he got $750 for a low percentage SD lavender albino not het anything. My guess on the price would be $300. Most people that buy SD want 50% or better. Caesar is 37.5% SD white albino tiger het snow and i got him for $400 but it was kind of a deal as the original snake i purchased had a pushed up nose so Kris didnt want to sell me it and it was his last one. So he upgraded me to Caesar for the same price. And Caesar is 31% mainland and he is 7' and 14 months old. He seems to have slowed down growing now as he hasnt shed in awhile.

Heck, you get a better deal on rats than me. I pay $10 for my jumbos. It costs me around $100 a month to feed my crew and thats not counting Harley the beardie who is a freakin hornworm junkie lol.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

I'd be more surprised if he got $750 for a low percentage SD lavender albino not het anything. My guess on the price would be $300. Most people that buy SD want 50% or better. Caesar is 37.5% SD white albino tiger het snow and i got him for $400 but it was kind of a deal as the original snake i purchased had a pushed up nose so Kris didnt want to sell me it and it was his last one. So he upgraded me to Caesar for the same price. And Caesar is 31% mainland and he is 7' and 14 months old. He seems to have slowed down growing now as he hasnt shed in awhile.

Heck, you get a better deal on rats than me. I pay $10 for my jumbos. It costs me around $100 a month to feed my crew and thats not counting Harley the beardie who is a freakin hornworm junkie lol.

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Turns out I was wrong about my jumbo rat price. $7.04 after tax. Not terrible for pet store prices but I think with prices being $9/xl where I'm moving to I'll spring for a small chest freezer and order in bulk several months worth of feeders. Will cut my feeding expenses at least in half if not down to 1/3 as much


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Turns out I was wrong about my jumbo rat price. $7.04 after tax. Not terrible for pet store prices but I think with prices being $9/xl where I'm moving to I'll spring for a small chest freezer and order in bulk several months worth of feeders. Will cut my feeding expenses at least in half if not down to 1/3 as much


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I keep saying I'm going to buy a small freezer chest too.....and i end up buying more snakes lol. Heck now i need to save up for my Gila. One day though, i will get a freezer chest haha.

Holy cow some of your feeding expenses would almost put me out of the hobby! I'm sure you already know but you could get a small 3-5 cu ft freezer brand new for $100-$150 if you have the space. Large/Xlarge rats are a lot cheaper in bulk I get them for about $1.70 each.

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Here's my SD Purple Albino Retic ... up in the branches as usual :)

For what it's worth Royals will also make the most of any branches . I get all mine from the local woods ..https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a15825a0ac.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...aa719e59ce.jpg


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I bought my purple albino SD male from a guy that paid $950 for him. He gave me the original receipt. He bought it about 2 years ago. I don't see many SD retics for sale anywhere. I wouldn't mind getting another female with some more genes, I'm really excited about moving this project forward.

i also have an ARS rat breeder rack and have hundreds of rats in there. Takes me about an hour to clean all 20 tubs once or twice a week and I crank out hundreds of rats. It takes me only two minutes to top off the water and feeder trays every couple days. I have way more than I can use, I just threw 100 rats in the freezer last week and still have at least 100 more in the rack. I'd say I go through about $25 a month in rat food, and all the bedding is free shredded paper I get from work. That price also includes all my mouse breeding too, most snakes eat 1-4 rodents per week, some eat none LOL. some of my long thin King snakes prefer multiple pinky mice, and some I feed twice a week, especially when the come off of a fast.

I'd say it costs me about $1 per month per snake to feed them (50 pounds of food). Of course my rack was about $1,800 to buy new with shipping, but it pays off quick. I'd come out ahead selling rats at $3. I'd say overall it costs me about $25 to produce 100 rodents of various sizes, that includes at least 15 large or jumbo rats.

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Originally Posted by ShaneSilva

Holy cow some of your feeding expenses would almost put me out of the hobby! I'm sure you already know but you could get a small 3-5 cu ft freezer brand new for $100-$150 if you have the space. Large/Xlarge rats are a lot cheaper in bulk I get them for about $1.70 each.

