What would you get if you had 10,to 12k to spend

[CapeFearConstrictors]

I see what you are saying but I also see holes in logic.

The biggest is one 5000$ snake does not breed alone. You need a female or male. Your figuring is off a single animal. The second flaw is labour investment return should not calculate labour as return but deductions. So lets start with 5200$ and you make 50000 in two years so that leaves 44800 then subtract labour say 50$ an hour @156 hours (7800) leaves 37000. Then subtract power, feed, substrate, cleaning and sundries say 225 per month (I think this is very low) then 5400 more gone leaves 31600. rent... the next big expense, say what in my area a 10x35 space with water hook up and bathroom is about 1200 a month, but lets say you find a basement somewhere or in a home, so 600 a month for that... so 14400 leaves 17200 profit in two years.

5200 in gold two years ago is 15112 today subtract the 100$ in labour and you have 15000 today. less the initial 5200 leaves you 9800$ with low risk and no effort. The difference is only 7400 give or take. If we figure only two years and add things like T-stats rack and tubs flex watt insurance ect. You can carve off a extra 2000-4000 quite fast.


If you are simply trying to make a buck there are easier ways to do so. But who breeds snakes just for money? Most have other reasons for doing so simple business math cannot account for. Yes there is more money in the long term but how many start with a modest investment and are millionaires in ten years of breeding?

As mentioned, your numbers are way off. My numbers were based off the morph to normals (at less than $100 each, it's not much of a factor). I have nearly 60 snakes in my collection and raise my own rats (about 500 at any given time). I spend about $120-150/month on rodent bedding and food and cleaning supplies for the snakes. Any increase in my electric bill has not been noticeable and I do not need to pay rent to keep them. It takes me a total of about 5-7 hours a week to maintain this collection. If I value that time at $30/hr, then my total financial investment is about $1,000/month, or $12,000/year. That comes out to about $200 per year per snake. With your numbers, you end up paying well over $1,500 per year per snake... which, I'm sorry, but that's completely absurd. 10 snakes can be kept in a bedroom with very minimal expense and upkeep.

Of course, this isn't factoring in other elements such as racks, thermostats and other one-off expenses. With 10 snakes, you're looking at less than $2,000 for all that, which isn't a whole lot off that nice big bottom line.

Investing in gold is hardly risk free. Gold prices rise and fall like everything else in the economy. You might win big, or you might lose. Regardless, your decisions and know-how really have little to do with that. With ball pythons, you decide which mutations to buy, which to breed together, and how to keep and maintain them. A lot of the end result is in your control.

I do have to agree with you though, that making money should not be the sole reason for breeding ball pythons. There is great potential for making money there, but if you don't love the animals, your husbandry will suffer and in turn, your animals will suffer. Cleaning snake poop week in and week out isn't glamorous or fun. Gotta love the animals first and foremost.