I agree. People still need pet supplies and if more people are spending more time at home they'll be more likely to get new pets. Buying a new animal is a moderate investment that gives many years of enjoyment
I just had this conversation yesterday. The days of a 9 to 5 taking care of your family is just about over. I definitely want & need a side hustle. Hell 2 or 3 actually. I also just became a Patreon supporter.
Thank you bro! Side hustles are essential to get ahead today. I also just saw you joined. Hopefully you can join the community chat tomorrow. Should be a good one!
My take on why the reptile industry will still thrive is because they can live for a very long time(even longer than people), they have strong immune systems, they have more value, and there’s more reasons.
I have a 50%double het anery 1 khal male and khal hypo (66%?) het anery 1 female. I think they would be cool to breed for the possibility of moonglows and snows but also 25 babies is a lot so they would need to sell quick and I might just get hypos and regulars. This wouldn't be for a few years hopefully your predictions for the market are good!
I like the plan, but you should also be prepared that the baby’s may take a while to sell, especially if you don’t have a network. Sometimes I can take me up to two years to find a buyer for animals. Some sell over night and others stick around. You should always be prepared. It’s all about the right person coming across your animals at the right time.
I think the hobby is in a good spot. Half of my students have snakes or bearded dragons as pets. If you had told me that just 5 years ago, it would have blown my mind. I have probably made some parents pretty mad because now the ones who don't have reptiles see my classroom bullfrog and immediately want one. They are infectious and more accessible than ever because of the internet and better husbandry practices like lots of captive breeding.
Most people aren't interested in keeping animals at home, let alone reptiles. It's a small niche in the pet industry and with the economy struggling there will be less demand for reptiles. You say that people would chose keeping a reptile over getting a vacation. Well that's probably true for us reptile nerds but it certainly isn't for the majority of people. In Germany a lot of reptile keepers even get rid of their reptiles because they want to have more money for other things that are actually necessary during their daily lives. Pet reptiles are an elastic good which means if people have more money they are more likely to buy one and if their budget gets reduced or the prices increase they are less likely to get one. Unfortunately pet reptiles aren't an inelastic good like gas, where people have to buy it no matter their budget or the market price. So I'm pretty sure you will make way less money now, if you get into reptile breeding compared to a few years ago. But that will change again once the economy recovers.
Although I don’t disagree with a lot of what you said, the economic has and continues to shift from people buying experiences to buying goods and services. This is why there are shortages of goods ( among other reasons).
Awesome video and I Agree with you! Even though it can be tough times like right now are great times to set yourself for the future and that’s what we have been doing
Looking at getting a large freedom breeder rack (66-4 the one with pullout drawers), for my boas. Have you ever had an escape? Do they lock in or anything? I have never been able to see one in person, but am curious before I invest. Thanks and I appreciate the channel 👍🏻
The problem is too many people are into this hobby for the money, if you don't love these animals or have an actually sentiment towards them you most likely won't last in the industry, right now I think people are dropping like flies because they realized they got into this for the wrong reason
Low startup cost? Lol. The market is weak because of over production. The number of people buying snakes is finite. The day of the small breeders is needed. That's 30 females or less. Quality would be better, and the numbers lower. Because of over production and the fact they live 30+ years means the correction will take years.
Compared to many businesses I’d say absolutely a low start up cost. You basically buy the animals, caging and maintain, which can return significant profits based on your initial costs if done correctly. The problem is many people sell a dream rather than reality and people start with the wrong direction.
I always love positive messages and your content. I know the boa business might be different but my first thought is that recruiting future ball python breeders is dangerous right now whereas recruiting ball python keepers is needed more so ? Recruiting more love for these amazing scaled beasts, in general, is always a great idea, no question 💕🐍💕
I love your content but I have mixed feelings about this video. The only people that make money in boas, are the people that love boas so much that they are willing to lose money in boas. Those are the only people that devote time and effort to actually come out ahead. A few of those do really well, such as yourself. If people need to be motivated to breed as a 'side hustle,' chances are they'll never succeed.
I can’t disagree with you at all. Passion is #1 before everything else. It weeds out the people who are in it for the money vs in it because they love it. If you love it, money will come.
I want to breed reptiles but I want to get away from the ball python craz. Yeah I want to make money but I feel diversifying my stock with different kinds of animals will be more fun in the long run. Specializing in Colubrid Snakes and lizards would be so much fun than straight ball pythons paint jobs. A Tegu that can eat snake slugs, voracious monitor that can keep the feeder rats from over breeding, What ever can eat fruit/veggies from the garden. Make it a living breathing recycle hobby That breeding can cover the cost and grow the passion. That would be perfect.
