Looking into breeding as a lifestyle.

[CarrieAnnx3]

Over the last few weeks, I have been looking into breeding. I have been doing this for two reasons... First and foremost, my absolute love of ball pythons. They are a beautiful creature that, in my opinion, is extremely misunderstood. My second reason was to possibly use my love of the animal as a way to make some sort of supplemental income so that I can stay home with my children and still help provide for them. I have been doing loads of research but I still have some questions, most of which really come down to personal preference, opinion, or dumb luck, but I do like to hear other's opinions and experiences with these things.

First of all, do you prefer maternal incubation or using an incubator? (I would probably use an incubator, but I am quite curious about this one.)

What incubator do you believe to be the best for incubating BP eggs?

If you were to make your own incubator, what did you use and how did you ensure that it was perfect for the eggs?

How many of you breed and make a reasonable profit from it? Do you believe that you made the right decision?

What suggestions or insight can you guys give me into the world of breeding ball pythons?


Oh... And, over the past few weeks, you guys have helped me grow in my knowledge and love for ball pythons and I want to thank all of you for not once getting frustrated with me for all the silly questions that I asked when I first got my babies.
So, thanks for all your help, and for continuing to assist me, and others, whenever we need it. <3.

[colton62]

Not really offering any advice but I just wanted to say good luck! And I hope it all works out wonderful. I'm thinking about doing snake breeding as a side hobby/job when I'm older so I just wanted to say good luck and I hope everything goes amazing!


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[T&C Exotics]

I am only answering the last question. The only way to make any sort of profit is to start out with the high end animals. If you start out with say pastels and spiders and pins and normals you will take forever to make any sort of income off of them. Most people hope to just break even and know that in reality they will not.

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[CarrieAnnx3]

I am actually getting a few higher end morphs within the year, which is what prompted me to begin looking into breeding as a job rather than as a hobby. Hopefully, though. We shall see. .

[Pythonfriend]

dont expect to make money with it anytime soon. thats really difficult. and even when you make some money, you have to see how much work went into it.

i think its mainly the bigger professional operations that make money, either with as many snakes as one person can handle, or with employees and helpers. and in any case with high-end morphs and combos. for the smaller breeders, its more like an expensive hobby that partially pays for itself. or maybe even a hobby that pays for itself and some extra, but far from minimum wage when you consider how much time really goes into it.


anyway, good luck

[Raven01]

Follow and pay attention to already successful breeders.
BHB Reptiles, Mark Mandic, Justin Kobylka and, so on.

The Reptile Report held a talk at the CRBE here in Toronto last year that was very informative and, I am sure a great resource for anyone considering the leap from hobbyist to full time breeder.
I may even have footage from that around here somewhere.

EDIT: It is honestly amazing just how much info these people are willing to share so freely. Some may sit on projects until they prove out but, they all seem to enjoy sharing their passion for these animals

[RockNRollProcelain]

First of all, do you prefer maternal incubation or using an incubator? (I would probably use an incubator, but I am quite curious about this one.)

- My personal preference is Maternal Incubation, as I feel that a mother snake is far better suited to know what is right for her eggs than I am. As long as I take care of mommy snake, then the eggs should be just fine.

What incubator do you believe to be the best for incubating BP eggs?

- This is all personal preference. I have friends that make incubators out of Styrofoam containers, Tupperware, UTH, etc and have great results. I have other friends who spend hundreds of dollars on top of the line incubators and have great results as well.

If you were to make your own incubator, what did you use and how did you ensure that it was perfect for the eggs?

- I've never made my own, as I prefer MI. Sorry! But I hear YouTube has some great How-To's for making incubators!

How many of you breed and make a reasonable profit from it? Do you believe that you made the right decision?

