new interest in snakes, trying to learn.

[Jellybeans]

I have my snake so that I STAY sane

That is what my wife is asking now!

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[MR Snakes]

I have my snake so that I STAY sane

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Something tells me she won't buy that.

[Danger noodles]

Something tells me she won't buy that.

Get a doctors note?? Lol

[Midnight]

i've been playing with the idea of breeding animals for a few years. recently started looking in to more seriously. i've looked at all kinds of animals from snakes to foxes lizards sugar gliders and a bunch of others. snakes seem the most interesting and have the largest range of colors and patterns. been reading and watching videos for a few days. my knowledge is quite limited due to no experience but i think i've learned quite a bit. wanted to go through what i've learned so far.

handling: can be ok for short durations, but not really recommended cause snakes are solitary animals and don't want attention. i've also heard the opposite from owners that say their snakes enjoy the stimulation and body heat.

feeding: no benefit to live feed, frozen is best cause no risk of injury to animal. the only part of this that doesn't make sense is when i think about fruits and veggies. they start losing nutrients shortly after harvest. i would assume it's the same for something that is dead and frozen.

enclosures: people who consider snakes their pets buy fancy terrariums with hides substrate heat rocks wood for climbing and flowing water. breeders and people with experience tend to provide the bare minimum, plastic tubs and paper for easy clean up. this seems to be the most conflicting aspect for me. i want my animals to be happy, but from what i hear snakes are very basic creatures and it's debatable whether a snake can be happy. people with experience will say they only need their basic needs, food heat and water. everything else is more for the human than the snake. thoughts?

snake species: boas get big, not in to it. ball pythons seem to be the most popular cause of size, 3-5 feet. but i hear some boas are within that 3-5 range, while some pythons such as reticulated get pretty beefy. what is a good species to look at? want something that is nub friendly, has a unique look, and commands more than a few bucks to own one. so far i only looked at ball carpet blood and tree pythons.

breeding: i was originally thinking of getting one male and one female. but later learned that many breeders will breed one male with multiple females. some say don't breed with more than 3, others say they breed with 4-6. i know there are alot of factors here, but if you guys had to pick a number, what would it be? was thinking about breeding within the same sub-species so i know what the offspring will be. but i hear alot of breeders enjoy cross breeding cause you can end up with a new sub-species. what do you guys think?

eggs: i hear ball is between 3-6. some of the other pythons i looked at say 20-30 and up to 100. i want to be able to make profit to support the hobby/business so from that aspect you want lots of eggs, but 50-100 eggs sounds nuts. the tree python, a species i have interest in, can have 30. wondering how difficult it will be for an amateur to find homes for these snakes and what forums marketplaces or trade shows you guys recommend.

any other advice is also appreciated. thank you.

To be frank, I don’t think you should be thinking about breeding when you don’t have experience with these animals. It’s not just putting them together, getting eggs, and making money. There’s much more to these animals than that and you should focus on successfully keeping one of them before breeding. Even then I think you should keep them for a few YEARS before you consider breeding. All the information you have is pretty basic and barely scratching the surface of keeping these wonderful animals.

When I first got my BP I talked to breeders, experienced keepers, asked questions, and really listened. That was all just to perfect my husbandry and how to avoid any illness. I’ve had her for 2 years now and she has never been ill but even with the knowledge I’ve gained from this amazing community I still wouldn’t consider breeding. Breeeding is a whole entire different level and you MUST learn and get experience with these animals before then.

[MR Snakes]

To be frank, I don’t think you should be thinking about breeding when you don’t have experience with these animals. It’s not just putting them together, getting eggs, and making money. There’s much more to these animals than that and you should focus on successfully keeping one of them before breeding. Even then I think you should keep them for a few YEARS before you consider breeding. All the information you have is pretty basic and barely scratching the surface of keeping these wonderful animals.

When I first got my BP I talked to breeders, experienced keepers, asked questions, and really listened. That was all just to perfect my husbandry and how to avoid any illness. I’ve had her for 2 years now and she has never been ill but even with the knowledge I’ve gained from this amazing community I still wouldn’t consider breeding. Breeeding is a whole entire different level and you MUST learn and get experience with these animals before then.

Great points all, but the OP got mad at us and went AWOL several pages ago.

[Midnight]

Great points all, but the OP got mad at us and went AWOL several pages ago.

Thats a shame. Really hope this guy doesn’t go into breeding with all this knowledge he has required a big part of this hobby is admitting when you’re wrong and listening. I’ve seen too many unhealthy animals on this site that didn’t get the help they needed because of owners with gigantic egos

[Jamiekerk]

I read loads of books on how to do brain surgery, so we have any volunteers no experience but I have learned a lot from what I have read.


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