Info on becoming a Breeder?

[lubricus]

Recently Ive added several new leo morphs to my breeding-colony of 1.13. The new ones are 1.2 Super Tangerine Albinos, 1.4 Carrothead Carrottail Tangerine Jungle Giant Albinos, and 0.2 red strip het albino, 3 of the jungals are poss het APTOR.
For the last few years Ive been breeding just for the enjoyment it brought to my family and myself, this year we sold quite a few little ones, it was nice to see a little money come in but I got more out of it then that, Its kind-of nice helping someone out with there new pet, the only thing I didn't like was dealing with pet shops.:main_thumbsdown:
Im just doing a little research on be coming a breeder, and thoght I might find some help or guidance here, now Im not going to quit my day job or anything, and I dont expect to get rich ether, but It would be nice to see a return on my investment so I could afford some new herps:main_thumbsup: I guess my question is do you think its even possible for someone to hold a full-time job and become a serious Breeder that people can trust?
Bill.L

 

[leopardgecko95]

sure you just have to have time you cannot be a busy body that is home at 2:00 in the morning every night.

 

[brandy101010]

I know there are those out there that make a decent living breeding herps but you would have to go large scale, or breed high end morphs. It's something I would like to get into in the future but Right now I'm just doing it for the enjoyment. I wouldn't quit your day job though. I asume it takes quite a long time to become that sucsessfull.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I guess my question is do you think its even possible for someone to hold a full-time job and become a serious Breeder that people can trust?

Yes! Most breeders have full-time jobs because breeding leopard geckos certainly won't pay your bills!

 

[lubricus]

Yes! Most breeders have full-time jobs because breeding leopard geckos certainly won't pay your bills!

Just hopping to make enough for some new morphs and maybe a nice camera:main_yes: . I should add I dont have to pay for electricity where I am living, its included in the rent also IMO there isn't near the competition here in Canada compared to the US.

 

[lubricus]

Yes! Most breeders have full-time jobs because breeding leopard geckos certainly won't pay your bills!

Just hopping to make enough for some new morphs and maybe a nice camera:main_yes: . I should add I dont have to pay for electricity where I am living, its included in the rent also IMO there isn't near the competition here in Canada compared to the US.

 

[Intense Herpetoculture]

I think this is more to be blamed on bad business practice rather then being a full time herp breeder.

Yes! Most breeders have full-time jobs because breeding leopard geckos certainly won't pay your bills!

 

[Arconna]

Well, I don't think that's the case. GGG is, IMO, one of the best Leo breeders I've ever seen and had the pleasure of dealing with. She places very very very high value on customer service, because afterall, without happy customers, she doesn't have any business.
Sure, you can make money being a breeder, but that requires you to either churn out extremely rare morphs (such as the wild morphs in Ball Pythons that sell for thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars) or have a very large supply of animals. There's probably a fine line somewhere between having a full time job with time to have a small breeding business and not having time for a full time job and having a fullfledged enormous breeding business. And then there's probably another line in there that determines if you make a profit at breeding :S.

Anywho, hope all that made sense...probably not...

 

[ExcessiveHerps]

Well, I don't think that's the case. GGG is, IMO, one of the best Leo breeders I've ever seen and had the pleasure of dealing with. She places very very very high value on customer service, because afterall, without happy customers, she doesn't have any business.
Sure, you can make money being a breeder, but that requires you to either churn out extremely rare morphs (such as the wild morphs in Ball Pythons that sell for thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars) or have a very large supply of animals. There's probably a fine line somewhere between having a full time job with time to have a small breeding business and not having time for a full time job and having a fullfledged enormous breeding business. And then there's probably another line in there that determines if you make a profit at breeding :S.

Anywho, hope all that made sense...probably not...

Actually I think almost anyone will arrange with Justyn's comment. Leos don't hold thier value for nothing for the most part the fact a leo can go from egg to breeding to egg again inside one year and they are tempature sex determined makes them very easy to over breed a species. It was just 2 years ago give or take a few months when the very first Mack Snows where released by John Mack and they where being sold to $1000 each and now you can purchase one for as little as $80 (atleast thats the cheapest I;ve seen). Anyone can get into breeding this year purchase 1.10 leos and have over 100 offspring thier first season. Leos are easy to breed and thier supply can get greater than thier demand quite fast or atleast allow buyers to have several breeders revealing prices with each other. It costly to feed several dozen or more leos even a small time breeder like myself can see several hundreds of dollars go on mealworms alone annually. Plus the cost of supplies, racks, electric bills, & time etc. Leos are with out a doubt somethine one should do for enjoyment and not going to work out for most for profit.I stick to only a very limited # breeders per project (1.1-2.3) and only work with a few projects its can be quite time consuming.
Xavier

 

[Arconna]

I might have misunderstood what he was trying to say. I took it as that people who have to have fulltime jobs to maintain their breeding business practice bad business. What you're saying is not that the person is a bad business person, but that the market just gets flooded, reducing the cost of certain morphs. In that case, unless you are specifcally going out to discover new morphs, it's not likely you'll make any real money breeding just leo's. Also, I guess Leo's generally don't sell for a lot, even in more rare morphs. Take a lot of Ball Python morphs that, even after many years, can sell for up to 1,000 dollars. So, yeah, anywho...

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I think this is more to be blamed on bad business practice rather then being a full time herp breeder.

Yes! Most breeders have full-time jobs because breeding leopard geckos certainly won't pay your bills!

Sorry Justyn, but I disagree. I can only think of a few folks that actually make a living from breeding leopard geckos, and some of them have horrible business practices!

 

[ExcessiveHerps]

and some of them have horrible business practices!

