Pets vs Breeders

[mcd]

Wondering what people with many snakes do- do you keep one or 2 special ones out in a tank for your special pets. with the rest in racks?
What got me thinking about this is that I was at a breeder's place the other day, and he had some of the most beautiful snakes you can imagine, but had them all in his snake rooms, without any kept out as pets.

[LadyOhh]

Well, considering the animals still need the same requirements, what would be the difference in keeping them in a rack and being both breeders and pets?

What makes an animal in a tank more of a pet than a breeder? Or an animal in a rack less of a pet?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I have 2 normal males BP that are strictly pets however they get the same husbandry than any other of my Ball Pythons that are breeders/pets.

The enclosure does not make the animal a pet or a breeder.

[mcd]

Well, I was thinking if you had 30 snakes, it would be hard to think of all 30 of them as family pets. We currently just have 1 BP, and he is clearly a pet. Of course you would still appreciate them and care for them, but perhaps not have such a personal connection.
But, that I suppose is what my question was about.
The other way I was looking at it- you can't likely have a large # of snakes in nice display tanks- I think once our collection starts to grow, I would still like to keep 1 or 2 out in the open rather than have them all in the rack.

[Jyson]

All of my snakes are pets first and for most. Breeding them is just another way of getting more pets imo.

As for housing and care for them, they all get the proper husbandry that they require, no more, no less. To me there is just no point in keeping one's "pets" in a tank separate from one's "breeders" its just more time consuming (when cleaning), and just takes up more space. And what they live in doesn't lessen or greaten their sentimental value imho.

[JKExotics]

65 snakes, 9 dogs, too many rats to count...

All of them are my pets, all get the same baby treatment, if an animal is no longer geting that special pet treatment please give it to someone else your doing it wrong.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Well, I was thinking if you had 30 snakes, it would be hard to think of all 30 of them as family pets.

I have over 40 of them and they all are

[mcd]

65 snakes, 9 dogs, too many rats to count...

All of them are my pets, all get the same baby treatment, if an animal is no longer geting that special pet treatment please give it to someone else your doing it wrong.

Wow- that was not the intent of my question at all- not trying to imply that greater quantity leads to less care.

I was simply asking about other people's experience.

[rabernet]

Even if I kept just one or two ball pythons, and not the 40+ that I currently have - I'll never - ever go back to tanks again. That's a personal decision for me. I hated the tank, the snakes hated the tank, and they eat much more reliably in the racks and tubs. If I want to look at my snakes, I take them out.

Every single one of my snakes is named and I consider them all pets first. If you asked me to choose one or two to get rid of, I couldn't. The ones that I produce to sell, I don't name.

It's been my experience that my snakes do much better in a tub environment than a tank. Most people who make the switch from tanks to tubs also report that their snakes do much better in that type of set-up.

I'm not saying that a tank can't be done properly, several people do - but ball pythons are really a poor choice to be a display snake.

[Jyson]

Even if I kept just one or two ball pythons, and not the 40+ that I currently have - I'll never - ever go back to tanks again. That's a personal decision for me. I hated the tank, the snakes hated the tank, and they eat much more reliably in the racks and tubs. If I want to look at my snakes, I take them out.

Every single one of my snakes is named and I consider them all pets first. If you asked me to choose one or two to get rid of, I couldn't. The ones that I produce to sell, I don't name.

It's been my experience that my snakes do much better in a tub environment than a tank. Most people who make the switch from tanks to tubs also report that their snakes do much better in that type of set-up.

I'm not saying that a tank can't be done properly, several people do - but ball pythons are really a poor choice to be a display snake.

Amen to that! I made the switch from tanks to tubs, and I too will never go back. My snakes have and are doing amazing in the tubs. When they were in tanks, they were doing ok, but it was just too hard to keep them at ok when my numbers began to increase. Now its easy to keep them more than happy in my rack systems.