Should you really breed? Are you sure it is a good idea?

[Ax01]

this hobby has space and a niche for almost everyone - pet keepers, rescuers, hobby keepers and casual breeders, professional breeders, etc. there is alotta grey area and overlap, but folks need to be realistic w/ what category they fall into most, what commitments they can make and where they want to go. and if u jump too fast from one category to the another w/o the proper knowledge, experience, resources (equipment, finances, etc.), motives, u risk burning out.


for me, this is like most hobbies and it is a money pit. i put money in for my enjoyment and don't expect a big ROI (if at all). from my perspective, BP and reptile keeping is not much different from other money pit hobbies like quilting, baseball card collecting, classic car restoration, etc. u could be a hobbyist producer or collector in any of these examples, maybe sell a few here and there, but mostly u do it b/c it interests u and it's fun. i took my time, absorbed all i could from the forum and breeders i know, set my goals and here i am w/ a few clutches. i have plans for the babies but could house and care for them for the long term if needed. that said, i'm not gonna quit my job to become a full-time reptile breeder just like most card collectors won't quit their jobs to open up a card shop or hobby car builders will not open up an autobody shop. i'm happy and having fun and i know where i stand in the hobby that will hold my interest for the long run (if not for life).

[djansen]

1) They want to "make" a morph they like.
JUST BUY IT! Why take tons of time, buy two parents, go through the work (and money) of reproducing and hatch 6-10 eggs just to get ONE MORPH you like? Then what do you do with the other 5-9 eggs?
You want a pastel piebald? Just buy one! It is more expensive to try to hit the odds with a pastel het pied, and a normal het pied, than it is to just buy one. You have to buy 2 adult snakes, or two hatchlings and raise them to adulthood, and even then the odds suck (⅛ chance of each egg being a pastel pied) and you have to take care of multiple snakes for years, just to get the morph you want.

2) They think it is profitable automatically. When you do serious accounting research on snake breeding, you find that the majority of breeders actually end up with a LOSS. That is right, they LOSE money. Cost of enclosures, thermostats, heating equipment, rodents, substrate, possibly even vet bills...just to hopefully sell some baby snakes (IF they are even in demand morphs, which a LOT of morphs these day are too plentiful and/or do not have the demand.)

See a good article on reptile breeding financial accounting here: http://www.ballpythonbreeder.com/201...on-investment/

I will fully admit that both 1 and 2 were major factors why I got into ball python morphs.
Looking back I realized I have come full circle. I started keeping reptiles purely because I loved it, no morphs and very common species.
At the height of my "morph craze" I somehow lost a bit of that passion that got me started. I remember going to my first reptile show I literally spent all day looking at everything, I was in reptile heaven. When I was all about morphs I literally spent less than an hour at a show and was underwhelmed by the selection of morphs I wanted.
I have been out of wanting to breed for years and honestly I am in a good place now. Maybe in the future I will breed, but it will purely be for enjoyment.

But I think your post hit the nail on the head.

[Ladybugzcrunch]

I was in for about 8 years. When I first started, I wanted to see the process and bought a pastel and a spider. Four years later I had my first clutch and was up to 10 adults. When I threw in the towel I had 45 snakes and over 150 rats at any given time. I had seen it all and was ready to try something new. I am the kind of person who wants to do it all and as we all know you can’t do everything all at once so nearly all of my project was moved along to another someone wanting to see how it all works. It was fun and I learned a lot. Definitely a money pit, didn’t make a dime, and lost more than two. But I had fun and the animals had it good. It’s been over 6 months now and I still lurk here every couple days. Snake room is now a zen spa room with the biggest claw foot soaking tub you ever saw, hehe. Have deep pockets if you want to dive into the breeding aspect of this hobby, it’s not for sissy’s! I’ve done and seen a lot, big projects and small ones. If you think of something I have not done, I’d love to hear it and consider trying it out. Just my nature. Guesses are my reasons are the minority here though. Close.

[GiddyGoat]

I don't have any personal experience input, as I'm 15 and dont have any future intentions of breeding, but this thread holds a really important discussion that I think should be had more often. But honestly adll the points that you and tttaylorrr have hit are crucial and need to be weighed in, especially for YOUNGER hobbyists like me who stick both feet in the water too soon without realizing that they still have close relationships with family, and possibly more school based on carrer choice ahead of them. I do agree for the most part, if you want the pretty snake, buy the pretty snake before you have your hands full with a business that may be too much to handle.

Perosnally, I could never breed, just because as life goes on I find that when I want to and do spend time with Dewey it is time squeezed in (i am very active), and that if i didn't sell the hatchlings it'd just be a burden, because I like to keep the amount of animals low so I can devote more quality time to each and pretty much spoil them because I have the money. I respect those who are super passionate about it though. I have met some fnastastic people who bred, especially on here.

[jonarnold85]

3) because they have the passion for these animals.

money was never involved in my decision making tbh; it was my heart. any animals i have are animals i wanted; their future potential was not a huge factor (except when hets were involved lol).

future potential gains are not my goal; it's the miracle of seeing a first pip in your first clutch. morphs be damned, i just want my first clutch to all be healthy.

for me, it's the idea of growing your personal hobby into something more for you: pushing your own knowledge and skills and creating new life with your passion! the pursuit of new knowledge and applying it is practically a turn-on for me; to get to try it with something as beautiful as this is incredible.

I couldn't agree with this more. Money isn't really a major issue for us and I don't expect to profit from BP sales. Selling some hatchlings to help fund my hobby from time to time is great but we'll likely never be in the black. We started because we loved ball pythons. We had our first clutch hatch this year and the thrill we got when we had that first ever pip (a pastel spider pied) was an incredible feeling. We've got everything we need for next year and the following year's clutches, including a great male banana clown to go to a few different female clowns. If we never sell a single snake we're still thrilled to be doing it. Sure larger collections can feel like a chore sometimes but so can owning a cat or a dog (which we have both of). If you love the animals and you're prepared to provide for them then that should be all that matters.