I know who

 

[lubricus]

Hey guys remember Im not breeding to make a living, I just want to see some sort of a return.
Does anyone find it worth the trouble to breed your own feeders like meal-worms and roaches?

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Here is my penny and 1/2 on it:

Up until this year I have at least broke even on feeders and made enough to buy other reptiles, supplies etc that I wanted, but I don't want much lol

The way I looked at it is that I did not count my initial investment on breeders, heat tape, set ups, feeders etc. UNTIL I started selling, then I saw a profit vs bills, so Im probably still in the red so to say but not in my eyes.

There is always start up cost in any "business" adventure you go after, its just what are you willing to write off as a start up cost and go from there.

This year has been crap to say the least, I had some connections on my heat tape fail (I hooked it up myself with piggy backs) so I had some getting heat off and on and some not. By the time I figured out the problem I had screwed up the breeding cycle for 80% of my breeders, so no eggs, no babies, no money. I got frustrated and only have 4.11 of close to at one point 100 leos. But I have 1.4 veileds to work with.

I did breed mealworms and crix until this year and that helped, forget why I stopped, stupid I guess.

I started last month with turkistan roaches (same size and soft like lobsters but they cannot climb) and they are taking off like wild so next year will probably be better.

If you get a routine down for feeding, cleaning, egg hunts etc. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to work your full time job and work with the leos on a larger scale too.

If you find that you get in over your head with leos and a full time job, you can always sell some breeders to cut your work with the leos down.

 

[lubricus]

Here is my penny and 1/2 on it:

Up until this year I have at least broke even on feeders and made enough to buy other reptiles, supplies etc that I wanted, but I don't want much lol

The way I looked at it is that I did not count my initial investment on breeders, heat tape, set ups, feeders etc. UNTIL I started selling, then I saw a profit vs bills, so Im probably still in the red so to say but not in my eyes.

There is always start up cost in any "business" adventure you go after, its just what are you willing to write off as a start up cost and go from there.

This year has been crap to say the least, I had some connections on my heat tape fail (I hooked it up myself with piggy backs) so I had some getting heat off and on and some not. By the time I figured out the problem I had screwed up the breeding cycle for 80% of my breeders, so no eggs, no babies, no money. I got frustrated and only have 4.11 of close to at one point 100 leos. But I have 1.4 veileds to work with.

I did breed mealworms and crix until this year and that helped, forget why I stopped, stupid I guess.

I started last month with turkistan roaches (same size and soft like lobsters but they cannot climb) and they are taking off like wild so next year will probably be better.

If you get a routine down for feeding, cleaning, egg hunts etc. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to work your full time job and work with the leos on a larger scale too.

If you find that you get in over your head with leos and a full time job, you can always sell some breeders to cut your work with the leos down.

Hey thanks! I hope things work out better for you next season.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Thanks and me too, I love the leos and hope to get back into them on a larger scale again later.

I think as long as you love what you work with and can get past the bad times it all comes out in the wash so to say.

 

[crestedgeckogirly]

Currently I am working full time and also breeding several geckos. My concentration is mainly on crested geckos, so the market is a little different. My advise to you is, stick to a few quality breeders that you'll be able to sell the babies to w/out a lot of problems. When you have a small business on top of a full time job, I really think quality has to win out over quantity.

I don't have time to take care of 100's of geckos. I have 4.8 breeder cresteds and just 1.1 breeder leopards, and that has my hands full.

It is possible though, this year has been pretty good so far. I'm really working w/higher end cresteds, which there is still a market for. I have routines...check egg boxes first thing in the morning, etc. Check the incubator at morning, when I get home from work, and before I go to bed.

Have Kritter Keepers made up in advance for new hatchlings...and deli cups w/vermiculite for new clutches...etc, etc.

So, you can do it, but it's definately some work. As long as you enjoy what you're doing it's totally worth it though. I don't mind spending my Saturdays prepping and cleaning cages.

-Andrea

 

[lubricus]

Currently I am working full time and also breeding several geckos. My concentration is mainly on crested geckos, so the market is a little different. My advise to you is, stick to a few quality breeders that you'll be able to sell the babies to w/out a lot of problems. When you have a small business on top of a full time job, I really think quality has to win out over quantity.

I don't have time to take care of 100's of geckos. I have 4.8 breeder cresteds and just 1.1 breeder leopards, and that has my hands full.

It is possible though, this year has been pretty good so far. I'm really working w/higher end cresteds, which there is still a market for. I have routines...check egg boxes first thing in the morning, etc. Check the incubator at morning, when I get home from work, and before I go to bed.

Have Kritter Keepers made up in advance for new hatchlings...and deli cups w/vermiculite for new clutches...etc, etc.

So, you can do it, but it's definately some work. As long as you enjoy what you're doing it's totally worth it though. I don't mind spending my Saturdays prepping and cleaning cages.

-Andrea

That Bitey is one cool looking gecko:main_thumbsup:

 

[crestedgeckogirly]

That Bitey is one cool looking gecko:main_thumbsup:

Thanks

He has thrown some nice full pin babies this year! I can't wait to see the crowns they should have when they grow up!!

-Andrea

 

[PaulSage]

I think it would be cool if my reptiles paid for their own "grocery" bills and maybe kick in a little toward my $400-500 electric bill, but I would keep them even if they didn't because I have reptiles for my own enjoyment. I look at it as a hobby of mine, not a business. I've taken enough business courses to know that if I were to attempt to make a living at breeding reptiles, I'd be living in a cardboard box in my mom's backyard (okay, well she might let me have the basement...). I know that doesn't hold true for all breeders, but I think netting a profit from reptiles is the exception rather than the rule.

I guess this does leave me with a question, though. Is it "bad business practice" to raise reptiles and not think of them as a business? :huh2: