Collection List and Goals

[ElliotNess]

That's an impressive list and a very aggressive expansion. I haven't counted them up but it looks like you have more than 50 hold backs. I have about that many and keep in mind that I spend between $4,000 and $5,000 per year in rat food, rat bedding, and snake bedding to support that many snakes, not to mention the initial investment in racks and supplies. So if you hold them back for two years and then breed in the third year you will rack up nearly $15,000 in expenses before you make any money at all.

This should be my first year really coming out ahead financially and it's taken a toll over the last couple years with a lot of expenses and hardly anything coming in. Just something to keep in mind if you plan to expand that much. I'd suggest a slower expansion, maybe just hold back a few snakes every year, or maybe a percentage of your breeder females to balance things as you grow. The thing that hit me the hardest is that I lost my job over six months ago, I still have three months before I'm selling hatchlings, so that's nine months of hard times. However, if you have other income that can support that kind of expansion I say go for it! And of course the more snake money you have coming in the more you can re-invest in projects. I watched a video of a big breeder holding back 200 hatchlings one year and 500 the next!

I work for General Atomics and Surefire Institute. This by no means is a source of income for me. I breed my own rats so I really just spend money on rat food and when I need to supplement, my buddy breeds about 100k rodents a year and I get them for cheap. I don't plan on holding back a lot. I have a cap I am sure but haven't found it yet. I will obviously move the ones not needed for projects simply because of the cost to hold back but I am not breeding at Random and in some cases not every year. I am breeding literally to achieve certain morphs.