Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi kiddos,

I am contemplating a return into snake keeping and have a fairly good line on a 1.2 group of anaconda hatchlings. My question is whether this is a self sustaining project. I am not looking to make anything but I like being married and would like a project that isn't breaking the bank.

Thoughts please?

I think it depends. I haven't actually gotten any eggs or hatchlings yet, so all of my snakes and their food come directly out of my paycheck from my current job. I am hoping that with future clutches I will be able to get the snakes to at least pay for their own food and upkeep. But it will be another 40-50 years before I even consider trying to do this without a job on the side to pay the bills and put food on the table.

Also depends on the market. I have a friend who has been trying to sell 3 young/baby kingsnakes for quite a while and no one is biting. He's got ~$300 worth of snakes to sell or trade, but that doesn't mean a whole lot if no one is buying.

Then again, I'm still new to the whole breeding thing (and not even out of college yet) so you might prefer the opinion of someone who's been around for longer and has a better understanding of how this ocean rolls.
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3.3 Western Hognose
1.1 Ball Pythons

When I was single way back when, I was putting a few hundred a month into a mutual fund. I did that for around 5 yrs. In spite of an up-and-down stock market at the time, the funds did great overall. Way way better than my kingsnake morphs I invested in. Now I didn't have a huge collection, but I soon found out that kingsnakes do not hold high prices for long. Large clutches, ease of producing them - the market gets flooded quickly.

Although I think hognose morphs do tend to hold higher prices longer, the rules are the same. Eventually, a hog that sells now for $500 will sell for $100 or less at some point down the road. The new, highly-coveted morphs will command the high prices. Those few breeders that have the new morphs before 99% of everyone else will have the earning power, or trading power.

So, if you get baby anaconda hogs now, you are a few years behind the original wave of babies to hit the market. I do believe you will sell babies and get some money, maybe even pay for their food, maybe the initial cost too. But as an investment, there are more effective ways to make money. Keep them because you love to keep them, and any money made is a bonus.

Now if you have some crazy looking morph that only one or two others have, go for it!