I need some reassurance here..

[Jay_Bunny]

I have spent around $3,000 since 2007, and that does not include the feeding costs, vet visits, ect. One day, I hope to make this my source of income. These animals are my passion. They are my children. This is my first year breeding and I only bred one female. Out of 6 eggs dropped, only two babies remain and my plan was to sell any males. Now I'm keeping both of these babies since they are my "miracle babies" if they hatch. So even in my first breeding season, I spent close to $50 getting the incubator set up and such, so I lost money this year.

I sold one of my pastels this year. I purchased her last year for $225. Because she's not a high quality pastel, her value has actually dropped and I sold her for $150.

You can make money in this hobby, but it takes a long time and a lot of patience and hard work. I'm only just beginning my "reptile journey" and I don't expect to make money for several more years.

[elevenphoenix]

Like everyone else has said, it just depends on why you started investing $ in reptiles. Is it a hobby that you would like to expand or just trying to make some extra money?

I can relate to you in that, I have invested a huge chunk of money in hopes of breeding and I have no idea if it will work. BUT if thing don't work out, I will still have an awesome snake collection. I'm fine either way. Snakes hold their value pretty well so you could always sell your collection and make back most of the $ you spent.

[twistedtails]

Like everyone else has said, it just depends on why you started investing $ in reptiles. Is it a hobby that you would like to expand or just trying to make some extra money?

I can relate to you in that, I have invested a huge chunk of money in hopes of breeding and I have no idea if it will work. BUT if thing don't work out, I will still have an awesome snake collection. I'm fine either way. Snakes hold their value pretty well so you could always sell your collection and make back most of the $ you spent.

True

[elevenphoenix]

I think if you choose your initial snakes wisely, then you are much more likely to make your money back faster and eventually make income. Obviously if you buy some normals and hets to breed with, it will take years to see any type of profit. I am trying to buy only adult morphs so when/if they breed, they will be much more likely to sell than a bunch of normal hatchlings.

I work full time and don't expect to make a lot of $, but it would be nice to make some extra $ within the next few years. Assuming I can get my snakes to breed this winter, I should make back a good chunk of what I've invested. If that doesn't work out, there's always next year

I love animals though and don't mind all the work involved in caring for them. I'm also not stressing over money at the moment, I'm an overpaid teacher

[pavlovk1025]

This thread's life is RIDIC.

[twistedtails]

This thread's life is RIDIC.

It shall live on

[Qetu]

i plan on spending a ton of money on snakes in the future and im going to play around with the dif morphs and what not but im not going to be after the money. ive fallin in love with these animals and dont think it will ever go away. its turning into an extreme passion for me.
but if i am able to sell a snake for several thousand dollars, i wont be complaining lol. intresting thread though, i have no hard feelings for the OP. good question, just odd wording. goodluck to you and i hope you love snakes the same way i do!

[Kesslers Kreatures]

I just got done spending a bunch of money on snakes, racks, and supplies. Of course I'm not going to make it rich off this thing, but, will these snakes pay for themselves after time(through sales of offspring you sell). How many of you have snakes that pay for themselves? How many of you have snakes that pay for themselves with a little contribution? How many of you have snakes that don't pay for themselves and definately need a big contribution? How many of you are losing you butt do to your darn snakes? Does anybody know how I make this into a poll? I'm new to this site Thanks all!

Well dude to be honest, I don't expect to make a damn thing doing this. I'm in it for the cool animals and for the love of them. Granted money would be nice and it would be great if my animals could pay for themselves. If you need some reassurance and your even having second thought about everything maybe you need to reevaluate and decided if it's something your willing to sink a ton of money into and not see much back other than the satisfaction of taking care of your animals then maybe snake breeding is not for you.

I was like you when I first started, I thought it would be cool to make a bunch of money selling snakes but the more I thought about it and the more I discussed with my girlfriend and other reptile friends I realized I shouldn't think about the money. If I worried about the money all the time I wouldn't have the animals I have. Not that they were super expensive or anything but If I thought about the cost to care for an additional animal and the amount of money I'm putting out and not making back I would never buy animals. I would just keep my first snake and be a single snake pet owner.

I'm not trying to talk down to you or start anything, I just think that if you really want to get into breeding and selling you should really think about it first.

That's my take on this whole thread... Yup.

[sg1trogdor]

I have spent about 7K on animals and a few racks and so far not a single dime of profit. But I am not in it for that. Making a bit of money off of my hobby is just an added bonus. The real payoff is from getting to raise and be around these awesome animals.

[Kesslers Kreatures]

I have spent about 7K on animals and a few racks and so far not a single dime of profit. But I am not in it for that. Making a bit of money off of my hobby is just an added bonus. The real payoff is from getting to raise and be around these awesome animals.

Indeed sir.