How much dosh...??

[Kristy_07]

Yep, that sounds reasonable, in my infinite knowledge :lol:

 

[Snakeluvver2]

LETS MAKE A GRAPH i mean lets as in you and not me

 

[Kristy_07]

I'm a writer and a photographer... my kind of people don't use graphs... mostly we just talk out our bums... which is what makes me both a good writer, and a good forum contributor

But seriously, a graph would be awesome.... :lol:

 

[Snakeluvver2]

I'm taking a year off i dont do anything except look after reptiles and have a girlfriend

 

[Kristy_07]

Could your girlfriend make us a graph?

 

[Snakeluvver2]

HAHAAHA nah she absolutely loathes maths I on the other hand really like maths....i might make one tonight when i get on the other computer.

 

[Kristy_07]

I knew you were the sort of guy to take one for the team!

If anyone else has any figures, they are now contributing to a graph!!

 

[Snakeluvver2]

dammit....

 

[Ramsayi]

It costs nothing to look after and breed reptiles...especially for your time hence that is why everyone expects to get them for next to nothing.......

How true lol

 

[Kristy_07]

Got any numbers for us, Ramsayi? I'd love to here from some of the breeders...

 

[-Matt-]

The thought of how much this hobby costs me per year is scary so I don't think I want to know exactly how much!
I breed my own rodents and that setup has paid itself back many times over so I guess you would say that it is free food for approx 20 snakes. Electricity is between $400-500 a quarter but that is for a house of four people, I honestly believe that the reptiles barely contribute to this because of the use of low wattage globes and heatcords. I use newspaper as a substrate and cardboard boxes or plastic pots as hides so that part is free aswell. There are a lot of other bits and pieces that cost money along the way (enclosures, tubs, hooks, cleaning products, water bowls, etc etc) so I really don't know how much keeping reptiles costs me a year, I really don't care because this hobby is priceless to me!
I could comfortably say that I would spend more money a year on fuel for herping than what I do on reptiles.

 

[Snakeluvver2]

Well said dude.
my mom went off at me or spending 600 dollars on the weekend on herps instead of saving for a car.
I was like but I'm not passionate about cars at all...

 

[Kristy_07]

The thought of how much this hobby costs me per year is scary so I don't think I want to know exactly how much!
I breed my own rodents and that setup has paid itself back many times over so I guess you would say that it is free food for approx 20 snakes. Electricity is between $400-500 a quarter but that is for a house of four people, I honestly believe that the reptiles barely contribute to this because of the use of low wattage globes and heatcords. I use newspaper as a substrate and cardboard boxes or plastic pots as hides so that part is free aswell. There are a lot of other bits and pieces that cost money along the way (enclosures, tubs, hooks, cleaning products, water bowls, etc etc) so I really don't know how much keeping reptiles costs me a year, I really don't care because this hobby is priceless to me!
I could comfortably say that I would spend more money a year on fuel for herping than what I do on reptiles.

So.... no calculator, eh?

I'm kidding! I agree with you, and well said. It's nice to hear from some of you guys with more snakes than me that aside from enclosures, tubs etc. if you're breeding your own food, it's a fairly self-sustainable hobby. And priceless is a good word for it Might get in touch with you when I'm back, Matt. I'm at Caloundra - u?

 

[-Matt-]

So.... no calculator, eh?

I'm kidding! I agree with you, and well said. It's nice to hear from some of you guys with more snakes than me that aside from enclosures, tubs etc. if you're breeding your own food, it's a fairly self-sustainable hobby. And priceless is a good word for it Might get in touch with you when I'm back, Matt. I'm at Caloundra - u?

The thought of using a calculator scares me! All as I know is that my rats save me many hundreds of dollars a year. It can definatly be a self sustainable hobby if you dont just go out buying things willy-nilly and thinking "Oh crap, how do I feed and house them all now that they are all grown up?" Obviously there is also money to be made through breeding desirable animals and to those that make great money out of the hobby and still have a passion for the animals then I say good on them!
Kristy I am also in Caloundra.

 

[J-A-X]

Found my calculator -

This is a breakdown of my running cost, not set up or replacement costs
I use marine carpet in the coastal tank & paper towel in the hatchy tubs, (good stuff - no rubbish for my 'kids' ) and for the sake of this exercise I have used a yearly figure for the paper, but when they get moved out of the tubs, they will also be on marine carpet
I used an online tool from my electricity company to calculate the electricity cost of each cord and globe:

Food:
1 x 2 ½ yo Coastal (fed fortnightly) $130 per year
5 x 6mth old Darwins $520

Heating & lighting:
25w heat cord & 40w globe $67.48
50w heat cord $74.95

Substrate:
16 roll paper towel $24

TOTALS
$816 per year for 6 snakes
= $15.70 per week for 6 snakes
= $2.62 per week per snake
= 38c per day per snake.

the pleasure they give me

PRICELESS


now if i can just figure out where i can put some more enclosures.........

 

[Kristy_07]

Thanks Jax - love the daily break down, that'll be encouragement for people for sure!!

Would you mind posting the link to the online electricity tool you mentioned? Sounds v useful!

 

[Kristy_07]

Kristy I am also in Caloundra.

I wondered where that smell was coming from..... :lol:

 

[J-A-X]

Thanks Jax - love the daily break down, that'll be encouragement for people for sure!!

Would you mind posting the link to the online electricity tool you mentioned? Sounds v useful!

I just realised, it costs me more to feed my coffee habit everyday than to maintain 6 snakes :shock: maybe i should cut back on the coffee..... or get more snakes so it doesnt seem so bad :lol:

here's the link,

Small Appliance Calculator - EnergyAustralia

i will also add that none of my heating/lighting is thermostatically controlled, the calculator is designed for non thermostatically controlled devices, but it will still give a rough idea

 

[Kristy_07]

Thanks for that!

Get more snakes... coffee's bad for you, anyway :lol:

 

[J-A-X]

... coffee's bad for you, anyway :lol:

yeah yeah, so is driving, flying and walking across the road, i don't do energy drinks but lurv a strong coffee.