Beth's case is an example of how things can go horribly wrong. However, don't be completely put off of the idea from her experiences alone. Breeding loans can work and do work if you make it a point to use your time and energy covering all of the "maybes" and "what-ifs" ahead of time.

This means if and when you find someone else interested in entering into a breeding loan with you, be sure that you both sit down and detail EVERY ASPECT of the transaction ahead of time.

By doing this you will both find out what kind of expectations the other has and may find out that you don't work together as well as you had initially hoped.

Some points to consider ahead of time include (but are not limited to):
-What is the value of the sire(s) and dam(s) that will be included in the deal?
-What is the approximate value of any and all possible offspring?
-Where will the animals stay during the loan?
-Where will the hatchlings be housed?
-Who will pay for any extra supplies, incubators, substrates, housing, etc. that will be used and/or purchased during the loan?
-Who keeps the purchased supplies? (example: If a hatchling rack is purchased which person keeps it after the loan is completed?)
-How are the hatchlings split?
-If the hatchlings are to be sold what will each person's compensation be (percentage wise)?
-Who pays for food for both the hatchlings and the adults?
-Who pays for advertising and shipping costs?
-If the animals are to be sold, what happens if one person decides they would like to hold back an animal or two? (And conversely if they are to be held back what happens if someone decides they would rather sell the hatchlings?)
-Possible vet bills and/or death
-What if the pairing doesn't produce any offspring? Is one person still compensated for the food and supplies that were purchased?


This is just the beginning and a deal can take a while to iron out. However, if you take the time to go over as many details as possible beforehand you will run into far fewer problems down the road since both parties will know exactly what is expected of them. Many of the questions I posed above can be a 50/50 split but some of them may require a little more "fairness" as far as compensation goes.

Breeding loans can work - the proof of this is that you've actually HEARD of them. If they didn't work, no one would bother mentioning them. They can be a pain in the rear to set up and you may decide at a later point that you'd rather back out (set up an "escape clause for both people, but reserve it for emergencies only) but if you both people hold up to their (written) agreements you will both walk away with a little more experience, another good reference, a better idea of what you'd like to do differently in the future (hopefully, nothing) and finally an expanded collection, wallet or both.

Good luck and if you have specific questions feel free to email me.

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