Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I hope to one day make a career out of Reptiles. My question is, how many of you do this as a full time career? And how did u get to that point?

Good question, I'm curious too..
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Radim Soukup
www.kingsnake.cz
Czech Republic, EU

I doubt you will get many responses today when most breeders are leaving to the Daytona Expo this weekend. I am a full time breeder and would like to answer you question but I have to pack and hit the road tonight.

Try asking this same question the weekend after next. Then everybody should be settled in from hell week..

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ÌÏËÙÍ ËÁÂE!

table #184 DAYTONA EXPO

You know - Rana draytonii use to be Rana aurora draytonii because they look extremely similar to Rana aurora (what use to be Rana aurora aurora) it turns out that Rana aurora is closer to Rana cascadae than it is to Rana draytonii.

FUNKYRES

Do you have any MBKs this year?
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0.1 Banded California kingsnake - Zorro
1.0 Betta fish - Billy
0.0.3 White Cloud Fish
1.0 RES - Chopstick
0.1 Australian Shepherd - Jet
2.1 Domestic Shorthair Mix Cats - Robert Bob & Pirate

i don't have any MBK's but Tom Steven who posts here has some very nice ones. You can use the contact butto from his posts here.

But righgt now he is driving to the daytona show all the way from Texas. I am sure he has them with him so if you want his number email me and I will give it to you.

I am sure he is bored to death driving all that way and wants someone to talk to besides Thomas who is with him. LOL!
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ÌÏËÙÍ ËÁÂE!

table #184 DAYTONA EXPO

You know - Rana draytonii use to be Rana aurora draytonii because they look extremely similar to Rana aurora (what use to be Rana aurora aurora) it turns out that Rana aurora is closer to Rana cascadae than it is to Rana draytonii.

FUNKYRES

Thanks.
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0.1 Banded California kingsnake - Zorro
1.0 Betta fish - Billy
0.0.3 White Cloud Fish
1.0 RES - Chopstick
0.1 Australian Shepherd - Jet
2.1 Domestic Shorthair Mix Cats - Robert Bob & Pirate

well, i'm not a huge breeder yet.... i only had about 80 hatchlings this year (light year) but i have had 1 snake in particular since i was in middle school.... now i'm 27... said snake is now about 15-16 years old. she was an adult when i got her.. anyways. i'm working on becoming a full time breeder. its VERY hard work and VERY expensive! i decided to start breeding in 2005.... now i have well over 100 snakes (and hatchlings) i spend alot of money on frozen feeders and alot of time on my critters... i dont have any kids, but i am married to my best friend who helps out.... He's great!
I have been doing this alone (as in no other job) for about a year... it has its ups and downs... but you gotta start out small.... make a name for yourself and try to make every one of your customers a customer for life (if not a friend for life) and if i cant help someone with any critters i have, i send them to a friend... or someone i know who can help them.... hope that makes sense...
~kin
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~Sober Serpents~
www.freewebs.com/soberserpents
Corns, Creamsicles, A Black Rat, A pair of Leucistic Black Rat X Leucistic Texas Rat Intergrades, Thayeri, Cal Kings, A Jungle Corn, Ball Pythons, A reverse Trio of Candoia, Leopard Geckos, Green Anoles, a Snapping Turtle, a White Cheeked Mud Turtle, a Bearded Dragon, an Adult Rescue Iguana, and A Baby Iguana

Well, I know you can't get there by selling normal banded cal kings *sigh*
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Arrrggg!
It's like Shalom, but for pirates.
- iCarly

My reptile biz is a side project...it's not my full time job. That being said, I think it would be hard to make it my only source of income.

Getting started can take a substantial amount of money. There are racks/cages to buy, the animals themselves, feeders, vet bills, etc etc. Then you have to figure out what you want to breed. Some animals sell well but are cheap in price so you'll have to breed a lot of them to make any money. Then there are the high-dollar animals which you can make a lot of money on per animal. But you'll need high-dollar animals to start with, build a customer base, and then be patient about selling them because not a lot of people can afford an expensive reptile.

There are ways that you can cut your costs, such as making your own racks, raising your own feeders. But these options take up a lot of your personal time. Also, raising smelly mice and changing their cages twice a week isn't a lot of fun.

So I guess what I'm saying is that you can make it your full time job, and many people do, but I find it better as a supplement to my regular income since the biz can be unpredictable from one season to the next.
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Paul Weaver
Carolina Herps

I think most people that go into the reptile business go broke.
If you are into them try to get into an occupation that has dealing with reptiles as a part of the job. Some kind of zoology job, or park service. I teach science which allows me to have them as classroom aids, and to introduce them to people in a positive way. I do sell the one or two clutches I have each year, but it doesn't come close to paying for my feeder mice.
Buddy.

An old Steve Martin stand-up routine from the mid-seventies comes to mind. "Wanna know how to get a million dollars and not pay taxes on it? First, get a million dollars"