How many before you begin to breed?

[BuckeyeBalls]

So how many snakes did you guys have/would have before you began to breed rats?

My friend currently has 18 and he still buys f/t...

Im at a little less then him :-/

How big would you let your collection get before you began to breed them?

[Powerspythons]

I only have 13 bps and I plan on starting to breed rats soon. The cost of F/T rats isnt too bad as long as you have the available funds for it. The cost of breeding rats is cheaper from what I understand, however from what I've heard, the time and hassle of actually doing is what deters most from doing it. Also though, once you've got a good enough breeding colony going you can always euthanize and freeze your extras(for later use or sale) or sell them as pets for a little extra cash.

[Valentine Pirate]

The sticky on breeding rats says it's cheaper to go with f/t, and plus the time you put into breeding, cleaning, care, etc. makes me think I'll always go with f/t no matter how many snakes I have xD but that's a personal opinion of mine. I also don't have any problem feeders who need live for training wheels or anything

[BuckeyeBalls]

I only have 13 bps and I plan on starting to breed rats soon. The cost of F/T rats isnt too bad as long as you have the available funds for it. The cost of breeding rats is cheaper from what I understand, however from what I've heard, the time and hassle of actually doing is what deters most from doing it. Also though, once you've got a good enough breeding colony going you can always euthanize and freeze your extras(for later use or sale) or sell them as pets for a little extra cash.

Hmm i may actually give it a try soon. Nothing to big. Obviously not enough to feed my collection but maybe starting up a small group to see how much time/effort a small group takes to breed.

[lilbit]

1.2 hog island boa
2.8 bp
i have been breeding rats when i got my collection up to 10. i just sell off all my extras to the pet shop for food/bedding/store credit and have a few people that order from me. i do how ever produce about 350 babies every other week but its mostly for fun.

[tomfromtheshade]

I know that I can produce rats much cheaper than anyone is selling them for. YMMV.

[ahunt037]

i only have 5 snakes and i plan on breeding rats ASAP right now i dont have room but i cant wait till i have room cuz im tired of buying rats and then snakes not eating and i feed live so then i have to keep only 1 rat alive until that snake decides to eat i need a big snake like a retic that will eat anything lol no but seriously it would be nice to just put a rat in front of my snake and if it takes good if not just toss it back in its bin u know to me it just seems so much easier

[shorty54]

I only have 2 BP's and I'm breeding mice! I have babies plus friends whom would rather buy from me than the stores! Plus having pinkies is a plus for one friend with Sand Boa's! I have one male and 4 female mice! They really don't require much care! Just make sure they have food and clean tanks once a week! I have all the females living together and the male alone! Once the female has babies I seperate her and the babies! I feel it's easy. Plus my children love helping play with the mice! LOL!

[CLSpider]

I unfortunately only have four snakes right now(3 balls, 1 boa) and a large tegu and I breed rats.
1: To, of course, feed my reptiles. 2: I actually enjoy breeding the rats.
It's fun to see the different colors and patterns you can get. And because I live in a very populated area in southern California, it's not too hard to sell off any extras and make the money back to cover a lot of the food and bedding costs.
The only negative thing I have to say about them is that I hate males. In my opinion, the males smell terrible very quickly. I do have to clean their tub more often than any other.