What is the bp market like?

[PitOnTheProwl]

put it perspective I've spend over 10K total on everything, and ive made about 700 dollars so far

That hurts.........

[Powerspythons]

Thanks for the replies. It would be great if the market would stand up to where I would be able to fund my hobby by my hobby. I know I would become obsessed if I started this up. It would be a huge shame if I would not be able to keep funding it. How did you first start Powerspythons? What did that 1500 bucks get ya and where are you at right now? Are there any breeding journals on this site. Somebody tracking their breeding from the start? I would love to read one of those.

$1500 got me a DIY melamine rack that holds a total of 15 28qt sterilite tubs(3 tubs wide x 5 tubs high) with 4" belly heat controlled by a herpstat thermostat. As far as snakes I got 11 2010s, one 2009 and one 2004(you can see what they are in my signature) If you want a video description you can check out my youtube channel which is also in my signature.

Also another $200-$300 is going to convert my current rack system into two racks that hold a total of 22 28qt sterilites(2 racks of a single row of 11 tubs high). Plus 2 racks to breed rats in because I've found that it could be cheaper in the long run than buying frozen(and cuz I want to try it.lol), thats another $200-$300 to build the racks and fill them with rats +monthly maintenance costs of around $40-$60. Plus another $??? because once you start buying them its really hard to stop..

Then around 2-3 years down the line once you start breeding you're going to need an incubator, and for more than 4 clutches an incubator can cost up to $200 depending on how you do it. And then you have to think about hatchling caging, because your snakes may sell, but they wont sell right out of the egg, and some might not sell at all. The hatchling rack I plan to build is again a DIY melamine rack that will hold 34 shoebox tubs that is gonna cost around $150-$200. So theres an addition to the investment you have to put in.

So like I said before, you NEED money to get going big in this hobby. And you NEED to be able to let that money sit for 2-3 years before you see any returns.

Oh, and you also have to be ready for the (non financial)stresses that come with keeping BPs. Things like them getting sick, them going off feed(I've had one off feed for nearly 3 months now), them laying HUGE dumps in their tubs that you have to clean up...etc

[Sloanreptiles]

As everyone has said here, don't get into it for the money! Yeah Justin and I make money from the snakes now but 5 years ago and no one would have know who we are, we breed what we like and we look at what other people like. Don't buy a spider and think you'll make bank it wont happen. We have a harder time selling normals then anything else. Everything else flies out the door! Just know what animals people like and what you like. From the sounds of it you jut need to be able to sell of what you don't want to keep, so breed high quality examples of the morph you like, thats where the key is. Have good examples, be curtious to everyone and keep them healthy!
Like I said our morphs fly out the door, we only have 11, 2010 Morph Ball Pythons for sale right now out of 250+ hatchlings we produced this season!

Have fun with it, if you can afford to get nice stuff you like get it, the fun part is trading with those nicer animals not making money!

[Goang]

Well one day here and I already love the community. Thanks for all the great advise! To be completely honest I'm becoming obsessed with these snakes. I know how my obsessions go and that ends up with me broke. I want to breed because I don't have 10k for a snake. I understand how hard it is to get that snake and I also know I'm not able to keep all of the babies that are not that one special reptile. Just wanted to see what the market was like so I'm not creating a zoo for myself.

Again thanks to all your thoughts and opinions. It seems like if I want to do what is in my head I need a decent budget of 5k or more. Let's hope my tax returns are off the charts, haha.

[sho220]

Selling local is almost impossible, unless you have a friend with a vendor table at a local expo.

I've had good luck selling locally, but at a slightly lower price. That's not to screw eveyone else, it's just that your customer base is going to be much smaller if you don't want to mess with shipping, so you have to make some concessions...I gave up trying to sell any normals...my CL posts get flagged constantly...I end up giving them to a local pet store that is pretty good about caring for their reptiles...and good for them if they can make a little scratch of them. It's good to support the local small business owners...another option is to be open to trades. I picked up a nice male Mojo and a female Black Pastel for a male Lesser breeder...it gave my collection a little diversity and the other guy got a great Lesser...win-win...

[Goang]

I was actually wondering why I have not seen any shows like what dogs have. It seems like there would be a large enough audience that would be able to support the events and competitions. Does anyone know of anyone trying it?

[spitzu]

$1500 got me a DIY melamine rack that holds a total of 15 28qt sterilite tubs(3 tubs wide x 5 tubs high) with 4" belly heat controlled by a herpstat thermostat.

Geez, did you coat the melamine in gold? I think it cost me less than that to build three racks each with 18 32qt tubs. That's not including the tubs, water bowls, and hides though.

[steveboos]

Geez, did you coat the melamine in gold? I think it cost me less than that to build three racks each with 18 32qt tubs. That's not including the tubs, water bowls, and hides though.

I was thinking the same thing!! But i think he was talking about the total investment.

[Powerspythons]

Geez, did you coat the melamine in gold? I think it cost me less than that to build three racks each with 18 32qt tubs. That's not including the tubs, water bowls, and hides though.

hahaha, no the melamine rack only cost me ~$300, $100 of which was the thermostat...the $1500 was for the rack and 13 snakes.

[seeya205]

I would say get a female of any morph that you love and can afford. Make sure she is a high quality of that morph and not just a cheap version of that morph. It will take her 3 years to be a breeder and then you will have experience in caring for balls and you will then know if you want to breed them. High quality snakes produce high quality babies and they will sell alot faster and get you known in the community. I started as just wanting one as a pet then bought morphs once I knew what was out there. I spent alot of cash and just started breeding this season so I have not got anything back. I wrote that money off because it was spent on a pet and you never get money back on a pet! I started breeding because for one, I wanted to experience it and for two, I wanted to sell the babies so I can buy the morphs that I can't afford! i will never make money on my snakes because all or more of the money raised will be just put back in. Always buy morphs that you love because you will be looking at them everyday and caring for them. If you love them then chances are, alot of other will too! Good luck and start small and be patient!!!