Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is in response to the market speculation post below: I have slowly gotten into breeding snakes over the past couple years (im 21), and have quite a few friends come over for drinks, card night, etc and when people are first shown my "snake room" the first general impression is always just complete shock. For girls its the "oh my god" with hands over their face. Then of course next up is them showing me how much they know about my snakes, by saying that they are poisonous and going to kill me. Or that my burms will swallow me whole. I believe this is where we need to expand our market, and I do my damn best job to do it. At this point I inform people how well tempered my ball pythons are and take one out (unless of course they are petrified, but in this case they wont put a foot into the room if they are). I then hold the python and tell them about it, and how they are really such an easy pet to care for, and how I have only been bitten a couple of times and I consider those times my fault (feedings, etc). At this point 99% of my friends will actually want to hold the snake, and like it from there on out (of course the "slimy skin" myth is gone by this point). From there on out they tell other people who come over, and are scared of my snakes, how really "cool" they are, and ask if they can hold one again or show someone else.
So to sum up all my ramblings if you guys want to target the younger market, which is the future, I would say its all about teaching and educating. We have to get people out of the "snakes are evil and will kill you" mode. I have also thought before that we need more hands-on stuff in our science classes. I remember my 6th grade science teacher having a large ball python in the room and everyone was always so scared of it. If the teacher would have simply took out the snake and told us some things about it then that could be hundreds or thousands of more "snake educated" kids. No knocks on teachers here,,,,or anyone for that matter,,,,,but I thought I would throw out here what I have found out so far.
I would also like to add that most people I know cant afford morphs of ball pythons, so therefore they really cant or just dont get into it. I have MANY friends who want one of my spider balls once I breed them, but of course cant afford to spend their tuition on a snake. This is why......dare I say it......its good when morph prices go down due to the law of suppy and demand. I say this because if spider prices were in the $100-$200 range I know about a dozen people who would buy one. And thats just people I know. So would you guys rather have a smaller market with big prices, or expand the market ten fold to include the next generations of snake breeders??? Cause prices have to drop to include us college students and/or teens.
Once again im sorry if I have offended anyone, and im really not trying to start any fights or anything. I'm just throwing out my viewpoint that maybe hasnt been seen/said yet

I think that you view point is excelent. We need that kind of input and I agree with everything you said. I'm not sure I want Spiders to be $100 , but I get your point and one day they will be at that price point. Keep educating all your friends and we should all learn from people like you. Great post, Brian (BHB)

Honestly, to answer your question.....Id take a bigger market with lower prices over a smaller market with big price tags anyday. I think its far more beneficial to the reptile community to educate MORE people and help clear the "nasty" reputation of snakes over making an extra buck...I never started this hobby for money in the first place...that was just an after the fact add on bonus! And to tell you the truth, i would do away with all the profit if it helped clean up the reptile reputation! I think some people are getting a little bit greedy, and a little too far removed from what i believe to be the true reason for my hobby....PASSION PEOPLE, SAY IT WITH ME....PASSION!!!! Its an all out love affair baby! Im on earth for animals and there here for me.......maybe nobody can agree with me but hey...i speak MY truth.

I'm a "young-un" too, and I agree with you 100%. The other day I actually helped a lady with her fear of snakes - her sons wanted one but she was scared to death of them. I used a rosy boa (they're like holding noodles, how can you be scared of that?) and by the time they left she'd held the snake and was saying "That's not so bad!".
Most people just haven't encountered snakes that often and were raised to believe snakes are bad. I see two types of little kids in the store - kids who go "WHOA COOL" when they see the redtail boas (the snakes in the lowest cages and thus, at their eye level) or kids who go "EWWW SNAKES". Half the time the kids who say ew don't know why snakes are "ew" when I ask them.

You get girls who go "ew!" and tell you your snakes are poisonous, I get guys. They can be worse - no guy, especially one who's older than the girl, wants to hear a girl tell him what he's saying (balls being poisonous) is wrong.
It's easier to show friends how harmless most snakes are than complete strangers. Friends already know you, and (hopefully) trust you. A complete stranger is whole different ball game - you gotta have some kind of proof other than your word. They might think it's just your snake that's not that bad, or they remember what you say and repeat it incorrectly, or they just shrug it off and dismiss you as just a nut. There's nothing quite as awful as half-remembered information that sounds just good enough to be true but really really isn't. Kinda like how a rumor never sounds the same after everyone's heard it as it did when it first got started.
I'm not saying don't try, I'm just saying your friends are going to be easier converts than strangers.

~jenny
-----
1.2 normal ball pythons (Cindy, Darwin, and Periscope)
0.2 rescue chinese water dragons (Yoni and Linga)
1.0 rex rat (Scurvy)
1.0 gerbil (Yerbul)
0.1 neurotic mouse (Cute Girl Mousey)
1.0 escape artist mouse (Jesusmouse)
0.1 bunny (Spazz)
1.1 betta fishes (Vicious and Killer)
2.2 great danes (Shasta, Odysseus, Merlot, and Watson)
1.0 fat fuzzy mutt (Smokey)
1.1 cats (Thidwick and Turtle)
3.0 horses (Buddy, Sam, and Scout)
1.0 goat (Billy Jack)
1.25 chickens (Ugly the rooster and his harem)

The Saddest Mouse