Price of Leo's

[Lucy+R-C]

I have been looking around at different breeders sites listed on this fourm and wow prices seem to be pretty high. I know that these are in a sense" pure" bred Leo's. I guess it makes me feel lucky that I got my 2 murphy's patternless for 100.00 total. I have fallen in love with murphy's patternless leos and would love to find a breeder that breeds them but have been unable to find many. anyone have any names/websites?

 

[sunshinegeckos]

I know Marcia with Golden Gate Geckos does.

 

[M_surinamensis]

This is so much easier than actually retyping things.

There are some exceptions from time to time and different business models have different pricing structures... but as a generalization, when it comes to animal prices, you get what you pay for.

Consider for a moment the total costs of owning a leopard gecko. There's the price of the animal, of course. The price of the terrarium. The ongoing price of feeder insects and supplements. The ongoing cost of electricity to power the heating elements. The cost of routine veterinary care, the cost of making sure you have a little money set aside for emergency veterinary care. You're doing it because you enjoy it and want to, but you could even put a price on your time and effort for every minute you spend maintaining the enclosure and caring for the animal's needs.

Owning a pet is expensive, when it's all added up.

So an extra few dollars for quality is a drop in the bucket. That drop opens up options to you though, it lets you pick and choose the source you get your animal from. The difference in price is often the difference between an animal in perfect health with detailed records about its birth and lineage, selectively bred and raised by an expert, backed by the long standing reputation of a successful breeder who will be there, guaranteeing the quality of their animals and assisting you with questions and concerns... and some mystery animal produced by a farm style breeder who hatched out fifteen thousand babies this season, using models that stress quantity over quality because they needed to make a profit on their contract with a big box chain store... or some know-nothing, accidental "Didn't even know I had a male and a female until I found this egg." pencil tailed, parasite ridden, gut full of sand Craigslist supplier.

You should not think of it like paying twice the price for the same animal. You should think of it as a little more buying the very best animal possible. Considering what you're spending in total to keep a gecko, it's more than worth it in the long run. Better for you. Better for the industry, as you support someone worthy of success.

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

This is so much easier than actually retyping things.

well said...as always.

 

[sunshinegeckos]

Yep i didnt touch on that because i knew someone would come along and say it better than i could say it lol