How many babies do you sell?

[Dianne]

I’ve not produced bp’s, but I used to breed my Colombian redtail boas, which produced exceptionally light offspring. I only did this for a few years, producing a single litter per year, about 20. I sold at local expos, but rarely sold everything at one show, even after I became recognizable to locals. The only boas I sold all of at one show was the year I bred my Cuban boas. There were only 3 in the litter and even back then they were not common in the area. You have to be able and willing to house and feed the offspring for an extended time.

For the local shows (Richmond VA reptile expo & Northern VA reptile expo), there are a lot of ball pythons, mostly small breeders. The animals are lovely, but the breeders are taking quite a few home at the end of the show. The last show I attended (N VA), I heard several other attendees talk about the abundance of bp’s...more than any other species there. Great selection, but a lot of competition.

[alittleFREE]

I don't breed, but having gone to quite a few locally-based reptile shows (not big national expos).... it's at least 80% ball pythons. Out of all the reptiles in the world lol. So just keep that in mind. Like others mentioned, unless you're producing something really different and unique, you have a LOT of competition.

[greco]

I'm a pretty small scale breeder. Until this year, I've been producing only 1 clutch per year since I started breeding in 2013. This year I tried for 2 clutches, but staggered the pairings so that the 1st clutch would hatch before the 2nd clutch was laid. All of my clutches so far have been 6-10 eggs.

I'm a bit lucky because there is a very reputable, independently owned pet store in my area that specializes in fish and reptiles. They are happy to buy all of my hatchlings at reasonable wholesale prices, so I never have to worry about getting "stuck" with unsold hatchlings. I make more money if I sell them individually on my own, but that also takes a lot more time and effort.

So far I've come nowhere near breaking even on my expenses. The cost of all of my enclosures and thermostats, the incubator, the snakes themselves, plus feeders and miscellaneous other supplies along the way...

Well, if this was a true business for me, rather than a fun hobby, I probably would have changed my methods or quit by now. But the snakes come first for me. I don't power feed (so my snakes take longer to reach breeding weight), I don't breed undersized females (I wait until they're approaching 2000g), and I don't breed females under 3 years old or more often than every 2 years.

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