Today, we discuss the costs associated with breeding ball pythons for your first time. This is the first in a series of videos aimed to help someone start their journey into ball python or other reptile breeding.
This gives me flashbacks to setting up bioactive vivariums for all of my praying mantis's. It is not cheap. between the exoterra glass enclosures, false bottom, ABG substrate, suitable plants, springtails/isopods, heat emitters/thermostats, lighting, & buying & keeping live insects for them to eat it really adds up. Luckly once you get the enclosures set, the costs really settle down. For me the most expensive thing is space. I just dont have enough space at the moment to do what I really want to do. Hopefully one of these days soon I will have adequate space to set out on an exciting new endeavor.
I 100% agree space is the biggest issue. Since I've made this video we moved and even with a larger space I've had to scale back some of my expansion plans due to space constraints.
Oh, I so agree..keeping and breeding reptiles is VERY costly. I used to breed Panther Chameleons...Cages, lighting, misting, Heat lamps..CRICKETS for 100 animals is expensive, the electric bill will double if you have lots of lights and heating... and Alot of work involved as well..time consuming....feeding, cleaning,..checking in on problem ones..and hatchlings You absolutely gotta Love the animals you work with..And know everything you need to know BEFORE you get into even Keeping reptiles. Thanks for this video!!
I agree 100% you have to love the animals. I do think though that you will never know "everything" until you actually start keeping them. The best way to learn is to do. You should for sure be well educated before you start though!
Great video! Though I'm not new to breeding reptiles I'm getting into ball.pythons. Hopefully start breeding in 2 years. Also I have been breeding rats and asfs for 3 years. One thing I would point out is time...your time spent caring for the animals. And if you breed rodents 90% of your time is taking care of the rats. If you ever start breeding your own rats even if it's just a few tubs to supplement the feeding you could do the same type of video on that!
I actually just started breeding rodents this year and it saves so much money but yes it is time consuming. I may do a video about the rodent breeding in the semi near future, but I want a bit more time dialing in my process before I would feel comfortable breaking it down. I have been experimenting with different feeds and supplement options so my cost has varied a bit month to month.
Great content! And those are bare minimum prices! The electricity ⚡️ prices bedding and so many others tongs, cleaners, snake bags, shipping suppliers morph market it’s endless on costs.
100% true! I was just focusing on the bigger costs, but everything else would easily add $1000+ to that number depending on where you live and the choice of substrate/cleaning products.
Great info ! I’m starting as a hobbyist I have 3 exactly like you said 1 male 2 female I have at least a year to get mine to weight for breeding but now have an idea what I need to think about going forward ty for the info
A year is a long time. Plenty of time to gather what you need. By the time you pair and have eggs it'll be easily another 6 months or so past your year. Waiting is the hard part lol.
Good video that was a great idea... and if you breed your own rats/mice I think you should do a video about the cost of doing that as well food for thought
As of right now I don't actually breed them myself and most of my collection is on frozen thawed that I have been ordering in bulk. It is something I will be looking into in the semi near future however.
Great video. Its definitely an investment. Im a first year breeder and have 12 snakes and....yeah. ..😄 im just glad i have a really good main job that supports such an expensive endeavor! Im starting to breed my own rats cause 1 small live feeder rat at my local pet store is 10 bucks! And i have the same Cserpents incubator and hatchling rack. I should have my very first clutch in about a month and i too cant express how important it is to be prepared.. i spent a lot of money but i feel really good knowing im ready for anything.
I hope all goes well for you with your clutch! What was the pairing? I am just not starting to breed my own feeders, I have about 40 adults and the cost involved in feeding them all is no joke that's for sure.
This was definitely an eye opener as a hobbyist who has dreams of being up there with the big guys some day, I may not make a ton but I got into this hobby cause reptiles in general are my passion, and the potential to make my passion my job is worth any start up costs.
You can't honestly expect to make much the first few years unless you're lucky or have alot of money to start with. It's a long game but can be quite profitable if you stick with it. Or so I'm told lol... still not breaking even yet here. Hopefully next year!
@@straightblastpythons lol, that's fair honestly for me it ain't about the money would be nice to be able to make enough for it to pay for it's self but for me it's about the animals themselves and just being able to work with them and share my passion with others.
@@pinkielie1113 Keep that passion and you will succeed, it's something that shows when you are interacting with potential customers. I honestly don't think you can truly make it in this industry if you don't have a love for the animals.
@@straightblastpythons that's very true! my biggest dream is to one day have my own reptile store/zoo someday though I'm wanting to focus on breeding right now as that's what I can do right now.
I think you should start out with the lowest cost possible in case you don’t like breeding then you don’t lose thousands of dollars on equipment and supplies and if you do like it, you can build up from there …..good video .😊
I agree. I have the all or nothing personality, so we just dove right in. We had them as pets for a little while prior, though. I usually do recommend starting small though. It's easy to grow.
Low end is some heat tape, weather proof totes, and a thermostat. If you went really cheap and used the dollar store for your bowls and hides you can set up an enclosure for under well under 50 bucks. This is assuming you are running enough tape to heat more than 1 tub on a single thermostat. You can use a cooler with water, an aquarium heater, and a circulating fan for your incubator if you only have a couple of clutches. It can be done cheaply but there are many variables.
