Cutting down collections

[Alicewave]

I have been hearing from a lot of people, not just on this site but from lots of places that people are cutting down there collections. This thread is not meant to insult anyone who is. I have no problem with this as long as the best interest of the animals is at heart. Anyway, what's going on? I hear the show was slow, lots of people are getting rid of animals. Is it a coincidence? Or is there something else to explain this phenomena.

What scares me about this is all the animals that are going to end up in rescue. I had someone the other day ask me if I wanted 9 Leos and a fully functional rack system for 200 dollars. I can't take it because I'm going to be moving soon but that seems like an insanely good deal and I'm shocked that he's had no takers on this.

I'm gonna leave it at that for now and see what all your thoughts are.

I want to stress that I don't want this to become a flame thread because I think it easily could. I just want to open the discussion on this matter.

[Colonel SB]

Well I do from time to time cut my collection for a # of reasons.

1) That species no longer interests me...so I'll make good deals to get what I want.

2) I'll sell off older animals to make room for new blood lines.

3) I get laid off from my job...This has happened twice to me and of course I had to sell my collection to some one who could afford to care for them properly.

[Invictus]

Well, as long as there are still people like me looking to EXPAND their collection, I see no harm in people wanting to reduce theirs. :)

[Lisa]

I've had to pass on a few great deals too, ($50 for an amazon, $200 for 3 bp's) due to the fact a) we don't have the space and b) short on funds.

[gonesnakee]

Right now is the season for a lot of people to be hatching babies. Between the previous years holdbacks & all the new offspring expected, it is nessicary to downsize in order to make room for the new. People with larger collections also tend to rotate their specimens more often as certain species are easily bred & you move on to more difficult species as your experience grows. You find that you can't keep everything, it's just not practical. Between lack of room/time & costs of maintaining a larger collection, one must "release" animals to make things work.
There is of course those people who can't seem to live within their means also. It is easy for some to aquire a lot of specimens, but then not so easy for them to take care of them. One must remember that these animals require time, space & money and will consider to do so for quite some time.
It always sucks to sell off your former "favourites", but they will become someone elses "favourites" to enjoy when you choose to pass them off to the right people. Mark

[jwsporty]

Well judging from the way snakes and reps get sold at the local pet store, I don't think that there is a lack of interest.

It is like anything in life, as humans we simply change our wants and needs. If the needs outweight the wants then sometimes action has to be done to deal with that. If on the other hand, the wants outweigh the needs and you can afford to satisfy those wants then people will act on them. I don't believe this is a rep specific situation. Low attendance at shows, low demand at this time of year could be nothing more then the fact that it is the dog days of summer and people are at cottages, out golfing , doing what they like to do.
In my business I sell high end product and this is a normal situation for us every year at this time of year and has been for as long as I can remember. This year has definitely placed a lot of challenges on people both financially and emotionally with the Iraq War, Sars, strained Canadian-US relations, Mad Cow Disease, massive increases in insurance rates, wacky fluctuations in fuel costs. All of these have effected us in one way or the other. And let's not forget the myriad of unforeseen circumstances that can creep into our lives

If you can afford to grow your collection and not put yourself into the poorhouse doing it, all the more power to you. If you can flip your love for the hobby into a money making venture, then that's great too. But some simply don't have the funds to go all out on the hobby or realize they are in a little deep and have lost the comfort level of ownership. Sometimes you just gotta do, what you gotta do. All anyone can hope for, is maintain balance in their lives, and if they have to reduce collections, that they are doing it for all the right reasons and that the well being of the animals being "released" is always kept in mind...

And if you come across that great deal, help a fellow herper out and make the purchase...so having said that, anyone "releasing" a Durango King..;)

Stay well people and enjoy whatever you are into.

Jim

[Alicewave]

I totally hear you on everything. I really with I could take this fellows offer but I worry about feeding costs and energy costs especially. However it's really something I want to get into but I'm afraid I will get in over my head. 200 is not a lot of money at all for what he is offering, it's all the commitment that goes with it that's hard to handle. He's got a tangering and patternless breeding groups, both morphs I'm really interested in but then of course there is a matter of where all the babies will go. I think my concern is that everyone and their uncle has become a breeder and I wonder if people should think through breeding the animals if they can really handle them.

I myself am feeling a bit overwhelmed about the 6 Leo eggs I have in the oven. I've only hatched two so far and I have the means to care for all of the babies for life if I have to but I've realized what a commitment is and that I'm not ready for it. I guess I just feel like people should "Think before they breed".

[Samba]

I agree with you, Meg. I felt the same way, not about others, but about myself. I would love to breed my Girlie because she is so beautiful and has a sweet temperment to boot. I know the responsibilities involved, so I got a job to support my habit. Going to school and working, in addition to the rescue and rehabilitation I do is really exausting but someday I hope to find the perfect male to fullfill my dreams. (The male that Girl was going to be bred to, after Darwin died, turned out to have worms too! Good thing I made that guy get his leo a check-up!) There are so many people out there who realize how popular leos are and I feel like they want to get into the business for profit, which is fine, so long as the animals are cared for properly. I personally want to breed my Girl because I want something that is from HER. I don't want to sell, or try to make profits from the babies that result. People don't see how costly it is to run a full-scale operation, and how much harder it is to try and make a profit, nontheless. Good topic!

[Alicewave]

Yeah same heer. I have a male about to break 100 grams and I would love to find a big girl to breed him to just to see how the babies come out. But they do live up to 25 years!

[Bryce Masuk]

Leo's are usually easy to sell I doubt you would have a problem selling them. if you price them low you should be able to sell them off quick.
And on the main topic Most of the people here care about the animals and wont do what alot of idiot keepers do. if they cant sell they animals they either lower the price or wait it out. they dont abuse them Ie not feed or cage properly So I think its safe you say you dont need to fear it happening

[BoidKeeper]

Cut down!!! If I don't cut down soon I'll need a new house! This week along 3 new animals and 5 for the month and I'm waiting to hear back about number 4 for the week. I'm also plaining on 4 more I hope by September. I did sell 4 though to raise money for the new ones and creat space.
Cheers,
Trevor