First off, this whole "just breeding for money" thing is used way too much. People who start breeding for a BUSINESS started with a passion for reptiles, then started turning it into a business. When people say that people buy snakes "just to breed and make money", they normally don't understand how costly and difficult it really is. It's not like working a typical 9-5 JUST for money.. You have to enjoy cleaning, feeding, and raising the animals. If you don't like them, or don't care about them, you will become negligent... This means dirty cages, empty water dishes, thin snakes and cold snakes.. Good luck getting a healthy clutch from your ball python when your female is underweight with an RI, and your male breeders are slowly dying due to over-breeding.
I can't think of a breeder who is successfully BREEDING to make money. I've seen plenty of flippers and peope who try to sell their snakes for top dollar because they won't breed. I'm sure there are people who force-feed and cull normals to save money, but you won't ever hear about that. That's as low as it gets IMO, but I've never seen any hard evidence that this goes on... Just rumors like "i heard from a friend that he knows somebody who hangs out with a guy who does this..."
2nd, I'm not really interested in numbers because I'm more of a hobbiest. I haven't made the best "business decisions" when looking for snakes to add to my collection. I bought what I really like because I enjoy raising them up. When I'm at an expo, I like to talk to the breeders about what they're excited about. What did they bring, what their plans are, and what they like. I don't talk about prices unless I want to buy something..
Originally Posted by reixox
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