I see where you are coming from on that but I think I disagree. I think doing it that way might cost you more in the long run. If you buy smaller/cheaper equipment to start & you find out that you love breeding the animals you will definitely have to upgrade your setup sooner than later. So now you have a bunch of light duty & possibly inadequate equipment that you paid for that is no longer suitable for the purpose, so now you have to spend the money on the professional grade equipment anyways which you could have just purchased to start with. Plus the cheaper equipment is more likely to fail prematurely. Its like that saying buying cheap things is really expensive. Because you have to replace it much more frequently so it costs more in the long run. & if you decide you dont want to carry on breeding the animals, it would be pretty easy to find someone to buy the professional grade equipment from you second hand. You will take a slight loss, but it wouldnt be devastating like buying a new car & selling it in 2 months time.
Fortunately, most of those costs go down a lot over time. Things like incubators, racks, thermistats will be useable for at least the next 10 years so you can divide it out over time. That and if you get out of the hobby/business, you can at least sell a lot of your equipment on the used market and get back some of your initial investment (same with snakes but their value will be 1/3 or less of what you paid as they are depreciating assets). Mice and rats are the biggest annual spending that I do for my collection. I am about at 150 a month for my collection. For me, my next step is building a facility, and even a modest one will be 20,000 - 40,000 for a full facility with plumbing, sinks, tables, rack systems, HVAC, lights, insulation, etc. Great vid.
Thank you! And I agree, the initial investment is the hardest part to get past for most people. I also feel that there is a point where you almost have to start producing your own feeders to continue to be sustainable cost wise. I am approaching that point now as much as I don't want to admit it.
@@straightblastpythons It is defiantely a top consideration. Esp, if you want to be a bit experienmental with breeding projects that may not be the current hottest thing. Or with fun species that do not have a stable market. I still buy frozen and local live for hatchling feeders but my first step once I have a facility is to breed enough for my hatchlings, and some grow out. But it'll be a long time before I breed enough rodents to fully feed my growing collection.
I want to breed, goals, create things I like that I know aren’t made yet, besides that I wanna do piebalds, create pieds and this would be for fun/hobby that makes some $ too. I already like snakes w or without profit, I’m just growing out my female so I have make a clutch
Breed whatever it is that you enjoy! If Pieds are your thing go for it! There is a huge market for it I suggest trying to find another recessive that pairs well with it to have a collection that complements itself moving forwards.
@@straightblastpythonsI don’t even remember watching or commenting on this video but I’ve been planning in my head the cost then I’m thinking about how holdbacks are only going to turn into even more projects then it will get to a point we’re it is just big so I think I will just have to specialize in one project
@azcardinalds2360 That's why I suggest finding two complementary projects to give you some variety in your base, Clown and Pied, for example, that you can merge together as time goes on. I made a different video about project planning that I used to outline my ideas on this exact issue.
@@straightblastpythons I truly do love ball pythons and wanted to produce a handful of projects, I can come up with endless ones yet I know it will get expensive to buy and the racks and equipment, if I have to choose then I’d work with making lavender albino pieds and clowns
@@azcardinalds2360 Those two projects work great together. Depending on how much you want to initially invest, that project can easily be kept relatively small. Honestly when expanding the size of the collection the main cost is the feeders.
Honestly I'm not 100% familiar with either of those species enough to say what kind of income can be made off of two or three females. That said If you are just looking to cover your cost of keeping them I'm sure that would easily be doable. As far as how much you could make beyond that I would have to do some research on the species to say. I know speaking from a Ball Python perspective, if you invest in the right genetics you can make quite a bit beyond just the cost of keeping a small group, but it would take a decent upfront investment and some marketing skills. Either way I would recommend getting your name out there for any species that you intend to try and breed before you even start pairing to establish credibility and let people know you are real so you can move the babies when you have them.
@@relvilian Honestly the genetics and the ability to play mad scientist with the different combinations is really what drew me in. The Idea of having a large collection of just one species with tons of variety. That said I have recently been changing the plans for my collection moving forward to bring in a few more species. I've recently added Woma Pythons and am looking to get into possibly Carpet Pythons this coming year.
@@relvilian If space is a concern and they are legal where you are Hognose are another one you may want to look at for something small that can easily cover the cost of keeping them with just one or two girls. I have been looking at Spotted Pythons as another small species lately, and I can recommend Garter Snakes if you want a live bearer. My wife keeps and breeds them and since they are a social snake they can easily be kept together in one enclosure. She currently has 8 of them in a 4x2x2.
Where are you buying $2.00 mice? I'm paying close to $7.00 per mouse and $17.00 per rat. When my breeder rats are resting or nesting..it's costing me over $100/week to feed 8 😢
Wow! Our local exotic pet shop sells lives for $1.99 a mouse, small rats are about $4-5 last I checked. You can bulk order Frozen Mice for under $1 each and small rats for about $2.50 each online.. That's what I started doing, and it helps cut feeding costs a lot since I have no desire to breed rats or mice.
@@straightblastpythons I'll do some searching, the only live rats and mice I've found within an hour drive are petco and petsmart. Only one of my 8 has had frozen thawed,
@Raven's Oddities those big box stores are always way overpriced for feeders as they are typically trying to sell pet rodents. I would try and find a smaller privately owned pet store that works with Exotics or maybe even put some feelers out for a larger local rodent breeder.
@Straight Blast Pythons there's nothing within an hours drive.. as much as I hate the way mice smell, looks like I need to start breeding and selling rats and mice too. I'm sure other snake breeders in my area will appreciate it. 😆 🤣
100% agreed. When we started out we were renting and not in a situation to be able to breed our own. As much as I don't want to though, we are considering it in our new place since the collection is growing.
