Too many Leo Breeders?

[herpman97]

I Recently looked at a fromer leopard gecko breeding site and it said they "will no longer have any geckos available due to the influx of breeders in leopard geckos." Is this leading to a leopard gecko based market crash.
This made me think if I would actually sell some of the geckos i breed.

 

[CSMGecko]

This tends to happen in all markets. If it is your real passion and it is something you love to do as hobby then keep doing it but if you were in the business for a quick buck then I would suggest stop. Many of the new breeders will find out that it is not easy money and the novelty will wear off. Once that happens they will close up shop.

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

+1

 

[StatikStepz]

+2

 

[Tony C]

Every market goes through up and down cycles, reptiles are no exception.

 

[gitrdone0420]

I really dont think there are too many out there.
When I was looking for something specific, almost no one had what I was looking for!

 

[your gecko guy]

Look at the snake market .I welcome all breeders to the to the gecko side. From big to little. This keeps a cycle of the ( bug )cause we all know you cant have just one. LOL More the merrier.

 

[your gecko guy]

I have had a ad posted for 2 weeks on two differt forums looking for a gecko and contacted 5 differnt breeders and found 1 . The gecko is not that rare(enigma snow het raptor male)and I was willing to spend some money to get it . Nice geckos will always sale for all the money.

 

[robin]

I really dont think there are too many out there.
When I was looking for something specific, almost no one had what I was looking for!

i have to disagree here. there are way to many breeders and way to many geckos in an oversaturate mark. the leo market has been saturated for years and it seems more and more "breeders" whether it be the 2 gecko breeder or the 100 gecko "breeder" are popping up every single day.

thing i do not get is people with somewhat large collections which breed yet they do not know the genetics on the animals they are breeding. or the person that has had geckos for 6 months, do not bother to learn genetics let alone even the husbandry and breed their geckos just because other people are doing it or just because they want to see if they can make babies.

why can't people just have pets?

i currently keep "pet" reptiles and i kept them even when i was not breeding. i kept pet reptiles years before i started breeding as well.

 

[Angel]

Im new to breeding them and I do it for fun, hobby to expand my own collection. I do have a list of people wanting leos when I have them avail but am also prepared to keep as many as needed. I think those that get mad and think there are too many breeders are those who arein it for the money and not for the right reason at all.

 

[your gecko guy]

That is not what is good for this hobby. Just enjoy it for what it is, so what if a NOVA or a giant albino sells for 50 bucks good for the buyer for getting a good deal. And the breeder can free up some rack space for some other stuff. Hopefully they will tell a friend and they will come back then you can get them to pay a little more for your nicer stuff. This not about profits and who is selling what for what . Mind your own. This will scare off any new customers for us breeders that is not what the idea is here, we should welcome this . It dosent matter what other stuff sells for your customer will buy from you cause you have a nice stuff. I have spent twice what a gecko is worth because of its markings or cause it looked different. We have just begun to touch the surface of the geckos . Snakes still out number gecko breeders 10 to 1 and at show its the same at least on the west coast. The last show had 240 tables and there was less than 10 gecko breeders but at least 100 snake vendors. It will level out when the economy gets better or when new stuff starts to hit again . Trust me my first 2 enigmas one het tremper for 1,100 and my bell for 1,200 so I understand your frustration but line bred stuff will hold its value better.
Lets all just have fun with the hobby.

 

[gitrdone0420]

i have to disagree here. there are way to many breeders and way to many geckos in an oversaturate mark. the leo market has been saturated for years and it seems more and more "breeders" whether it be the 2 gecko breeder or the 100 gecko "breeder" are popping up every single day.

thing i do not get is people with somewhat large collections which breed yet they do not know the genetics on the animals they are breeding. or the person that has had geckos for 6 months, do not bother to learn genetics let alone even the husbandry and breed their geckos just because other people are doing it or just because they want to see if they can make babies.

why can't people just have pets?

i currently keep "pet" reptiles and i kept them even when i was not breeding. i kept pet reptiles years before i started breeding as well.

I respect your opinion, but I have my own as well. In my area (maybe I shouldn't generalize) I just dont think there are many... or enough. The last show I went to, there was only ONE well known gecko breeder, and that was Miami Mike. I was really hoping to find more breeders there, to look for some diversity, but there was no one else! It was all snakes...

I do agree with the whole genetics thing and people having pets. I think people should be happy to have pets and whatnot. But I just dont see why we should discourage any new breeders... Maybe they can do something new? Or contribute something great? I still think there is room for expanding... Just my opinion.

 

[Baoh]

thing i do not get is people with somewhat large collections which breed yet they do not know the genetics on the animals they are breeding.

