Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok so I've been bit by the bug and I am thinking about starting my own breeding project. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice for me?

I would say the smartest thing to do is start slow. As a beginner, I would limit my collection to a 2.2 ratio. (Meaning 2 females, and 2 males.) Grow them up. (Give the girls at least 2 1/2 years to be somewhat sexually mature) And, go from there.

This way, you are not throwing a ton of money away and expecting a big return. Also, this time with your animals will let you know if you can even keep basic husbandry issues maintained for your animals.

I would find two different "types" of animals you like and go from there. This way, if you are going the morph direction, you can get higher priced animals you like. (ie Ghosts, Albinos, Stripes, etc.)

Breeding is not a totally easy thing. I will be honest and admit that over the 15 years of keeping reptiles........I have STILL not had a viable litter. If you don't think that that's frustrating............Just wait till new comers are having litters before you are. (Yes, this still stings me a little. LOL!) All I am saying is this. It isn't cut and dry. If you buy animals.........You are not guarenteed to have a litter. More than likely you will have a litter at some time. (At least that is what I keep telling myself.)

My advice is this. Don't go crazy like the rest of us. LOL! Get a couple of animals. Try the breeding thing out and see if you like it. Because, mark my words..........Selling animals opens up a whole new can of worms.
John
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"To be the best..........You must lose your mind."

but John is right, start off slow. I currently have 26 snakes, most of which I've obtained in the past two years, but I've been keeping boas since 1991. Of the 26, some of them I intended to purchase and some of them I was given (or sometimes bought) because the owners either no longer wanted them or could no longer care for them. The larger your collection, the less quality individual time you can spend with your animals. While all of my snakes get the care and conditions they need to thrive, not all of them get handled on a regular basis - usually just my favourites. Some of them are simply my pets, a few are future breeding projects, and a few are unplanned adoptions. They're all like my kids...but I got a lot of kids. lol The best advise is to pick a few animals that you like and work with them (as John suggested) - learn everything you can about them, make sure you set them up right, raise them up to breeding age/size, and work from there. Discover your limitations, you may only want the responsibility for a few animals, or you may want a few dozen. If you don't love what you do, you'll get bored or burned out with it. Obviously with 26 snakes, I love it. Even so, this is a hobby for me and I'm only expecting my 2nd litter ever this year. There are no guarantees that you'll always get a successful breeding, always have viable young or ever make a profit; it's a gamble. And as John mentioned, it's a whole new game when you have offspring to sell - providing the care required until they sell, where and how to sell them (i.e. local sales only, wholesale, finding a shipper if you want to be able to sell outside your area, etc.). For myself, the reward is working with the animals themselves - they're simply facinating. And there is nothing like looking into a cage and seeing a dozen extra little faces looking back. To me, that's the real reward of breeding.

Raven

Try to find a 12 step program SOMEWHERE near you. Do it now before it's too late

SORRY TOO LATE FOR HELP I AM AN ADDICT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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