Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wondering how many breeders out there use ultrasound machines in their breeding, and how successful they are with it. I am contemplating getting one, and also, what is the level of difficulty of learning how to use it.

Thanks.

NERD (New England Reptile Distributors) use it. Saw their machine on a tour through the facility, and when a gravid BCC was pointed out to me, I asked how they knew it was gravid, since it wasn't swollen at all.

The answer I got was "That machine we just passed - one of the best investments we've made". I suppose it depends on the volume of snakes you are breeding (or if you are breeding high-dollar morphs). That sure would've been handly last year when one of my females went through all the motions of being gravid but was "faking it". Could've been feeding her normally through all those months...

Can't answer about how easy it is to use though.
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Lauren Madar - OphidiaGems.com | CageMakers
1.1 Ball Python, 1.0 Hog Island Boa, 1.1 Hypo BCI, 1.1 Surinam BCC, 1.1 Saharan Sand Boa

How expensive are these machines? I mean they have got to be in the 10's of thousands?
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2.2 Columbian common boas (Zeus, Athena, Aphodite, Hades)
1.1 Corn snakes (Appolo, Boreas)
0.1 King snake tri striped cal morph (Helios)

For the heck of it I looked around a bit a few months ago.

Even used machines that are a decade old go for several thousand dollars. The only things I could find that were less than $1000 were used "parts" of some ultrasound machine that were of unknown condition, not a whole unit.

New ones tend to be $20k and up, but if you happen to see a medical equipment auction or similar locally, you might find a deal, especially if you know what you're looking for.

Too rich for my little collection.
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Lauren Madar - OphidiaGems.com | CageMakers
1.1 Ball Python, 1.0 Hog Island Boa, 1.1 Hypo BCI, 1.1 Surinam BCC, 1.1 Saharan Sand Boa

I was also given a tour of NERD and sold a boa to Andy. He used the ultrasound on the boa in front of me and it appeared she had the start of egg follicles. He had told me his machine was around $10,000.

$10,000 sounds about right for a very basic unit. At the vet hospital I work at we get catalogs all the time and that seems to be the base price. The obviously go WAY higher. Heck, our brand new, not even digital x-ray machine was like $30k.

around $2,500 "used"