What started as a fascination with the animals turned into a deep appreciation for the husbandry, genetics, and planning that goes into breeding them responsibly.
As I’ve started preparing for my first breeding season this fall, I’ve spent a lot of time researching how breeders manage their collections.
What surprised me wasn’t the number of software platforms available.
It was how often I still hear about spreadsheets, notebooks, whiteboards, sticky notes, and handwritten records.
Maybe I’m completely wrong, but it got me wondering…
If collection management software already exists, what information or workflows still live outside of it?
I’m not selling anything and I’m not promoting a product. I’m genuinely curious how breeders of all sizes are managing their collections today.
I think it may just be the tangibility of it, I still personally use a notebook to keep up with my rodent colony breeding
For my BPs I don’t breed that much and I know all of my breeders by heart so I don’t really use written records for them outside of feeding and general info.
If you watch Snake Discovery I use very similar methods that they do: card holder at the front of each breeder bin with an info card inside
I think it all depends on how big of an operation you’re running. Most people start off with one pet snake, then some of them catch the bug and buy one or ten more. In the beginning it’s manageable purely in their head, then they need “help” managing it. Naturally they switch to some sort of pencil and paper system. Then that gets too much to handle. Some then switch to spreadsheets. Then that becomes unmanageable and they switch to some professional software management tool. I think for most it’s a gradual progression. For a small number of folks in the beginning of their snake collection journey, they can see the writing on the wall (or maybe they’re just the nerdy type) and they bite the bullet and go straight to the professional software tool.
So I’m not surprised at all the number of folks still doing things the old fashioned way essentially with pencil and paper. In the end, it’s whatever works for you.
I still don’t have a big enough operation to really warrant much more than the usual index cards and all. I may one day update to a QR code based system of some kind but for now having the info there and ready just makes it easier to keep track.
MorphMarket and CLTCH I think are the 2 more popular sites with his andry tracking and such… there’s a couple apps here and there as well. Nothing has really struck me as helpful enough to use but also quick enough that I don’t forget to update it. If it’s not there at the time it may as well not exist for me. XD;;
I absolutely need to start doing this. I had a recessive satin gene pop up in my colony and I just always loved the look of it. Also gonna try selective color breeding a few groups. XD
I have some too! Yellow and grey female mice. I named them both Silver and Gold respectively
I’ve also had curly haired rats pop up, the babies are extremely cute… they look like teddy bears. A few of them have actually been sold as pets, I recently got my hands on some Dumbo rats and if I get the curly hair in them too… oml
My wife made me a Excel and LibreOffice calculator spreadsheets for me. Each of my boas have their own sheet. It has type of boa, birthday, parents of that boa, breeder who produced it. Also feeding dates, food given, shed dated, POS dates, feces dates and all calculate how many days in between automatic.
I also make a bloodlines history sheet for every boa I sell. Has all family history on that boa with pictures of the boa they bought and pictures of the parents. Been doing this for many many years now.
It amazes me how many breeders don’t give the family history of the animals they sell to people. This info really helps with knowing what morph you can produce and also help figure things out when something new or strange shows up. Plus how much inbreeding there was done with certain lines.
I like the softwares for tracking feeding, sheds, matings, etc. because I am absolutely horrible at keeping up with records if I don’t have it on me. I always have my phone on me, I can’t keep up with a notebook. Even if I hung it on a cage somewhere, it’s not the same as my phone in my pocket. Even then, sometimes I overestimate my memory and try to record sheds after I check everyone…inevitably forgetting to record some. I started out with just a Word document, then found iHerp, and now use Reptile Scan because the app ended up being easier to use than a website. I never did do anything written.
I don’t keep any markers on their cages or anything, either. All my snakes look distinct from each other and I learn placement through feeding repititions. I don’t have many snakes atm, though, and I don’t think I’ll ever own that many. Might not be a bad idea eventually, though, I never think of stuff like that. lol Could even be a good idea to help me keep on top of sheds a bit better. Keep 1-2 records on their tubs so I can make sure it’s recorded before erasing. Figure out how I wanna go about that. I could try the QR code with RS, but I feel it wouldn’t be much different than just opening the app to record and seems a little convoluted. Might be quicker just to write the records with a quick check/date or something before erasing. Atm, I don’t have anything outside of the husbandry app.
