My small rant

[ReptiZone]

This is how I see it.

PPl should specialise in 2-5 species of animals and take the best of there liters and hold them back for future breeding.
Sounds easy enugh right WRONG

now I love ETB I know they are a bit up there in prices but thows are what I love.

Now it is better for me to get 1 trios depending on the quality of animal I want. Then breed them and hold back the ones that seem more promasing for future products then do what I would call a secound pic witch is what would go on the net but ppl need to realise that the net works like a charm but to cut your losses you need to hole sale or put in pet stores the animals you personaly feal could take a while to sell.

Now you could re-breed the same adults the falowing season but why it will give you babys that will just over populate the hobby of that perticulare species.

Now lets say you dont want to hole sale or sell to pet stores god knows I dont blame you. You can do trades witch I find is benificial for the hobby cause you did not just get cash but you got your animals value if you are doing a good trade. Your animal head count has remaind the same and not only that in 2-3 years you have something new to bring to the table under your name.

For Example I will use Chris Marshell *I hope he dosent mind*

lets say I baught a trio of Adult emeralds and breed them kept some sweet looking ones for my self put a few on the net for sale and have 2 trios left and I could sell them to pet stores or hole sale them.

BUT Chris dosen't have ETB but man he has some sweet looking Dumerils I would like to have.Now I have some ETB that I want to off load . Well instead of selling them for cheap to the avarege Joe. I say to Chris Man I have 2 trios siting here doing nothing and I would like a trio of Dumerils and we will say he accepts the offer well now you emptyed 6 cages and then refiled 3 because you got 3 Dumerils {dont forget you have a few still for sale on the net that could go in a few monts} when you get the cash you refil the last 3 cages with somthig totaly new and it could be a adult Trio of Jungle carpet pythons so you breed thows the falowing year And not your ETB it is a new product NOW the PPl that baught from you last year say Hey he was a good person to deal with last year and now he has something new whats this he is selling for 100 Bucks more that is fine at least I know he wont mess arond with me and will get straight to the point. Now you can repeat the same thing over and over in stead of ETB this year you are keeping the best trio of Jungles then doing your secound pic for the net and then you can do some trades and off load a bunch of babys for a trio of baby white Lip Pythons. and you buy a adult pair of grenn tree pythons so now you are breeding Green tree pythons same thing hold back the best trio do your secound pic and trade the rest or as I said B4 whole sale or sell to pet stores.

Just to recap what your collection now consists of
2.3 ETB
(1.1 being Adult prouven breeders 1.2 being juviniles hold backs)
1.2 Dumerils Boas (juviniles)
2.3 JCP
(1.1 being Adult prouven breeders 1.2 being juviniles hold backs)
1.2 White Lip Python (juviniles)
2.3 GTP
(1.1 being Adult prouven breeders 1.2 being juviniles hold backs)
That gives you 5 difrent species to work with

As we look on time has pased from when you held back your ETB and got your baby Dumerils on trade and your hold back JCP are ready to rock also Now all you are growing is your new White lip python babys and your GTP hold backs

Right there you have 2-3 years worth of work done if you do it the way I just stated and all the ppl that baught you secound pic on the net know who you are and if you have half a brain you treated them good so that the good news travles. You are still a small time person in this buisnes but you were also only doing o species a year there for not over loding the herp world with the same babys EVERY year.

so now you havent breed ETB in about 2 years so you put your hold backs together and if you choose you can put the adults back together that way you can have a price range *for the sake of argument * just your ETB's range from $500 to $1200 ($1200 being the secound pic of the hold back litters cause you are still gona hold a few back for the future)
but now you also have Dumerlis boas to offer and some better Jungles Carpet Pythons to offer Again you can re-breed the adult JCP's or just the hold backs your choice nd if you are a sucsesfull sales person you will not half to off load the remaning off spring cause ppl will start to know you buy now.

that to me is a proper way of doing things cause you are working to provide a quality animal not just average.

what bugs me is a person that buy 4 trios of regular Ball pythons from a pet store because they were on special and sais I am gona be a breeder and make a killing but what realy hapends is they have crapy off spring and repeat the same average joe blood line year after year after year till every one and there uncle is a Ball python breeder the same with leo geckos, corn snakes and I am actualy starting to see it hapen with Crested Geckos

If you want to be a breeder don't plan on jumping in and slaming the market you will go no where grab a couple of species work with them to refine you own blood line.

In my explanation above I was alwas trading for new species but one year you can get a new species and the next trade for new blood lines for the 2 species you have and just work and the falowing year get a new species and the 4th year get new blood for the 3 species you have then bang 10 years later not only do you have 5 species of animals but you worked on having a killer blood line.

you know if you held back 2 trios of ETB's but you want a better blood line trade your 2 males of for new ones from another breeder so you can new blood in your collection.

Another thing is If you want to be a breeder and you want respect. From day one give credit where it is due and pay the price asked for don't try and save a buck every where you turn.

if you pay the extra $200-$500 for the quality of the animal you will not regret it cause if you have good quality animals you willnot realy be buged to lower your price all the time and lets be real here if you payed $1000 for a pair of adult snakes and sell the babys $300each with good reliable service and you do all the right thigs you will still make you money back and more and you will ahev put your name out there for the future when you do get expesive animals ppl will not hesitate to buy from you at $300each you only need to sell 4 to get your money back and start your name in the buisnes your service will speak for it's self.

One last thing I feal there should be a restraint on how many vendors are aloude to sell regular leo geckos and regular ball pythons and corn snakes and so on. Yes we need thows boths around for ppl that are just geting started hobby and want a good price and a good beguiner Herp. The vendors that are just selling Beguiner Herps or have beguiner Herps at ther both should be forced to have all animals for sale Vet checked with a paper proving so for every indavidual animal and also have detailed Care sheets with a FAQ attatched at the back for the species so if you have 20 Ball pythons you MUST have 20 vet slips and 20 Care sheet just doing that extra effort Will Make you look That much Better. So yes insted of 200 vendors the wil be 150 but there can still be tables where there is just info and animals on display. But from wat I heard alot of reptile Expos have Leos and Ball pythons every corner you turn. Bring your better looking morphs or Blood lines to shows for sale and bring like one of each Beguiner herp as disply to say you do have some for sale but refuse to bring them due to too much impuls buying at Herp shows

I hope I gave some help full Ideas to Newbies that wana start breeding there herps there is nothing wrong with breeding ball pythons or leos just STOP thinking they will make you ritch cause they wont Unless you are working with $30 000 morphs from the start and still No Name No way in h3!! you will sell a $30 000

I must Thank a Verry reputable Breeder And Who I Consider a Good freind for leting me in on thows littel tricks and secrets and for the great wake up call that I resived just a few days a go and that is why the post is so long cause it is still fresh in my head.
You Know who you are If you choose to take credit that is due to you feal free to reply.

The ReptiZone
Marc Doiron
&
Lucie Masson