Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

From time to time I ponder what skills/knowledge a person has to have to succeed with these animals. By succeed I don't necessarily mean make a boatload of money - I mean accomplishing your personal business/hobby goals. I'm curious to hear from the well big boys, well known breeders, and those with less experience. What do you think is absolutely necessary to succeed and why? Here are a few things on my list:

1) Get a mentor who knows his/her stuff! This will go along way in helping you with your animals as well as negotiating the waters of dealing with various personalities in the biz.

2) You have to be able to sex animals with pretty near 100% accuracy. Otherwise, you don't know what you are buying, or if you the animals you paid for are what you really received. Don't assume the person on the other end of the deal knows what they are doing when it comes to sexing! Don't trust your vet will do it correctly. Lern to probe and preferably POP all size bp's.

Just the other day I was in a pet store owned by a longtime herp guy in our town. This man has been in the herp scene for many decades. I saw a large bp in there and I wanted to know the sex. He didn't want me to pop it (felt it would hurt the animal) and he probed it in front of me as a female. I told him I would not buy it unless I could pop it. Not wanting to lose the sale, he said ok. Out popped the penes and a ton of sperm. Had I not been able to sex that animal, I would have wasted my money buying a male, and grew it up for a year assuming it was a female.

3) Learn to palpate and practice this skill until it is second nature. This way you know exactly what is up with your girl. Does she need to be bred again? Is she "done"? About when and how many eggs/slugs will she lay?

4) It sure helps to be handy or have a spouse, friend, or partner who is! My husband built my racks, snake room, etc., saving us a ton of money and giving me some small but very nice quality facilities.

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Exactly!

Things that seem so confusing and difficult become easy with time and practice.

Also, the hobbist will need a good scale and proper record keeping.

Tracking weight can tell you if your snake is eating, but not gaining weight, a sign of a problem.

Feed records allow you to ensure the animal is getting the nutrition it needs, especially those females!!

Shed records are helpful to track growth and breeding cycle.

A general written comment, "the snake has been sluggish" or such, may come in useful down the road.

Heres my two cents !

I believe the most important element of a successful business is customer service . Keep your customers happy even if it means taking a loss. Repeat customers is what you strive for !!!!!
Dont forget where you came from, Try to remember when you were a newbie and devoted many hours scrambling the net for information. Take the time to treat people with no experience with the respect you would want. Remember the newbies of today could be your best customer in 3-5 years, or your competitor. Share your knowledge in a tactful way . Let them know that they are very important to your business and without customers there is no business. Thanks christy I learned something from your post . I was unaware you could pop older balls. I was told by more than one person that once they reached a few months old there muscle development prevented them from being poped . Thanks Bryan Brown AKA California Kid!

IMHO I would say the first two essentials for success is Patients and compassion... Without those you'll be lost!