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Haha tell me about it. Like i said, i got through about $100 a month for snake food. Then factor in Harley with her silk and horn worms at about $16 per 25 worms which she can easily polish off in 3 days....my pets cost more than me :P

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

I bought my purple albino SD male from a guy that paid $950 for him. He gave me the original receipt. He bought it about 2 years ago. I don't see many SD retics for sale anywhere. I wouldn't mind getting another female with some more genes, I'm really excited about moving this project forward.

i also have an ARS rat breeder rack and have hundreds of rats in there. Takes me about an hour to clean all 20 tubs once or twice a week and I crank out hundreds of rats. It takes me only two minutes to top off the water and feeder trays every couple days. I have way more than I can use, I just threw 100 rats in the freezer last week and still have at least 100 more in the rack. I'd say I go through about $25 a month in rat food, and all the bedding is free shredded paper I get from work. That price also includes all my mouse breeding too, most snakes eat 1-4 rodents per week, some eat none LOL. some of my long thin King snakes prefer multiple pinky mice, and some I feed twice a week, especially when the come off of a fast.

I'd say it costs me about $1 per month per snake to feed them (50 pounds of food). Of course my rack was about $1,800 to buy new with shipping, but it pays off quick. I'd come out ahead selling rats at $3. I'd say overall it costs me about $25 to produce 100 rodents of various sizes, that includes at least 15 large or jumbo rats.

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You need to check the reptile classifieds or SD facebook pages. There are tons for sale. Bob Clark, Shannon Roepke, Vital Exotics(he is done for awhile atm), Reptile Ave with Daniel Solis and lots of others. SDs are far from rare. Just certain morphs are rare like there are no Cows or pied SDs yet but i have talked to a few people who have them planned for this year or next year.

The guy who paid $950 was 2 years ago. They have come down A LOT. Its like how pied BPs used to be 10k but now you can find male normal pieds for $350 all day long. Look at Scoria Boas. They were $20k from Henry Piorun a few years ago. Now you can get them for 7k. No one would pay $950 for a SD purple albino male that is het nothing nowadays. Heck i was going to buy a Platinum tiger 50% SD female off Shannon Roepke last year for $600. And thats a 2 gene animal.

Again, SDs arent rare. You just got to know where to look.

My SD purple albino retic male actually originated from Vital Exotics. And my female SD white albino retic came from Monster cages.com.

I figured the prices would drop like a rock, just like a lot of the ball pythons. Probably even more so since the retics have more eggs and you can move projects along a lot faster.

I'm starting to think you can make more money breeding and selling rodents compared to breeding snakes LOL. It's the same with my cows, I make more money selling hay than breeding and selling the cows LOLOL. But I couldn't imagine my life without all of my animals, it's more of a passion for me. As long as I can come out ahead a little bit and it's not a burden on the family financially then I'm happy.

My substrate costs me the most, right now I spend about $100 every six weeks on coconut husk substrate. I'm thinking of ordering a pallet of 100 blocks, it will cut that cost in half.

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

My SD purple albino retic male actually originated from Vital Exotics. And my female SD white albino retic came from Monster cages.com.

I figured the prices would drop like a rock, just like a lot of the ball pythons. Probably even more so since the retics have more eggs and you can move projects along a lot faster.

I'm starting to think you can make more money breeding and selling rodents compared to breeding snakes LOL. It's the same with my cows, I make more money selling hay than breeding and selling the cows LOLOL. But I couldn't imagine my life without all of my animals, it's more of a passion for me. As long as I can come out ahead a little bit and it's not a burden on the family financially then I'm happy.

My substrate costs me the most, right now I spend about $100 every six weeks on coconut husk substrate. I'm thinking of ordering a pallet of 100 blocks, it will cut that cost in half.

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Thats pretty much true with any pet though. And something a lot of people dont realize. Buying the pet is a one time monetary payment but feeding said pet over 20-30 years is a 20-30 year payment lol. And that doesnt include all the other stuff it needs like toys, clothing, substrate/litter and vet bills.

As for substrate, i hear you. I now have three 6x3 and six 4x2 cages to keep clean and changed.

I'm seriously considering a pallet of Reptichip. I wonder if I could fit it all in my Focus sedan.