Making money out of snakes

[jessb]

Now before everyone shouts me down here, I'm NOT talking about making a living out of breeding snakes, but I just wanted to get a feel from those with a bit of experience about the money to be made from breeding snakes as a hobby (not a business)

Is it realistic to say that once you have a basic incubation setup and a few breeding-age pairs, that you can make enough from selling a couple of clutches to support a herp habit? I can't imagine the financial outlay would be huge, but looking at the cost of many hatchies, you could at least pick up another pair or two out of your profits, right?

[Jason]

th problem is, is as you said in you last line when ever you get a bit back it goes back into the hobby, generaly you end upi putting in more then you get out. im sure there are exceptions, i would imagen breeding albinos, gtp etc would leave you with some cash left over, but as for breeding carpets antaresia etc, unless ou have something special imo you dont get any real gains in terms of cash.
for those who want to make money out of breeding a few pairs of macs etc.. how much is your time worth to you? i might get 10 hatchies worth 200 each, after taking into account the enclosure, incubator, feed etc you may just brake even, this is without taking into account the man hours that need to go into getting hatchies feeding etc.. imo not many hobbiests will make money, they may however get enough as you said to cover there costs and other small purchases.

[Charlie]

what about SXR and snake ranch? surely they make a great profit. I know they are both business' but I think after you've covered your original outlay, you would make a profit.

[hawkesbury reptiles]

You know what they say......" if you can make a living from your hobby then you won't have to work another day..."

[Chris.j]

Problem is, and I think alot of people would agree, you often spend a reasonable amount making mistakes before you have the knowledge to breed anything you can make a bit of dosh from. I know that it would take me a long time before I ever made a profit after the amount of money I have dealt out for my collection... and I don't have much at all. I think you would be lucky to make enough money to cover your costs. In saying that if you really know what your doing maybe there is something to be made... look at Snake Ranch, after seeing their setup at the Castle Hill Herp Show I don't think they're exactly doing it tough.

I think that for most herpers it will remain a hobby not a business.

[Bredlislave]

Even if you did think you're in front for a brief moment - b.l.o.o.d y energex/origin knocks it back again
and I am in SE Qld.
Poor guys down south would be worse off
Rat keeping/breeding/feeding is very time consuming and becoming more expensive.
I wouldn't have it any other way tho'

[Helikaon]

yeah electric bill kills. lol that only animals that pay for themselves here is my rats, lol and they payed most of my car rego to

[-aspidites-]

I've never bred anything before, so I'm probably not one to comment here, but...

Let's say you buy a pair of okay (not great) jungles. Hatchies from these might sell for 400 a pop. Let's also say you get an average of 15 per clutch out of them. That's 6k per annum.

Do you reckon it'd cost you more than 6k per annum to feed 'em, house 'em, heat 'em and incubate the eggs?

There would be a fair amount of initial outlay, of course, but I think that would be swiftly offset by regular, successful breeding. You only need to build the enclosures once. Doesn't take too many rats to keep a pair of small, adult pythons happy either.

There's people around who make breeding reptiles their business. If you can make enough to run a business, you could surely make a bit of pocket money with a few pairs. Chances are though, you're probably just going to put all of the money you DO make into more reptiles ;-)

[jessb]

Thanks for all the opinions!

Yeah, I'm looking at doing it on a REALLY small scale (around half a dozen pairs max - nothing like SR!!!)

We are really skint at the moment, and I am wondering whether down the track I could cover the costs of my snake-keeping and build up a bit more of a collection by breeding, or whether it will cost me more than I could make out of it! I would be more than happy for any profit to go into more herps!

It's just that I've heard a few people saying that "there is no money to be made by breeding" etc etc and it doesn't seem feasible that you can't make ANY money out of it - I mean even if you only get half a dozen successful Stimmie hatchies to sell, you can afford to buy plenty of goodies - and all you have shelled out is for an incubator, a few pinkie mice, a heat cord and some takeaway containers!!!

[Splitmore]

I think if you go into breeding with the intention to make money then there's a big chance your going to get sick of it pretty quickly. I look at it this way, would still keep and breed what I do if I didn't make a cent? Of course I would. The passion for the animals should come first. If you look after and keep your animals in prime condition then yes they will breed and yes there's a good chance you wll make a bit of a profit. Treat any cent you mae over and above your running costs as a bonus and certainly don't rely on it.

[pythonmum]

I think a big factor is your time costs. Will you have time (around Xmas) to give hatchies the intensive care they need to get feeding properly? I'm thinking of breeding my Bredls down the track, but the time factor will be a big consideration. Also, if you only get 4 or 5 successful hatchlings, you'll have a hard time breaking even financially.

[Brigsy]

How often do people that breed the more common species get stuck with young they cant sell? I have been giving this topic some thought too.

[Twiggz]

Totally agree with Splitmore.
If you go in thinking your going to make a motza straight up then think again......but it appears as though you already realise this. As said the welfare of the animals should be first and for most. I really think you need a passion in it for it to work properly, so dont necessarily go counting your eggs before they hatch.

The way i see it is that if the money i receive from breeding each season can ease my debt situation and free up my spending for a more enjoyable standard of living, then i would be calling it a success. Dont get me wrong though profiting in the long run would be great to.

[FNQ_Snake]

Go for it mate. Have fun. Just be kind to all your animals. You will have a blast. Here, here hawkesbury_reptiles.

[dodgie]

The big problem with breeding reptiles i think is supply and demand.I have given away childrens,waters,coastals and some elapids because i could not sell them and it was costing me more than i made.

You can breed and sell a little to help pay for your hobby but i don't think there is heaps to be made unless it is something rare.Also if you live in a warm state or territory your overheads will be a lot less than if you live in the cold areas and get on average power of $800-900 per 1/4.