Re: URRe: Mandarin rats

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Posted by J McLean on January 15, 2000 at 08:03:47:

In Reply to: Re: URRe: Mandarin rats posted by Mike H. on January 14, 2000 at 22:10:43:

: Very well put, Dave! Keep in mind that the breeders you mentioned paid top $$$$ for all those imports they were buying throughout the trial & error years, sometimes buying mandarins by the dozen just hoping they would get a few to live long enough to produce some offspring. All of us who have healthy c.b. mandarins owe a huge "thanks" to those guys.

Hi,
As a long admirer, as well as keeper, of both moells and mandarins, I thought I would put my 2 centavos in. I got my first mandarin about 20 years ago for $35 and although it did not thrive it did live for several years. I have one now that was a gift from a friend that came from zoo stock. THe comment from the curator of the zoo was the same as this original querie. If you get cheap imports, take the precautions of proper parasite erradication and keep the animals in a proper set-up i.e. cool, with a deep substrate that has a moist area, they breed fairly easily(I am talking about mandarins here). THe curator couldn't understand why they were priced in the thousands. Moells are a very different story, because while they are readily available, they aren't reliable breeders even when kept properly. I have 2 wildcaughts. They are doing well and I paid $35 each from importers. My original female required assist feeding for a year and a half before she started to feed, and just laid eggs(infertile unfortunately)last year after seven and a half years in my collection. My recent wild caught female is feeding well after her initial worming. These snakes are beautiful and worth the effort to keep them. I keep for the pleasure of it and if I make anything off offspring it is only a drop in the bucket on all the time I have spent collecting, etc. Some people make a living or suplement their living off of herps and if they do, they cannot afford to sell things cheaply. The market has held well for these beauties, but one needs only to go to herp shows to see the flucuation in prices. I have seen people trying to sell Chihuahua Mt. kings for $250-300 each on kingsnake.com when a friend of mine had nice ones that he couldn't sell for $100/pr at herp shows. Go figure. I have never believed in getting a whole lot for anything, because I have never been able to buy for a lot. When supply exceeds demand the price will fall, but never to the price of imports who in most cases have been subjected to the worst abuse imaginable and mandarins and moells just can't take it. JSM

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: : Very well put, Dave! Keep in mind that the breeders you mentioned paid top $$$$ for all those imports they were buying throughout the trial & error years, sometimes buying mandarins by the dozen just hoping they would get a few to live long enough to produce some offspring. All of us who have healthy c.b. mandarins owe a huge "thanks" to those guys. : Hi, : As a long admirer, as well as keeper, of both moells and mandarins, I thought I would put my 2 centavos in. I got my first mandarin about 20 years ago for $35 and although it did not thrive it did live for several years. I have one now that was a gift from a friend that came from zoo stock. THe comment from the curator of the zoo was the same as this original querie. If you get cheap imports, take the precautions of proper parasite erradication and keep the animals in a proper set-up i.e. cool, with a deep substrate that has a moist area, they breed fairly easily(I am talking about mandarins here). THe curator couldn't understand why they were priced in the thousands. Moells are a very different story, because while they are readily available, they aren't reliable breeders even when kept properly. I have 2 wildcaughts. They are doing well and I paid $35 each from importers. My original female required assist feeding for a year and a half before she started to feed, and just laid eggs(infertile unfortunately)last year after seven and a half years in my collection. My recent wild caught female is feeding well after her initial worming. These snakes are beautiful and worth the effort to keep them. I keep for the pleasure of it and if I make anything off offspring it is only a drop in the bucket on all the time I have spent collecting, etc. Some people make a living or suplement their living off of herps and if they do, they cannot afford to sell things cheaply. The market has held well for these beauties, but one needs only to go to herp shows to see the flucuation in prices. I have seen people trying to sell Chihuahua Mt. kings for $250-300 each on kingsnake.com when a friend of mine had nice ones that he couldn't sell for $100/pr at herp shows. Go figure. I have never believed in getting a whole lot for anything, because I have never been able to buy for a lot. When supply exceeds demand the price will fall, but never to the price of imports who in most cases have been subjected to the worst abuse imaginable and mandarins and moells just can't take it. JSM

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