Strongly agreed. This has translated to a lot of mislabeling, too, and it's honestly disgusting because it's another form of lying and misrepresentation. Then there is the practice of selling a common morph as though it is something else with a new unconventional name someone just felt like using to make a sale. I don't mean a combo name due to all of the Enigma combo stuff, either, or differences like Hybino versus Sunglow. This new behavior is a scummy practice.

 

[Baoh]

Im new to breeding them and I do it for fun, hobby to expand my own collection. I do have a list of people wanting leos when I have them avail but am also prepared to keep as many as needed. I think those that get mad and think there are too many breeders are those who arein it for the money and not for the right reason at all.

There is no one right reason. We all have our own reasons.

 

[robin]

Strongly agreed. This has translated to a lot of mislabeling, too, and it's honestly disgusting because it's another form of lying and misrepresentation. Then there is the practice of selling a common morph as though it is something else with a new unconventional name someone just felt like using to make a sale. I don't mean a combo name due to all of the Enigma combo stuff, either, or differences like Hybino versus Sunglow. This new behavior is a scummy practice.

new breeders not knowing their genetics just screw the leo gecko market even more because they do not know jack squat and then they pass on their bad, incorrect or mislabel animals to someone else who thinks they are something they may not be, people buying geckos as one thing yet they end up being something totally different.

if people want to breed that if fine but take time to educate yourselves about behavior, basic husbandry, illness, genetics and then breeding.

 

[Whitey]

new breeders not knowing their genetics just screw the leo gecko market even more because they do not know jack squat and then they pass on their bad, incorrect or mislabel animals to someone else who thinks they are something they may not be, people buying geckos as one thing yet they end up being something totally different.

if people want to breed that if fine but take time to educate yourselves about behavior, basic husbandry, illness, genetics and then breeding.

I am one of those "little" breeders, and I do it because I enjoy it. If I don't sell any of my babies then oh well... that means I get to keep MY work for myself. And if someone wants to buy a gecko from me, then they get to enjoy the fruits of the labor of my hobby. I understand that a saturated market makes the "loyal" breeders upset because of the new people coming in and not understanding things, BUT I thought that's what this forum was for??? For instance, I know that I am horrible with genetics, which is why I like to buy my geckos (breeders) in pairs of two's (i.e. just bought two super snows to breed together, that way I KNOW what I am getting). I know I am no where near ready to breed enigma het raptor het giant pos het puff the magic dragon X Super Snow het black velvet(lol, ok a little overboard there), but you get my point.

Hell, I enjoy it so much that I just spent $1000 on a new cage system. Am I looking to expand my breeders from 2 pair to 4? Yes, but until I grasp genetics a little more, I will stick with what I know. Just a point of view from a "little" breeder that is saturating the market.

 

[robin]

I am one of those "little" breeders, and I do it because I enjoy it. If I don't sell any of my babies then oh well... that means I get to keep MY work for myself. And if someone wants to buy a gecko from me, then they get to enjoy the fruits of the labor of my hobby. I understand that a saturated market makes the "loyal" breeders upset because of the new people coming in and not understanding things, BUT I thought that's what this forum was for??? For instance, I know that I am horrible with genetics, which is why I like to buy my geckos (breeders) in pairs of two's (i.e. just bought two super snows to breed together, that way I KNOW what I am getting). I know I am no where near ready to breed enigma het raptor het giant pos het puff the magic dragon X Super Snow het black velvet(lol, ok a little overboard there), but you get my point.

Hell, I enjoy it so much that I just spent $1000 on a new cage system. Am I looking to expand my breeders from 2 pair to 4? Yes, but until I grasp genetics a little more, I will stick with what I know. Just a point of view from a "little" breeder that is saturating the market.

i understand. the thing is you ARE learning and you set limits for yourself (for whatever reasons). a lot of people do not. trust me i do not have a boat load of geckos and i haven't bred geckos in three years (something like that). when i came back i had to find out what all the new morphs were about and their genetics (shoot some of them i still don't know LOL)
i am not knocking the new breeder, we were all new at one time but many people fail to learn or even try and learn about husbandry, illness and genetics. yes this forum is to learn and i am glad to share what i know to those that want to educate themselves more on leos and understand genetics and such.

i still learn things all the time from more experienced breeders and small breeders a like.

so i am not knocking the small breeders i just wish more people would try and educate themselves and TRY to learn.

 

[Whitey]

I hope you didn't take offense to my post... I re read it and noticed I came off a little... smart. I didn't mean to come off that way.

I can understand the people that rely on breeding as a source of income being upset at the new breeders... don't get me wrong I understand that completely. But on the other hand, I am not going to keep my joy away from me because of this... but then again, I'm not lowering my prices either just to make a buck.

 

[KelliH]

The more the merrier...

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

I cringe in situations like robin mentioned because it's the geckos in that persons collection that pay the ultimate price.

--and that banner on the top of the page for $25 enigmas makes me cringe too lol okay back to minding my own