I am glad you are thinking this through! I've kept pet snakes for years until recently when I acquired my first ball python as a gift. Then the obsession set in worst than what girls have for shoes and purses. I have to admit that the price tags did generate some interest in pursuing breeding but after reading (about 6 months worth of anything I can lay my eyes on) I realized it was much more interesting to understand how the morph genes worked. This isn't to say that money isn't a motive, it just isn't a huge one. I can't really name many hobbies that can sustain itself financially! The money that comes in goes right back into it either in better rack setups, RATS/MICE!!!, etc. If I were to break the reasons down to percentages it would appear as...

for the love of science 50%
for the love of snakes 30%
for the love of the cool factor 10%
for the love of money 10%
for the love of cleaning after them 0% (but I would rather clean tubs than dog/cat poo)

I have a friend who recently got into ball pythons and I hate to say it but his motives seems to be money driven. He "says" he is doing for the love of the hobby... but actions speak otherwise. In 6 months he hasn't kept any snake for more than 2 months. Constantly scouring the classifieds for a good deal and then selling them at a higher premium. I understood his initial reasons for doing so since he had limited funds but in the last few days he mentioned that he heard that corns were the next ball pythons and even seemed interested in changing species. (You know who you are :P)

So...that being said... A hobby is one that you are willing to spend time/energy/money even if it gave you nothing more than enjoyment in return. "Not what the snakes can do for you but what you can do for your snakes!" hehe

I hope this was helpful.

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