If you're going to be investing money with the intention of breeding snakes for profit, what you are really doing is starting a business.

Any business is doomed to fail without a plan. I would encourage you to sit down a write a business plan. There is a ton of good information on the internet about writing business plans. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but it should lay out your goals and projected income/losses for at least the next 1, 3, and 5 years.

By actually sitting down and putting a plan on paper, it will be much easier to see what makes sense as far as purchases when it comes to fitting what you want to work with along with making a return on your investment.

-adam