here's why...

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Posted by Dean Alessandrini on December 08, 2001 at 17:57:53:

In Reply to: The cost of an Indigo. posted by Keith Hillson on December 07, 2001 at 23:34:44:

First of all, if you can find one for $350, go for it, that's a great price.

1- There are VERY FEW people who successfully produce them. It may seem like there's quite a few on this forum, b/c they all communicate here!

2- supply and demand. There are more people who want them then babies available.

3- They are sparratic producers at best. And, you can do "everything right" and still get slugs.

4- They are a FEDERALLY LISTED species. Therefore we can NEVER AGAIN get animals from the wild to help out the captive populations.

5- Many breeders avoid them, becuase they require a FALL/ WINTER cool down at night...which is different from the typical colubrids and boids. They really require their own room to control properly.

6- They require a lot of space. In the space required to successfully keep a single pair of indigos, you could keep maybe 4 or more pairs of smaller colubrids, or a pair of large boids. The boids, however, would produce many more babies and much more reliably.

7- They are higher maintenence than many other snakes and therefore require more time cleaning, etc. (due to high metobolic rate)

8- The babies are tough to get started, and most reputable breeders hang onto them for many weeks playing games to get them well-started before sellnig them. (once well started, they do very well)

in short...few people are willing to put ni the effort required, and those who do are not always successful. Don't expect the price to come down.
I really don't see it happening.

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Re: here's why... Mike 12/08/01 (0)

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: First of all, if you can find one for $350, go for it, that's a great price. : 1- There are VERY FEW people who successfully produce them. It may seem like there's quite a few on this forum, b/c they all communicate here! : 2- supply and demand. There are more people who want them then babies available. : 3- They are sparratic producers at best. And, you can do "everything right" and still get slugs. : 4- They are a FEDERALLY LISTED species. Therefore we can NEVER AGAIN get animals from the wild to help out the captive populations. : 5- Many breeders avoid them, becuase they require a FALL/ WINTER cool down at night...which is different from the typical colubrids and boids. They really require their own room to control properly. : 6- They require a lot of space. In the space required to successfully keep a single pair of indigos, you could keep maybe 4 or more pairs of smaller colubrids, or a pair of large boids. The boids, however, would produce many more babies and much more reliably. : 7- They are higher maintenence than many other snakes and therefore require more time cleaning, etc. (due to high metobolic rate) : 8- The babies are tough to get started, and most reputable breeders hang onto them for many weeks playing games to get them well-started before sellnig them. (once well started, they do very well) : in short...few people are willing to put ni the effort required, and those who do are not always successful. Don't expect the price to come down. : I really don't see it happening. :

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