So this has been on my mind alot lately, I have been wondering how the market for reptiles will do in the future. Do you guys think it will rise or fall? Or do you believe it will stay the same? I would love to see some community discussion on this.
Btw here is a link to a similar topic
like any market I’m sure it will both rise and fall at times, but I don’t see it going away. Having good, creative content creators on social media, volunteers presenting in schools, passionate breeders giving back to their communities can help grow the hobby organically even if the market floods with over supply at times or vice versa.
People have been crying about market crashing, sky falling for YEARS, the reality the market is strong you just have to keep up with it and know how to adjust to it’s evolution. Let’s of people can’t and call it quit.
The biggest threat is not the market itself but possible regulations from the government that has bee ntrying to prohibit exotic ownership for years.
Thanks for bringing up your point about new regulations for animal keepers. I just would like to know why people are trying to get rid of exotic animal ownership altogether? I honestly think that there are much bigger and serious issues to deal with than a community of people who like reptiles.
Each year lawmakers try to pass laws in different states, or even nationwide because they are pushed by animal activists that do not believe in pet ownership, (PETA among others), obviously targeting exotics is the easiest group to target (targetting dog and cat owners would be more difficult) however they have found strong opposition in USARK that has fought for our right and prove that some of those laws are often based on fake science…
The biggest fight at the national level was years ago with HR 669 which would have prohibited all exotics to be owned (from hamster to boas), since they target smaller group at smaller state level.
Yes there are better things to do but it all comes down to “follow the money”
I know I bought a cali bee five years ago for $300 and now they go for $350 and some have lost value as far as cost goes but its all supply and demand and there will alwaysbbe wierdos like myself that like the unusual so it us here to stay IN MY HUMBLE OPINION…
It’s important to note that the market did actually crash for leopard geckos in the early 2000s. However, this market crash didn’t really impact people who were in it for the long haul and already established themselves. It did impact small hobbyists like myself, however. It took forever to sell animals, and I ended up switching to ball pythons. Popular folks will continue selling, big breeders will continue selling, but it’s the hobbyists who get hit by market crashes, not established breeders. However, if you stick with it long enough you’ll realize that these market trends follow a sine curve. As the market gets saturated interest wanes, people drop out, market desaturates, then interest goes up again, people join in, market gets saturated, so on and so forth. The important thing is this: if you’re a breeder, maintain your image and work hard at being a household mention. If you’re a hobbyist, do you what you love. If you keep chasing money as a hobbyist you’ll only get frustrated.