I have $20k to spend and I need help!!!

[kitedemon]

Another thing to keep in mind is time. Have a few snakes isn't a huge time investment but having 25 snakes and then 50 more baby snakes is a bit different. I know a couple of breeders that have done well but with kids and family work can't grow. They don't make enough from breeding to give up the day job and can't keep more animals to make more. You want to give that some thought as well, perhaps finding and cultivating a relationship with reliable helper is a good idea. (trade or profit sharing or something) you won't need that at first but the day may come when you do.

[Beardedragon]

IMO, spending 20k is not a good idea, unless you have been around for a while and have breeding down to the last tee. I spent 11k on snakes last year, and had 3k+ snakes that wouldnt breed, no matter what I did. VERY fustrating.

Do you have any experiance with breeding? Enough to know that if you spend that chunk of money, your confident that you will be able to bring that back in and then some? A ball python is not an animal that you can know will breed every year, what if you buy that $8000 snake, and then find out he wont breed for two years? By then his price may be $2000.

Im just saying get your feet wet, before you dive in.

And dont take the standing offer, try to get the lowest price you can!

[4theSNAKElady]

I think everyone here has already given you a lot of good,sound advice. I think the most important thing is promoting youself. Get involved and active on communities like this. Build up friendships. Make yourself well known and thought of. Build yourself up a reputation. Post pictures of your beautiful animals, so people will go "wow"! This will lay down a foundation for you for future customers. When people out there say to them selves, "yay know, I need an albino pinstripe, or a blue eyed lucy, or a hypo caramel pastel clown, etc,. their going to think of the beautiful ones you posted pics of, and come to you. And like someone said, make a nice website. And find yourself an experienced mentor. All the trials and tribulations you encounter at first will be easier to cope with when you have someone who has been in the biz, breeding for some time, that you can turn to for help and support. Especially if this is your first time for everything. Good luck!

[Bill Buchman]

IMO, spending 20k is not a good idea, unless you have been around for a while and have breeding down to the last tee. I spent 11k on snakes last year, and had 3k+ snakes that wouldnt breed, no matter what I did. VERY fustrating.

Do you have any experiance with breeding? Enough to know that if you spend that chunk of money, your confident that you will be able to bring that back in and then some? A ball python is not an animal that you can know will breed every year, what if you buy that $8000 snake, and then find out he wont breed for two years? By then his price may be $2000.

Im just saying get your feet wet, before you dive in.

And dont take the standing offer, try to get the lowest price you can!

I leaped-in head first without a life preserver a few few years back -- with a MUCH MORE than 20k. I has turned out fine for me thus far.
However, along the lines of what Matt is saying above -- until you breed and reproduce the snakes you purchased -- you are just a collector. Nothing wrong with collecting -- but it will not realize ANY return on you investment. In fact it will ONLY cost money with caging, food etc.

I would not know what to tell you to buy?? Too many choices of morphs and price-ranges. I am sure many will have suggestions about what to get -- just not me. Best of luck with your quest!!!

[Dave Green]

You've gotten some good advice and people have different thoughts so soak it all in. I don't know how much experience you have, if any, in breeding ball pythons so advice is difficult since we all are in different situations. If you are pretty new to this I would suggest you consider spreading the investment over a few years. For example, a nice start may be a good rack system and equipment and maybe some combo females. Then spend on more animals in subsequent years. I think you will learn along the way and possibly avoid some mistakes that you would of made if you spent all your money up front. Someone on this forum once said something like "to run a business you have to think of it like a business and not like a hobby". It is good advice...

[jkobylka]

All the best to you man, and way to dive in and not be ruled by fear, do the math, and listen to the advice... if you find its good... pull the trigger.

No risk, no gain.

You're best advice will likely come from a breeder who has been where you are and has been successful. (there are many) Definitely collect some advice and remember, the best stuff is not usually on KS... Feel free to call here if you like. I wish you all the best.

Justin

[ralphdp21]

Thank you all for your feedback. Just to give you all a better idea of where I stand. I am currently in business with a very well known breeder from Miami. His name is out there, he has a site, he has lots of expensive reptiles (leopard geckos, bearded dragons, turtles, african fat tail geckos) and he knows what he is doing. I don't want to give you his name yet. I am simply head of his IT/Research division.

I found an investor who is interested in putting in $20k towards our business and the only thing that we are looking for are ball pythons. We have all the husbandry and feeding taken care of, we even already have some very nice ball pythons that are currently breeding.

I'm just not sure of what morphs I should get. I was told by some to try and make a new morph, and others said just to get a powerhouse male and some real nice females. I like the sound of having a few females and one powerhouse male. This is where my question comes into play.

[Blue Apple Herps]

I would also recommend that you use some of that investment to market yourself. If people don't know who you are, and/or you have no reputation at all, it's going to take some time to sell animals - they could be up for sale for weeks, even months if you're not slashing prices in response to them not selling right away.

This is a biggie. Especially if you're going to be producing $$$ morphs, you'll need a rep. If I'm spending $2k on a snake, I might be willing to spend a little more to buy from someone who I know is legit than to risk it on someone I've never heard of. Now that person I've never heard of may produce just as nice of animals, but when you're dealing with animals and this kind of money, reputation is VERY important.

[WesleyTF]

IMO the best way to go would be to establish yourself with solid morphs that are on the lowish end of the price spectrum. This way, you can build a solid reputation by putting plenty of good snakes into the buying demographic. Pick up some nice cheap female morphs--spiders and pastels are about as low as they CAN go in price--practically competing with norms on price--and use those as your base breeding females. Pick up a few neat males that will co-mingle nicely with the female morphs you've chosen and build up from there. I'd develop a solid 5-10 year plan, with the production of lots of mid-low level morphs for your first few years to build your rep, then slowly ease yourself into higher-end morphs as these start producing.

I would imagine that with 20k, the easiest way to get a killer deal would be to find someone who wants to quit breeding who is selling their entire set-up at a major loss. Just make sure you don't get a bunch of neglected snakes/gear...

[AaronP]

You could pick up a Female Banana!

Or a female Candy!