Question for Breeders about Business

[Renigaed]

Hi guys, I have some questions for those of you that breed. I'm looking into breeding, but I'm struggling to find a food supplier that isn't going to run my pockets dry. How do you guys feed your snakes? I know one guy who has a business license and gets cheaper bulk rats on RodentPro but I dont know how to get something like that started.. do any of you know how to do that?

[pretends2bnormal]

I don't breed BPs, but I know many on here who do breed, or those who have a fair number of pets, will breed their own rodents instead of buying them. It works out to be cheaper after a certain number of snakes and is definitely cheaper when you have hatchlings that may need live meals for the first several weeks. I'm breeding rats and mice to make owning my snakes less expensive.

I would guess getting bulk rates from a supplier would be done by talking to the owner of the company and setting it up that way. Might even need to be a friend of a friend type of connection, but I would assume it depends on the supplier.

You may have the most luck for lower costs, if you do not want to breed your own, to search out a small scale rodent breeder who is local that you can buy from. Most who breed their own charge less than big retailers because they only need/want to recoup costs of feeding their own collection and aren't necessarily looking for profit on it.

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[pkcconstrictors]

Breed your own rats. There is tons of info on this site alone about how to do it. It will take a little money at first buying or building you rack or whatever kind of setup you want, but you will get that money back in savings. Not to mention you know exactly what they have been feed before you feed them to your snake. When you feed your rats, you ARE feeding your snake; don't skimp on that.

[Renigaed]

Unfortunately breeding is not an option, I live in an apartment.. so buying in bulk or finding a local breeder are my only options.

Breed your own rats. There is tons of info on this site alone about how to do it. It will take a little money at first buying or building you rack or whatever kind of setup you want, but you will get that money back in savings. Not to mention you know exactly what they have been feed before you feed them to your snake. When you feed your rats, you ARE feeding your snake; don't skimp on that.

[pkcconstrictors]

Also, if your wanting f/t, Chris Hardwick has a video on his YouTube channel on how to euthanize them humanely and efficiently.

[pkcconstrictors]

Oh ok, I seen your reply right after I hit submit. Sorry.

[Bogertophis]

When I had WAY more snakes & bred some too, I bred my own rodents & sold the surplus, which was actually more lucrative than the snakes...though I was
never seriously "commercial" about the snakes I bred (& I had many rescues, native & otherwise with no breeding intentions at all, just a love for the snakes).

I've never cared for being dependent upon other sources for the right size prey items needed, especially since many snakes really need to start off right on live,
then switch to f/t when feasible. As mentioned in above post, many commercial sources of rodents (especially the 'cheapest' ones) cannot be relied upon to
feed their rodents quality food...and truly it comes down to "garbage in = garbage out". Or as one ad for rodent chow used to say: "feed your rodents the
best...just don't tell them why".

Now I keep way fewer snakes with no breeding, & for convenience (& never running out*) I still breed my own feeders. *Keep in mind that when snakes are
eating the most in summer (due to warm temperatures & breeding), that's when some rodents slow down production (depending on temps. they're kept at) &
therefore some big suppliers can run short. So if you do out-source your feeders, make sure you stock up in advance of summer shortages.

[Godzilla78]

I don’t breed rats. I either buy bulk frozen or buy from a local breeder regularly for long term business and get a discount.

Just because I breed snakes, doesn’t mean I have to breed rats. Just need to find business partner that breed rats.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Hi guys, I have some questions for those of you that breed. I'm looking into breeding, but I'm struggling to find a food supplier that isn't going to run my pockets dry. How do you guys feed your snakes? I know one guy who has a business license and gets cheaper bulk rats on RodentPro but I dont know how to get something like that started.. do any of you know how to do that?

What you are talking about is a:cens0r:business:cens0r:tax:cens0r:ID number, also called an employer:cens0r:identification number:cens0rEIN) which can simply be filed online.