It all depends. You could probably start a hobby level breeding thing to get experience for under a grand. And I very much recommend starting small. If you have little experience with snakes breeding, don't dump $5k + into a project that may not succeed.
Pick out a nice normal female with size. You can find them now because many breeders sell off some of their normal stock after they have laid to make room for new holdbacks. You can get a sizable female now for under $250 most of the time. Work with her, get her eating right and gaining weight. Then you can shop around for a hatchling male single or double gene. There will be lots of them coming into the market right now. Don't worry about his size, males breed sooner than females do.
While your female is getting back up to size and your male is growing, you can invest in a small rack system for future purchases and babies. Get an incubator and egg tubs, all those things that cost more money. By the time your girl is ready to go again, and your boy is up to size, you should have everything you need to care for a clutch of eggs. Then you can take the money from your hatchlings, should you be fortunate enough to get any, and reinvest in more snakes as your experience builds.
Sure it takes time, and starting out small isn't as glamorous as you'd like, but it is a solid way to find out if breeding is for you, without a huge investment of money. Time on the other hand, you will need a big investment of, even with two snakes and their clutch.
Gale
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