Hello I’m Jerame, my wife is Cristina and my son Crosby.
I did some slider breeding in the late 90’s/early 00 but got out of the hobby as I moved around and established my career and family. About a year ago we discovered Australian Water Dragons. We have a almost yearling male (Clyde) who is currently in a 8’X4’X6’ custom build. We are expecting two females to pare with him next week (Bonnie and Rebel). Finding these animals and seeing how hard they can be to come by has made me want to get back into breeding. So in a couple years we will be breeding them.
In addition, I’ve really been thinking about making a go at breeding full time. I currently work in IT and would like to find something with less corporate politics. In addition, to AWD we will be starting a breeding program for Hognose snakes in the near future. These two projects will be our first focus, but we’d like to expand into a few other species as time goes on. I have a nice detached garage that will make a great reptile room in the future (it has AC already).
Our over all goal is to be at a point where I can covert to fill time sometime in 5 - 8 years. I want to grow the business slowly and reinvest everything early on. I’m in the fairly early stages, but wanted to work on establishing myself in the community in coming days. Business name and social media accounts coming soon. Believe it or not I have no personal social media out side of Linkedin. Old guy here…
Anyway that’s it in a nutshell and any advice or encouragement is appreciated.
Hello @bradburyesqu and welcome. I’m an “old gal” and know all about the corporate bureaucracy. If you can find a way to make a living and support your family without dealing with that c**p on a daily basis I say DO IT and don’t look back! Being your own boss means being married to your business but if your family supports you and will work alongside you how rewarding can that be!
I’m so glad to see that you are working with water dragons and Hognoses to begin with. Ball pythons are great but the market is so saturated with them right now……
Anyway, the people here will advise you every step of the way! Can’t wait to see your business grow!!!
The AWDs started almost out of a feeling of obligation. They just aren’t being bred enough and if people don’t do something they will end up being European import only before long. I felt if I was going to keep them I needed to also do my part for that.
As far as Hognose that was more calculated. I wanted something that had a large enough demand that they could be a staple, but sold for enough to make decent money. Finally they had to be something that I wanted to keep. Otherwise what is the point? I do love Balls but I have no desire to claw my way into that market
After I have these down, I will like be more like AWD. Specifies that I find interesting bud are under served.
I don’t know if it will get me out of the corporate rat race, but if it finds itself as a hobby I can live with that.
Welcome, @bradburyesqu ! Clyde is an extremely handsome fellow. I think it is wonderful that you are looking at long term plansin a thoughtful way. I wish you and your family every success and I hope to see much more of Clyde and your future animals.
Imho Hognoses are the most endearing little creatures to be had. I really like the condos and super condos especially. The fact that you are adding a little more variety down the road is a smart idea. Here’s the icing on the cake……. drum roll……. a pure line of dwarf retics…… the real deal.
Lol! Listen to me! I’m just a keeper trying to give advice! Lol!
AWDs are one of my absolute favorite lizards in the hobby! If I had the space you would already have costumer before you even start breeding lol. They are so underrated and you are so lucky to have the pleasure of working with such an amazing species! Can’t wait to see your progress!
Simiarboreal, simiaquatic, handleable, Some really cool markings that pictures don’t do justice. Other then the space issue they have something for everybody. My first vivarium for the 3 takes up half a room in my house. So worth it though.
8’ X 4’ X 6’. If I had to do it again I’d do a couple things different but I like the way it came out.
So the thing about AWD and handling is they are cranky sub adults. We are going through it now with Clyde. So when they are small they can be a bit bitey. But it isn’t a bad one. As adults assuming they were treated well they are good at handling. Almost beardy like. The only down side is that they have wicked nails. And can cut you up if you aren’t carful. Not in a malicious way, just trying to climb.
I actually was thinking about specializing in redline supercondas. The super hero mask is too nice to pass up. I also want to work with sables and sunburst at some point.
Yes I totally get the mail thing. Have you ever had a reptile vet try to trim the nails or is that something that absolutely cannot be done?
So it seems that given a baby is handled kindly and regularly it will grow into a somewhat social adult that can be interacted with while taking care not to be sliced by the nails…?
They are climbers and really on their nails. Mine almost never touched the ground. Unless scared or begging for food. So I wouldn’t feel comfortable getting their nails cut. We do provide him hard suffices is to climb. You can always use gives in the perch hand. Personally I don’t mind the scratches.
Now there you go! The redline supers as well as the sables are really cool and I would think lucrative to breed. I am not familiar with the sunburst but I am sure it would be sought after as well.
To me, hoggies, especially the ones you are looking into, are just a type of snake that collectors would want in their collection because hognoses are just the cutest little big personality snake. I actually gifted my hoggie to a retired army vet who had always wanted one. Now I am getting in the mood to get another one for myself! Lol!
They really are the most unique thing going. There would have been a time I said balls gave them a run for their money but everyone is breeding
Balls now. I see all the snakes at my local shows and wonder how they are all going to sell. And there’s 1 or 2 hog boths. And the hogs have much more interesting behavior. Behavior reallt is the draw for me.
