Breeding Reptiles for a living? Lol, not if you like to eat

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Posted by Fred Albury(Aztec Reptiles U.S.A.) on July 27, 2002 at 02:36:43:

In Reply to: Please think hard ... then do it again! *more inside* posted by Paul Spencer on July 21, 2002 at 21:13:31:

: Dean,
: Since we dont know each other, I'm gonna make a few general assumptions. I know you are a young man, and in school. I know you enjoy reptiles (or you wouldnt be thinking of breeding!). You didnt mention what kind of animals you would be breeding, and that does make a difference.

: Reptile breeding is so much more work than it seems, and the "get rich" part of it may never happen. There are so many things that must be considered when you are thinking of professional breeding, I can't begin to explain them all. What I will say is to be successful, you will need the following:
: Money - enough to get your breeding stock, cages, supplies, food, etc... a lot of money.
: Space - breeding reptiles takes a lot of space, there's gotta be enough room for your adult breeders, and babies. Since you dont sell your animals the day they're born you've gotta be ready to take care of them for a couple months ... which brings me to ..
: FOOD - Your food bill will vary according to what you're keeping, but you'll need a lot of whatever you use. Most professional breeders have seperate food businesses, to keep the costs down. You'll need to start raising your own mice, rats, maybe even bunnies or crickets depending on the reptile you breed.
: INSURANCE - oh yeah ... and it's not cheap! Having that many reptiles will open you up for lawsuits from angry neighbors, and god forbid if someone gets bit on your premesis. All that aside, one case of IBD or another desease could wipe out your entire collection. Which brings us back to space, you'll need a "quarantine room" to keep animals seperate for up to 6 months from your stock.

: This list goes on and on and on! I'm not trying to discourage you, well maybe I am! Thing is, do what you love ... and you'll do fine. If you really want to breed reptiles, then do it. Do it small scale ... see what it is really like ... dealing with the realities of the business. If you find it's to your liking, then expand :)

: Best luck to you!
: Paul Spencer
: Owner "Living Fossils" San Diego, CA

Dean,

Paul covered everything, he is a thorough type of guy and a true patriot, my hats off to you Paul Spencer.

Makeing money at this requires many things, least of allis that you must HAVE MONEY to make ANY money. You have to spend it to make it, and as Paul outlined above, you will spend alot before you see one woodent nickel come back.

Dean,I own my own business: AZTEC REPTILES, and the assumption of most people is that i make money, when this could notbe further from the truth. Once I factor in cost of food, hoseuing , electricity, gasoline, wear and tear on the car, MY TIME, and cleaning agents, shipping containers, permits, licenses, etc etc etc,
Id be lucky if I WASNT a few hundred in the hole.

No,I did good that year and sold alot of snakes.
But, because I only sell c/b offspring that i produce, or really nice offspring that I bought for myself, but decided to sell, my overhead is tremendously high

It takes years to grow up a snake large enough to get it to breed,You have to feed it and its mate dureing those years, as well as house them.

Take my advice, from my heart,Im not talking down to you. Do the following things:

#1) Pick out a type of snake you really like

#2) Buy the most awesome captive bred offspring of that type of snake

#3)Raise them up and breed them

#4)Buy mnore high quality cages

#5) Repreat steps 1-3 again with a difent type of snake that realy gets your blood pumping

#6)Get well known for them(AS I am with Indigos)

#7) Sell them over the net or at shows

#8)Take them money and buy your parents or girlfriend something nice

Business, naw it is just an:

OBSESSION!!

Best of luck,

Fred Albury
(Aztec Reptiles)

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: : Dean, : : Since we dont know each other, I'm gonna make a few general assumptions. I know you are a young man, and in school. I know you enjoy reptiles (or you wouldnt be thinking of breeding!). You didnt mention what kind of animals you would be breeding, and that does make a difference. : : Reptile breeding is so much more work than it seems, and the "get rich" part of it may never happen. There are so many things that must be considered when you are thinking of professional breeding, I can't begin to explain them all. What I will say is to be successful, you will need the following: : : Money - enough to get your breeding stock, cages, supplies, food, etc... a lot of money. : : Space - breeding reptiles takes a lot of space, there's gotta be enough room for your adult breeders, and babies. Since you dont sell your animals the day they're born you've gotta be ready to take care of them for a couple months ... which brings me to .. : : FOOD - Your food bill will vary according to what you're keeping, but you'll need a lot of whatever you use. Most professional breeders have seperate food businesses, to keep the costs down. You'll need to start raising your own mice, rats, maybe even bunnies or crickets depending on the reptile you breed. : : INSURANCE - oh yeah ... and it's not cheap! Having that many reptiles will open you up for lawsuits from angry neighbors, and god forbid if someone gets bit on your premesis. All that aside, one case of IBD or another desease could wipe out your entire collection. Which brings us back to space, you'll need a "quarantine room" to keep animals seperate for up to 6 months from your stock. : : This list goes on and on and on! I'm not trying to discourage you, well maybe I am! Thing is, do what you love ... and you'll do fine. If you really want to breed reptiles, then do it. Do it small scale ... see what it is really like ... dealing with the realities of the business. If you find it's to your liking, then expand :) : : Best luck to you! : : Paul Spencer : : Owner "Living Fossils" San Diego, CA : : Dean, : Paul covered everything, he is a thorough type of guy and a true patriot, my hats off to you Paul Spencer. : Makeing money at this requires many things, least of allis that you must HAVE MONEY to make ANY money. You have to spend it to make it, and as Paul outlined above, you will spend alot before you see one woodent nickel come back. : Dean,I own my own business: AZTEC REPTILES, and the assumption of most people is that i make money, when this could notbe further from the truth. Once I factor in cost of food, hoseuing , electricity, gasoline, wear and tear on the car, MY TIME, and cleaning agents, shipping containers, permits, licenses, etc etc etc, : Id be lucky if I WASNT a few hundred in the hole. : No,I did good that year and sold alot of snakes. : But, because I only sell c/b offspring that i produce, or really nice offspring that I bought for myself, but decided to sell, my overhead is tremendously high : It takes years to grow up a snake large enough to get it to breed,You have to feed it and its mate dureing those years, as well as house them. : : Take my advice, from my heart,Im not talking down to you. Do the following things: : #1) Pick out a type of snake you really like : #2) Buy the most awesome captive bred offspring of that type of snake : #3)Raise them up and breed them : #4)Buy mnore high quality cages : #5) Repreat steps 1-3 again with a difent type of snake that realy gets your blood pumping : #6)Get well known for them(AS I am with Indigos) : #7) Sell them over the net or at shows : #8)Take them money and buy your parents or girlfriend something nice : Business, naw it is just an: : OBSESSION!! : Best of luck, : Fred Albury : (Aztec Reptiles)

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