Reptile & Amphibian Forums

quick question.
I have a few cresteds that I have been raising, and hoping to have quite a few babies this year. I am noticing the prices on them comming down. how much are babies worth now days wholesale and retail? Also what are sexable males and females going for? I am trying to figure out if it is worth trying to continue to breed, or if I should not breed.

Is the market flooded for them or is there room?

I have also thought about getting real serious about breeding....but dont know. I personally think that everyone should have cresties....but maybe it is just me.

Thanks.

the markets not flooded at all, its just that most of whats out there is junk to be honest. premium animals such as the ones Anthony Caponetto offers still command a higher price tag and are much higher quality than most of what you see, I have two crested from Anthony and they are awesome.

If you produce really nice offspring you can still do well with them, other than that a lot of what you see for sale are lower quality animals that other breeders or hobbyists dont have interest in.

what do you consider good or bad quality? are we talking about the animals not being well fed and looking healthy, or do you mean by poor quality, they are very generic in color etc. just plain colored with no flame etc?

so poor quality wholesale price is?
poor quality retail is?

good quality wholesale is?
good quality retail is?

Thanks.

keep in mind this is simply my opinion.

i feel that there are some breeders out there mass producing to make a quick buck instead of being more attentive to genetics. they don't breed to carry on traits of large crests, a lot of breeders dont mind inbreeding, a lot of breeders dont start projects for color and patterns they just toss a male and female together and breed her until shes done and then sell her. The adult female turnover is probably 3-5 times higher than males, because breeders get rid of them after a while, and people think they are getting this nice female and chances are she's spent by the time they get her.

large scale breeding operations often put more importance on the dollar and less on genetics, I am not saying all of them do this, don't get me wrong, people like Vosjoli and Repashy for example are large breeders and they DO place importance on such things.

I don't know what the prices are on everything or what category they fall into, all I know is you should ask a lot of questions before you buy. I pretty much don't buy adults, I buy young ones and raise them so I am in control of everything, I control their diet, I raise them and keep track of how they grow, I control when they breed and how often, it gives me peace of mind knowing what is going on.

In the classifieds if you see a big lot of females for sale at discount prices, chances are they have been bred a lot and the breeder is looking to bring in some new females and get rid of his old ones.

Look for pattern, look for health and appearance, look at the crest, ask about age, breeding, etc. perhaps "junk" was a bit harsh, but in my opinion only a few people out there are really focusing on high quality animals and a lot of what you see are just overpriced ex-breeders that breeders don't want anymore.