@cchardwick - The main cost I am concerned about is rats. Currently, I only have 12 snakes (of which only 2 are adults) and it is already getting fairly expensive to feed them. Originally, I had started preparing to breed my own and I planned on having that going already, but I ended up putting that on hold until I figure out how I am going to go about keeping the smell out of my house (possibly an exhaust fan in a basement window or something). I get really good deals on frozen rats from a guy locally, so the trade-off of not having to deal with breeding my own is still worth it for the time being. But, once babies start popping out in a few short months and I need to start having live available to get them eating, that's where i'm going to run into problems...

This is whole new subject of it's own, but what do you guys think about breeding rats in a garage from spring through fall? I haven't actually calculated everything, but it seems like if you timed everything right you could have plenty of live babies available throughout the traditional hatching season every year and also have plenty left to grow up and freeze to help get through the winter months. I have 2 large garages, but to breed rats year round in them I would have to heat them 24/7. So, the additional huge cost of my monthly gas bill sky rocketing would definitely not be worth it...

As far as substrate goes, I use newspaper for all of my snakes. Personally, I think it's perfect (aside from not retaining moisture for very long). The snakes don't get all dirty and it doesn't get all over the floor, it's basically free and it's no problem at all to switch the snakes out into a fresh clean tub once or twice a week. I also feel like there is much less of a chance of urine building up and bacteria and mold becoming a problem. With actual substrate, I don't see how it's possible to ever get all of the urine out of it and it's pretty expensive. And, not to mention, it greatly reduces the amount of room the snakes have to explore. I definitely have to get a humidifier for my snake room before winter, though. I've also been considering using moss instead of crumpled up newspaper for my Bloods and Short Tails to help retain moisture longer. Do you guys know how well the tropical moss generally retains moisture with a lot of airflow? Anyway, this is also another whole topic of it's own. But, from a business standpoint, newspaper definitely cuts down on a major cost. Also, these are only my opinions. I'm just a nOOb... lol You guys are the wise ones!

@chip07 - Grrr! Damn you for reminding me about the Eclipse! lol I'm never going to have any money again, am I? When I originally started researching Boa mutations and deciding which ones would be my favorites to work with the Eclipse was my very first choice! I got sidetracked with Moonglows and sorta forgot about them. Now, I am rethinking my plans again... Personally, I really like the Motleys, but if i'm going to go through the time and expense of raising up a Motley it would be much more worthwhile in the long run to be growing up a Leopard (which, I also like a lot) as well instead of planning on just putting her with a normal. Maybe I need to come to terms with just keeping my normal boy as a pet... The Eclipse is indeed just a Motley x Leopard, right? I'm guessing there is only a very small chance of getting an Eclipse, though, right? Wouldn't most of the offspring be Motley Het Leopards?

@bcr229 - I agree completely with everything you stated!

With regards to Motleys, I have had an idea for a possible world's first with that gene for awhile, but i'm not exactly sure how to go about it. I will start a new topic for that, which you guys might find interesting...