The lost art of reptile keeping...

red ink · 01-09-14, 04:45 PM

Anybody still just keep reptiles these days instead of "breeding"?

Everybody that seems to get into reptiles do it with the intention of breeding them....

CK SandBoas · 01-09-14, 04:53 PM

I started out with the intentions of just keeping my snakes, and I did just that for 4 years, until I got my first Kenyan Sand Boa, who came to me gravid with her first litter.

After the birth of her first litter, I still really didn't have or make plans to breed until 2011, when I made the decision to put one of my males back in with my original female. After that, I made the decision to begin breeding, not on a huge scale, but enough to make it worthwhile, but still not kill my passion for just keeping snakes.

3 years later, and a total 5 litters later, i'm beginning another season of breeding, and i'm enjoying it very much, along with keeping my other species

Stewjoe · 01-09-14, 05:11 PM

I'm currently just a keeper, have been for 3 years. I might try breeding in a couple years but it's not a priority.

Sharlynn93 · 01-09-14, 05:17 PM

I'm just a keeper...all mine are females except one...no real intentions of breeding...not really a market around here for it...at least not the quality of people I would want to sell my snakes to...

Donnie · 01-09-14, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stewjoe

I'm currently just a keeper, have been for 3 years. I might try breeding in a couple years but it's not a priority.

Same here. A couple of mine will get bred to get me some holdbacks of the morphs I want but once I have those I don't plan on breeding them again and others won't get bred at all.

LiL Zap · 01-09-14, 05:22 PM

I have no intentions of breeding...I just enjoy my snake.

Mikoh4792 · 01-09-14, 05:32 PM

i'm only going to be breeding 3 to 4 pairs for most of my life... and only one pair at a time(one clutch a year). no morphs. Just animals in their natural beauty.(Cay caulker bci, jungle carpets, IJ carpets....possibly green trees).

So a few of my animals are just pets. And the others I'll just be breeding for fun. Didn't get into the whole "breed the newest morph to make the most cash" craze. One of the things I don't like about the ball python and boa constrictor market. No longer about ball pythons and boa constrictors, it's all about pretty colors and patterns that make cash.

smy_749 · 01-09-14, 05:49 PM

I think breeding is a fun aspect of keeping reptiles. Breeding for money is a different story, but watching the process take place, ovulation, copulation, gestation, incubation, and hatching out is very exciting. Seeing how the babies turn out and raising them up is very exciting and rewarding as well. Also, If you would like to expand your collection, you can trade your offspring for someone elses and its basically a free animal.

I only kept them as pets for most of my life. Now the only 'pet' in the house is our leopard gecko, she even has a name haha

drumcrush · 01-09-14, 05:59 PM

I'm only a keeper, May breed in the future as a hobby once I get my life figured out and set on what I want to do for a living

Sublimeballs · 01-09-14, 06:02 PM

I do both. I have animals that I don't have any intentions of breeding. And animals that I do. I breed because its an incredible experience. There's nothing like looking into the incubator and finally seeing a little face starring at you. You get free snakes(well there's work involved), you can produce the morphs you want instead of buying them. I use the babies I don't keep to offset the cost of my hobby, or trade them for supplies/cages/rodents/other animals. I've always seen it as the reproductive cycle is just another part of a reptiles life, and I want to experience all my animals have to offer(except for the deceases,lol).

Mikoh4792 · 01-09-14, 06:07 PM

but I think we do need some self control on how many animals we breed. If everyone breeds everything, where will all the babies go? That's one of the reasons why I will only be breeding a few pairs for life, and only one pair a year. Don't want to be one of those guys flooding the market with clutches from all his pairs int he same year. Kind of like humans. if everyone has a baby we get over population and crowding. I congratulate people who choose not to pop one out.

Lankyrob · 01-09-14, 06:15 PM

Never intending to breed any of mine

poison123 · 01-09-14, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smy_749

I think breeding is a fun aspect of keeping reptiles. Breeding for money is a different story, but watching the process take place, ovulation, copulation, gestation, incubation, and hatching out is very exciting. Seeing how the babies turn out and raising them up is very exciting and rewarding as well. Also, If you would like to expand your collection, you can trade your offspring for someone elses and its basically a free animal.

I only kept them as pets for most of my life. Now the only 'pet' in the house is our leopard gecko, she even has a name haha

Well said

I have only purposely bred reptiles once in 14 years (corn snakes). It was not for me so I never did it again. Even though I had many opportunities to with many other species. This seems to be a problem, people end up with a 1.1 pair and feel the need to breed for some reason. There are some species that I would like to breed for my pleasure alone not for money.

red ink · 01-09-14, 06:30 PM

Since it's hatchie season here...

I keep getting emails/PMs from newbies asking how my breeding season is going?
It's their first reptile and they would like a pair to breed them in the future... could I also provide a caresheet if possible on how to breed them?

I retort by saying my breeding season is none existent and only breed my animals on the request of close friends for their collection....

They seem to be really baffled by this answer and atleast 60-70% ask why I don't keep breeding them???

At that point I don't bother replying...

It's happened for the past three years straight....

Sublimeballs · 01-09-14, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

but I think we do need some self control on how many animals we breed. If everyone breeds everything, where will all the babies go? That's one of the reasons why I will only be breeding a few pairs for life, and only one pair a year. Don't want to be one of those guys flooding the market with clutches from all his pairs int he same year. Kind of like humans. if everyone has a baby we get over population and crowding. I congratulate people who choose not to pop one out.

Can't remember who, but I had a ball python guy tell me he feeds his normal/cheap babies to various other reptiles. He said its better than them suffering for months/years because some kid thought it was "cool" and doesn't want to provide proper care.