Getting rid of normal offspring

[Swingline0.0.1]

I just wondered if it's hard to move all the normals generated when you are trying to play the het odds game.

I am thinking about breeding in about 2 years (on a very small scale), and I suppose it would be all right to have a few normals around, but how do you place the others?

[lord jackel]

If you plan to breed you need to plan to keep ALL the offspring. You have no idea what the market will be like when the babies are ready to go - so a hatchling rack, food, money and a commitment to keep them are a must before you breed.

Now as far as trying to find homes (ie. sell them) - you instantly up your chances if you are certified and willing to ship.

Just some of the outlets:
You can place an add on this site for free or buy the ability on Kingsnake or Fauna.
Sell them to a local petstore
Sell them to local friends (kids of parents you know)
Donate them to a local school Science department
Craigslist in your market - you can't sell but it can help in a pinch
to find a home for one or two

All the above have pros and cons

Hope this helps,
Sean

[Alice]

If you plan to breed you need to plan to keep ALL the offspring. You have no idea what the market will be like when the babies are ready to go - so a hatchling rack, food, money and a commitment to keep them are a must before you breed.

Now as far as trying to find homes (ie. sell them) - you instantly up your chances if you are certified and willing to ship.

Just some of the outlets:
You can place an add on this site for free or buy the ability on Kingsnake or Fauna.
Sell them to a local petstore
Sell them to local friends (kids of parents you know)
Donate them to a local school Science department
Craigslist in your market - you can't sell but it can help in a pinch
to find a home for one or two

All the above have pros and cons

Hope this helps,
Sean

I agree with the points you made Sean. I find that I give away most of my normal males to friends and their kids if mom and dad approve. Of course, it comes with husbandry tips and lots of questions to make sure they know what they're doing.

[Blue Apple Herps]

I agree with the points you made Sean. I find that I give away most of my normal males to friends and their kids if mom and dad approve. Of course, it comes with husbandry tips and lots of questions to make sure they know what they're doing.

Ditto. I have placed countless snakes with friends, coworkers kids, science teachers, etc (of course making sure that they know exactly what they're getting into before giving them the snake). That's a great avenue to place the normal ones.

[Ginevive]

I agree. As a breeder, you should be able to keep all babies you produce until the right homes can be found. I am probably keeping almost all of what I bred last year overwinter. Normals and Pastels.. why? Because I sold a few to the right people, and the right people for the others have not come along yet.
I do not advise anyone to give animals away. For one, you could just be losing money by having the person who receives it, sell it off later on. Two, people never seem to value anything that was free, the same way that they do it it were bought. This is something I learned fro my friend, who did dog/cat rescues for years. Give someone a snake, and they have no money invested into it and thus is really can become disposable. Heck, I even sold one male to my best friend and her husband, and had them pay for it! And I see the snake once a month or so at their place.. still would not give it away. I would sit on them for 20 years before I would give one for free, even if the recipient were my own mother.

[Emilio]

I already have one of my cousin's waiting on a normal male, who know's maybe he'll get a pastel male if the odd's are good. My plan is to keep female normal's and sell my normal male's to pet shop's and reptile shop's in south florida.

[Ginevive]

Yes, there are usually pet stores that will buy normal males for pet-quality snakes. Since normal males are really not that helpful to morph-breeding hobbyists.. while female normals are. Do not expect to get a huge amount for them though; that's how they make their money, you know? Yet, I can get from a few local pet stores, the same general vaule (minus shipping) I would get if I sold the normal males online.
You might do well to hold back your normal girls and sell them later on down the road as future breeders. It is something you'd have to do the math for, from a business standpoint; or they could grow on you also, and become breeders you yourself can use later on.

[Royalherper]

I can move my normal bps very easy. I have at least 5 pet stores in a 30 mile radius of my home. Maybe you can ask the ones close to you if they would be interested. Some like to advertise the snakes as "locally captive bred". I mainly sell to one store, he breeds some of his own reptiles too and takes great care of them. I won't sell to a store that doesn't take good care of their animals.

As far as giving normals away. I agree with that. I've done it in the past and will probably do it again. Their isn't any money in them anyway. As long as its going to a good home, I don't see a problem.

[Demonique]

I think you should make the effort to either keep or find good homes for any hatchlings you breed.

Culling healthy hatchlings is unethical IMO, I heard of one US corn breeder that culled TWO THOUSAND (!!!????!!!) healthy corn hatchlings because they were low end morphs. I would give anything to have eleven healthy feeding corn hatchlings (that's the number I bred so far this year, the mother of one of the two clutches is currently triple clutching), I didn't place the lid back on a tub properly and three feeding babies took the opportunity to vacate their tub. Only one of the other three hatchlings from that clutch is a regular feeder and I've only got one regular feeder from my other female's batch of five worms

[Ginevive]

There isn't any money in normals? Then why have I sold three this year so far? Smart buyers will hold off on buying some CH pet store gambles. They'll get their normals from breeders they trust, that can trace the baby's life from the time its parents copulated.
The snakes you produce are technically yours to give away, keep for 25 years, or sell. That's the free market. If you are 100% sure that the givee knows how to care for a snake and has all of the right tools, I guess that is fine. I had been given a female last year by Cue when our eggs went bad, and I am still grateful. To some, she might have just been a regular old normal who doesn't have any monetary worth.. but to me, she is an awesome snake.
But it does upset me that people view normals as something to "get rid of" and that "there isn't any money in them anyway." Maybe if people stopped giving them away, their value would not be so low. If I had an answer that'd cure the overpopulation of unwanted normals in pet rescues, I would use it, but I really don't know.