Strong possibility of getting out of the leo hobby

[DLS Reptile]

I have come to realize that it may be time to retire my hobby of raising and selling leopard geckos. I am a corrections officer and also do federal transports for the US Marshall's so it is getting harder and harder to find time for my leos. I find myself letting other things go to keep my geckos in top care (which they deserve no less). This really upsets me because in my opinion this is the best hobby (that I have been involved in for 10 years) out there. I have not decided as of yet and again am very upset even thinking about it. I know everyone goes through this from time to time but this very well may be a reality for me...

 

[Halley]

David I'm really sorry to hear, that you will have to give up your leos. I hope somehow you will be able to work it out, so that you can keep them, even though it dosen't seem like you will be able to at this point.

 

[Kotsay1414]

David,

Have you considered just keeping rather than breeding? I faced a similar situation last fall. I was able to breed through the summer, then my Fall Semester started up and it really took away a lot of my time that I was spending with my Leopard Geckos. I decided this year to not breed and just keep my favorite few that I had.

Best of luck,

Kyle

 

[Bling_my_leo]

I am sorry to hear this. Are you still going to keep the leos or sell them off?

 

[Greyscale_Geckos]

I had to make a choice like that because of my health a few months ago. I gave my breeders to my friend and just decided to keep some fish and a tortoise as pets.

The good thing about keeping your animals is that someday if you ever return to the hobby you can get started back up again.

For instance, next year I can resume my original plans of breeding if all goes well with my health.

Either way, I hope you make the decision that you know will be the best for you and your geckos.

 

[dprince]

David, you will figure out what the right thing is for you. I'm sorry to hear this, but I can totally understand. Sending good thoughts your way.........

 

[DLS Reptile]

Again, I am not sure. It is a very hard decision to make. trust me, If I could do this full time I would in a heart beat. I can think of no better job. I really have to think about it. My wife loves to look at them but she is scared to death of them. so it is pretty much just me with no help. My wife does help with what she can but it is very little. She is giving me a hard time because she does not want me to give it up either. I will have to do some serious thinking.. Thank you all for your comments. I really appreciate it...

 

[lytlesnake]

I would start by asking how many leopard geckos do you have? I have around 50 now, and it's a lot of work! Taking care of them is pretty much an everyday task. If I work hard on my gecko chores, I think there are one or two days per week where I can just leave them alone and not have to do anything for them.

My first year was pretty easy, but then I bought a bunch more breeders for this year. Combined with last year's hatchlings, it's so much work that I decided to only breed a few females this year. So far I've only bred two APTORs, one SHTCT, and two Amel Fat Tails this year. Even though I've only bred 5 geckos, there will be a pretty big number of hatchlings for me to take care of all by myself.

And I don't even have a real day job! I'm a self employed recording engineer, but I don't even have time to do that lately. I should add that I also have about 30 king and milk snakes. In addition to that, I sort of inadvertently started breeding feeder mice and I let them get way out of control. So I'm trying to get on top of that situation while simultaneously taking proper care of my geckos and snakes. Ugghh! So my situation is a little different, but I do know how you feel.

Sorry for rambling on! I just wanted to say to people who are getting into this hobby that it may be better to have a small number of geckos. If you start acquiring and breeding a lot of geckos, you can quickly find yourself in a situation where it takes over your life! To make sure each and every gecko has food and water is first and foremost. Then you have to make sure that their enclosures are clean. You also have to make sure every gecko is shedding properly. Often I have to give a few geckos warm water soaks, which consumes even more of my time. Then there's the task of buying crickets or buying/breeding worms. The meal or super worms also take time to care for.

Only you can decide what will be best for you. Perhaps just keep a smaller number of geckos and only breed a few females. Or if you have a friend who can take over your collection for a while, maybe you can resume the hobby at a later date. Best of luck to you and your geckos!

 

[DLS Reptile]

I have 35 geckos now with 25 eggs incubating. I am kind of fanatical about there cleanliness. I clean daily. If they go to the bathroom there cage is cleaned. they get fresh water ever day as well. I also prepare all of the feeders gutload myself (grinding high quality dog food etc).. This is what takes up a lot of my time. I know there are people that will say AH! you don't have to clean cages everyday, but to me it is only right. I am actually to the point where I am ready to cut back on my transports to keep the breeding going... It all depends. Again, I love geckos...

 

[lytlesnake]

Well, you're a better man than I! I clean a lot, but not everyday. It's hard for me to imagine you getting out of geckos if you put that much love into their care.

I do think you could get away with cleaning and fresh water maybe 3-4 times per week. I know that's not what you want to hear, but I think that's still taking very good care of them. And of course you could still mix your own gut load, but maybe supplement it with commercial gut load and fresh veggies so you don't have to grind it all the time.

I'm not suggesting that you compromise the care of your geckos. I think your level of care is so much higher than most people's at this point that a slight step down in the hours you put in will not adversely affect your gecko's health.

 

[Paco]

Oh dont you just love the rollercoaster of life sometimes. Dave sounds as though you care for your animals very much. I can only guess how you fell about your family. If it's something you really enjoy and can supliment the income you need to maintain the lifestlye you want I would say work your job less and keep breeding. Which makes you more happy not necessaraly which one makes the most money. It can't allways work this way but if you can make it happen you will be happier in the long run. Good luck man. I made a similar decision a few years back and got out for various reasons. The good thing is you can allways start back up again if you stop, if and when you have the time. Thats what I did.

 

[rubym]

You sound alot like me David....my cages HAVE to stay clean. In reality the geckos may not really care and it is probably just me placing human emotions on them but I would not want to walk around in poo so they don't walk around in poo, LOL. I have 32 geckos right now counting our hatchlings and it is alot of work. I am lucky that my hubby helps me out quite a bit. I raise my own, crickets,mealies,silkies and roaches and those things take almost as much time and work as my babies do. I am self employed ( I own a daycare) so I am home but there are times when it is still hard to run a business and keep up with my geckos. For me they actually keep me sane. Its alot of work but it is work that I enjoy. I get so much pleasure out of watching those little guys hatch out of the eggs. It still amazes me. I enjoy it when one of my babies is sold to someone who gets as much pleasure out of them as I do. I know it is a hard decision for you. I wish you the very best of luck!!!

 

[GeckoJunkie]

David, I really hate to hear this, I know in the dealings that I have had with you, you seem like a great guy and upstanding person. I hope that it all works out for you and everything works out for the best.

 

[popcikle]

D:

Is it humanly possible to break the habbit?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 

[wings2fly]

Just a thought: Is there any possibility of taking on an apprentice? Someone who is just as interested in geckos as you are and would be willing to help out for the experience of learning about geckos and the business.

Carin

 

[FelanMoira]

Sorry to hear that Dave. If I were closer to you (still 5 1/2 hours away) I'd say I'd come help since I got fired (and you could be really nice and try to get my hubby a job doing what you do full-time ).

I'm not afraid of the geckos (and I can put my hand in the tarantula cage with some convincing, something the HUBBY can't do!)

Can you breed cornsnakes in PA? If ya can, maybe I'll be there in a heartbeat since I can't here!