Starting with Single Gene Animals - Good Idea or No? (beginner breeding question)

[biologicalcanvas]

@bananamama

What would you recommend doing instead?

Don (ballornothing) answered this in a fairly recent thread here:

Best morphs to start with

First you should look closely at the market in your area, visit local reptile shows, talk to local shops, etc. This will help you understand what will actually sell. Snakes in the $50-500 range don’t sell quickly in large quantities. I have to do reptile shows to move anything under $300, unless one of the reptile shops I work with will take them. If the reptile shops will take them, I don’t get retail for the animals. Just so you understand common 2 and 3 gene combos wholesale $60-120/each usua…

I completely agree with his assessment there.

It’s fairly straightforward economics. Higher value per animal has more of an effect offsetting per animal cost. The more you invest into logical pairings the higher your chance of success (either offsetting costs and/or making a profit). Lower initial investment can work but will take more time to reach fruition.

@hi_tech_reptiles

In boas, single gene recessives still sell because people like to plug the visuals into projects,

I bred boas exclusively in the 2000’s and was part of those initial waves in the market. There are some similarities to the ball python market but it is much more difficult. I still have many high level contacts and the insight I get is that it is much more difficult to find buyers at all price points for various reasons. On top of that the cost per animal (bigger feeders and space requirements) is much higher so optimal investment is that much more important comparatively. I still love boas regardless and plan to get back into them when I expand and have the space.