I need mucho helpo!

[mechnut450]

bps are not money makers. i have 23 snakes 13 are bps only trying to breed 1 pair thisyeard to see if i can do so as planned event.

Most of my snakes are aquired second hand, meaning i got a call to come get them after the kid,young adult ,previous owner grew tired of them, abandon them, or was forced to give them up for this or that reason. Out of those 23 snakes i have purchased only (9 snakes) 3 other were the result of unplanned breedings. I have one snake that eat more in month than I do on a single day. She eating 2( when I got them) jumbo large rats every week and at 10+ a piece they not cheap ( and this is a rescued snake)

I can bet I spent more in building racks, buying tubs , aquiring rodents ( for breeding) than I have for most my entire collection.


this does not count the amounts of bedding( pine for rodents, aspen for snakes) I get each month, or the food for rodents or buying extra rodents when they not producing fast enough, or the electric each month. I bet I spend about 50+ bucks a month on just maintance and i have been keeping snakes since I was 14 ( currently 32) easly. in that time i think I made 100 buck ( usely in the removal of snakes for people Native speciaes that are released else were) I never counted for gas( in truck), vet, permits, into any of this.

If I do prove out the het pied this Planned breeding I would still be inth hole at least 3 grand and that if I had eggs and they all hatched/sold as visible pieds. and that just this year's debt. I have to produce about 20 clutchs of bees, and pieds to get out of the hole right now. And that would not make up for the rest of this year or int onext year cost ( that would be 20 clutches that were dropped in my lap and all hatched out a visible morph and i had a seller lined up so that I was just packaging them from the egg int oa box to be shipped. ( not going to happen)

What you need to do is get a set up ( proper one for a ball python) have it running for 3-4 weeks andsee if stable ) then get a normal hatchling, spend the time to raise it up for 3 years to see if this is somethign you want to do. Then get the morphs. I have of breeding weight and age 4-5 females and only breeding my 07 het pieds.

I can give you sa prefect example of why do it the long way . my niece wanted the boa I have in the collection ( largest snake I ever took in ) She promised to come over help care for it (I supervise) this was great for about a month ( the help was great and really needed at times) that was 2 years ago, Since that time she only helps if 1 she allowed down ( parent issues), I remind her of her saying she promised to help. Most the time it up to my mother and I to do it all ( we both have cerbal plasey never can spell it right ) and the getting up and down out of the floor( since i lack proper room to have a table to work on) will kill either of us in like 10 minutes.


you figure I have an 8x9 room ( with the closet removed) that housed 2 4ft x 30 in racks ( about 5 ft tall) each holding about 12 tubs( 41 quart ) then I got a 2ft x 2ft (about 4ft tall coke machine that still got ot be turned into an incubator ) plus 2 4ftx2ftx 2ft custom cages I built that only hold 3 snakes. all of this plus a space to walk/drag out tubs. and store the extra bailes of pine and aspen in the room I am lucky that mom likes to watch the rodents and has 4 40 gall reptile tanks setup for asf and rats so they are in her room.


I personally would need a single car garage or larger to house just the current collection

so rought possible break down you could look at if just tryingot make a buck

cost to breed right and make a profit withing 4 years ( cause anything befoer that means double the animals and space ( plus keeping all the females back for the first 2 seasons.)
the start up animals ( sub adults at least 10k depends on when and what kind of morph)
proptry to raise, house and store evrything cause this would not be a bedroom job ( not counting a morgate or the cost of building a special building ) as it mostly likey not gonig ot be ok with parent(s) or your life partner to have them in the house unless really lucky and got a reptile over.

so say another 3k in electric forheating and lights if lucky to live in a ok temp area.

food,supplies, cages,( the food's supplies) for 2 years roughly 4k( this would also depend on the size of the collection so could be higher )
so right now your looking at least 16k and that only if you got lucky on the building and a steal on the mophs.

Thiss does not cover any possible vet trips,meds permits, Licenses inspections and othe rpossible things to get started.


SO before you go thinknig you can makea quick buck breeding snakes your wrong. it may seem like it when al lthe money first comes in but it going right back out in the log run. to do so and be profittable you would have to lucky, have a well planned out business plan, a larger bankroll to start. The breeders on these sites are not doing so ( for the most part as their only income) they do it as a hobby that at times turns a profit. that profit might be only a thank you or a trade with another breeder for a morph they don't have.


I might sound like a nut or a person ranting but I had to put a lot of thought into my reptile keeping plans and hopes. It took me the last 2 years to even consider wanting to breed. My first experience was a nightmare from a result of a rescued pair kept together and only been in my care for about 6 weeks. I was running aorund searching for info tossing money out in the air ( that I didn't even have)for stuff I needed once i figure that out. I still have 2 of those 5 snakes in my collection. That been over a year now gonig for 2. Breeding is not a get rich quick event. My breeding plans are so right now to produce a snake I can't afford any other way. PLus wut hthe rescent economy like it ben this last year snakes are not a fast selling item between people losing their main income, their homes amoing other things pets are taking a back burner to say,( just look at craigslist). I wanted ot purchase 3 morphs this season ( one mom been looknig for but can't find since she saw it at the first reptile show over a year ago.