- Lol. A profit from breeding BPs. Unless you are able to have several clutches every year (and I mean like dozens) and the clutches give you higher end morphs, or morph combinations that people are looking for, there really isn't a profit. You basically just make back the money that you spend on the animals. After all, if you keep 10 snakes, that means that every week you're buying 10 meals. Even if your mice/rats are $1 each, that's $10/week and $520 a year. Add in housing supplies - Tubs, Racks, Substrate, Heat Tape, UTH, Heat Lamps, etc - for 10 snakes, and you're in easily over $400 or $500 (this is a super SUPER low estimate, where you basically make everything yourself). Then the cost of electricity to keep all those snakes warm. Let's just say that it costs $25/month just for the snakes alone and not the other electricity you use. That comes out to $300/year. So far, our total is about $1320 just to keep the snakes. This doesn't even take into account what you paid for your snakes, which makes the amount being paid even more. For 10 snakes, maybe you paid an average of $300 each (for lower end morphs). That's an additional $3000 you're trying to make up for. And when your snakes only cost about $300, the babies will only be between $3-500 on average, depending on the combinations. This is all hypothetical and estimates, but you can see how the costs quickly add up. The amount you make will depend on how many clutches you get, how many babies are in the clutches, what the morphs are, if you have a market for the babies, etc. And you can't forget that if you have 7 clutches of 6 viable eggs each, that's 42 new mouths you have to feed until someone buys them, which might not be for months, or even years. Or ever. So that's just more cost added before you make any money.

- Do I believe I made the right decision? Absolutely. I don't do this for money. I have started breeding because I think it's incredible to see the different patterns and morphs that can come about through breeding. I love seeing the way nature takes its course. I love seeing the incredible variation in the genetics of these incredible animals. I love building and shaping my collection through my own breeding, choosing which babies I want to keep for myself, and which I'm willing to part with. I love planning out various projects, and seeing what nature hands me, whether it goes according to plan or not at all. If I did this for the money, I'd hate myself a little bit. But since I do it for my love of the animals? Definitely the right decision.

What suggestions or insight can you guys give me into the world of breeding ball pythons?

- Breed animals that you enjoy and find beautiful, not animals that you think will sell better. After all, if you breed animals that you don't necessarily love, and then you were wrong about how well they would sell? You just got yourself new snakes that you're not crazy about. If you love the animals you breed, then when the clutch hatches, you're bound to end up with animals you will love as well, and if you end up keeping them all it won't be as much of a mental hardship. =] That would be my best advice. Oh, and don't ever EVER be afraid to ask questions. Email breeders who have been doing this forever (I know I do). People are SO excited about sharing their information, and love when new people enter the hobby. So always always ALWAYS ask questions. There's no such thing as a stupid question. =]

If you do decide to start breeding, GOOD LUCK! And have fun!

[theNotoriousDUD]

Hi, I just wanted to point out the fact that I have seen way TOO MANY would be career breeders have all the fun/passion of the hobby sucked out of it by the almighty dollar. I personally believe that the more successful snake breeders out there are the ones that stumbled into the "money" part of the hobby. This is a hobby that ended up taking off for some people by a virtual "perfect storm" of circumstances. Please be careful, and don't allow yourself to become the latest "Mad Breeder" on the block wailing about the nature of the Ball Python business. Have fun at it, breed what catches your eye and is within your financial reach. If you are having a ball at this thing, your time, effort and passion will shine through and create a rewarding experience that no price tag could ever measure up to. Potential customers are drawn to this kind of energy I think, ad if by chance they aren't it won't matter cause you love your hobby.,

[zee-man]

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...eding-Business

This may be a bit down your alley. Theres a lot to think about beyond just breeding an animal. Good luck.

[artgecko]

I'd just say, consider carefully before you go into it wanting to make money. I don't breed yet, but have been doing research for quite some time into different herps and breeding and most people that I've read, complain about how hard it is to make money at it...to break even is more attainable, but still hard to do. There's a thread right now in the "business" section (scroll down further in the forum to find it) about just this thing.

I have been pondering breeding, not to make a profit, but to support my hobby. For my situation, I've decided that I'll raise up 3-4 females, get a nice male, and breed a single "test clutch", keep the best offspring and see what my local market is before breeding more... If I have a hard time placing animals from just one clutch, breeding more extensively might not be for me.

I'd also like to add that this guy has some great insight on breeding for profit (he is more from a business standpoint and currently breeds BPs). I have learned a lot from his articles.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.