I have a google doc spreadsheet where I keep track of quite a few things - species, (supposed) genetics, date acquired/who from, what I paid for the animal, birth date, weight, eating dates, shed dates… It’s worked pretty well for me, so far lol, though on occassion I get lazy updating it. I can access my records on pc or through the mobile app and it’s simple with no excessive features, paywalls, ads, etc.
I’ve thought about checking out a proper husbandry app and know MM has that feature available as well, but it’s so much more complex than my simple little system that I feel it’d be hard to get me to switch now, lol.
The reptile community really took off running during the pandemic. So a lot of the way people had been keeping reptile records was the way breeders had before them. That’s the index cards, notebooks or spreadsheets.
Apps and websites have also just started getting more traction in the community as well so we’ll hopefully see more of the options growing there as well. MorphMarket does already offer a lot of good features as well for it. I think the other issue is just the paywall that some are behind. I’m probably sticking with MM because I already pay for a sub here
May just be ADHD related for me but if I try to use my phone to write down records via MorphMarket’s husbandry section I always end up getting distracted by other stuff on my phone
My animal activities records on MorphMarket are a mess and many things go unrecorded digitally. I think the only thing I successfully keep up with is pairing info and offspring.
Maybe it’s just me, but when I had only one snake, I recorded all of his feeding, weights, and sheds on an index card. I kept doing that as the collection grew. I still keep physical records. I also make use of the Husbandry app on MorphMarket. Being able to electronically transfer husbandry and genealogy info for animals who are sold is nice. I used to send the snake’s index card and handwritten genealogy. Folks used to say that my handwriting on the index cards was too small and thus hard for them to read. They were probably right
I often forget things in the space it takes to go from one task to the next, my short term memory has been horrible since I was a young child. I definitely need something in front of me while it’s still fresh, and I have the husbandry app open next to me while I feed the snakes at least. I have all notifications turned off that my phone and apps will allow and my phone on silent. I cannot stand the sound of notifications and hate the constant pop ups.
But I also try to be “efficient” and do records in groups. lol Easy to do with feeds; I record all the snakes I gave medium rats to, adult mice to, etc. in groups. Sheds I try to do the same thing with but I never remember to jot everyone down when I get to the app to record them. I need to do them the second I see the shed, but I often leave the phone on the ground or sitting somewhere while I walk across the building to take care of everyone. By the time I get to the phone to record the sheds I have forgotten usually 1-3 of them. Feeds I can at least go down the caging or the list on the app and make sure I recorded it. If I check early enough I can even open the cage and double check the feeder type. Sheds, there’s nothing to verify once the shed is removed.
I was looking into the MM husbandry, but don’t see a dedicated app for just the husbandry tracking, which is a huge problem for sure. Lots of steps to get to the husbandry portion of the app, vs just clicking on the Reptile Scan and there it is. Plus, hundreds of records over a decade long at this point I would have to transfer to another app that makes my switch over unlikely. Unless there’s an easy way to quickly transfer data between apps?
But I do think after reading this thread it might be a good idea to put a physical system in place to at least mark shedders until they’re recorded.
I was looking at Husbandry Pro, and MM’s features…I work in enterprise software and both apps take more clicks than something like Salesforce. So I’m hesitant to try.
It sounds like the trick is finding what works best for you?
I don’t really believe there is any specific Snake Discovery video that outlines how they do their tracking, but the cards can be seen in many of their videos.
Same here, as far as husbandry records go. I breed corn snakes, and they don’t hold onto poop the way some species might. They all get water changes at least twice weekly and spot cleaning when they eliminate but I generally don’t bother to record that anywhere. I do occasionally mark “Defecation” in the MM Husbandry but I’m not consistent on doing it.
Great questions! I think the number one thing I like is that all of my animals’ genealogy is readily available to anyone who wants to see it. There are photos of each animal a baby, as well as their progression. I find it very interesting and also helpful to look back at this info. It’s all linked to/ from the Husbandry, which I really appreciate.
If I stick with a Husbandry-specific like, it’s probably the Activity Log.
The second part of your question is easy. I’d wave my magic wand and add either a “Veterinary/Medical” or customizable note tab.
Even if I hung it on a cage somewhere, it’s not the same as my phone in my pocket. Even then, sometimes I overestimate my memory and try to record sheds after I check everyone…inevitably forgetting to record some. 
Figure out how I wanna go about that. I could try the QR code with RS, but I feel it wouldn’t be much different than just opening the app to record and seems a little convoluted. Might be quicker just to write the records with a quick check/date or something before erasing. Atm, I don’t have anything outside of the husbandry app.
