new interest in snakes, trying to learn.

[JRLongton]

to be honest, i see dollar signs. i know that sounds terrible. but that's honestly the main reason i am thinking about breeding so early ... but i am trying to look a few steps ahead and consider if this can be a viable business.

Allow this humble novice to respectfully suggest that breeding snakes is not a viable business at all, and for a number of reasons.

I know there are those four and even five figure animals out there. Those animals are rare and difficult to produce. Breeders are working with genetics, which is a just a numbers game. As in any numbers game, you lose a lot more often than you win but hope that the wins will balance out the losses.

In order to produce those few with highly desirable traits, you would need to maintain a fairly large number of animals, meaning anywhere from 30 (at a base minimum) to hundreds. Think of the cost of buying racks to house even 30 pythons, then the cost to feed them. With my local prices, I estimate it costing $45 per week to feed 30 animals, that's $180 per month. And, that's a smaller breeding operation.

That's just the cost side of the equation. Then there's the upkeep and maintenance, the real snake keeping. How do you feel about spending your days cleaning poop, scrubbing water bowels, and occasionally getting bitten?

We haven't even gotten to experience. Not just anyone can breed snakes and there is more to snake keeping than most people realize. To actually breed the animals, incubate their eggs and have a successful hatching of live snakelets, that takes skill and talent that can only be acquired from experience.

Can you make money breeding snakes, sure. But, there are a lot of easier, less stressful, less time consuming, and more lucrative hobbies out there!

Snake breeding is best for people who are passionate about the animals. People who can get pooped on, bitten, and then move to the next rack with a smile on their face. You don't know if you're that person yet. I hope you find out, and I sincerely hope that you are.

I'm just an amateur and I don't breed. But I would suggest you start small. Get yourself one female BP, or corn snake, king snake, or hognose (they seem up and coming). Get one with desirable traits, something that can be bred to produce desirable offspring. Spend some time in the hobby, learn through experience. Snake keeping is a practice.

If you enjoy the hobby you can get more and then maybe start breeding. If on the other hand you find that teeth hurt and snake poop stinks, you can easily sell a desirable female to a hobby breeder.

I hope you do enjoy it though, cause I love it. Good luck in all things.