I clicked "Other (Please specify in thread)" so here I am to specify. Sorraia, quoted above, brings forth a point nobody has mentioned.Originally Posted by sorraia
And the question:
How many snakes do you need to make rat breeding economical?
omits some important aspects. It's not just about the number of snakes we have.
Fuel costs can't be ignored. Do we reside next door to to a breeder who sells weaned rats for $1.75? Do we have to drive an hour to purchase them for $1.25? Or do we have to take the bus, subway, or train a half hour to purchase them for $1.50? All scenarios require different calculations. (And time is money too.)
What species of snakes do we feed? Why are we feeding them: just maintenance feeding? feeding for notable weight gains? feeding to facilitate tameness?
What regimen: feeding the standard 1x/week? infrequent larger meals? more frequent smaller meals?
Clutches that require live pinkies? Older snakes that'll accept F/T?
Do we have a freezer large enough for purchasing large, economical orders?
I've bred my own on and off over the years. I've also purchased dozens of live weaned all at once, and fed them on (free) table scraps until the supply was finished. I've purchased nursing mothers with their litters. Sometimes returning the mother when all her pups had been fed off. Sometimes purchasing another litter of pups and using the still lactating mother as a surrogate mother (works most times). Sometimes feeding off the mother (if her most productive days are clearly thru).
Every situation is different. Just my $0.02
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