Hi, I just hav a couple questions about getting into breeding. My first question is ye better to get a cheaper pair of adults you can breed that season or s pair of young snakes(in my case bels even though they aren’t to high end or firefly clowns or firefly het clowns is what I am interested in) my other question and I’m sure it’s been asked before but is is bad as a new breeder to make a “high end” snake in my case is do about 3,000us(super pastel fire clown) or whatever a super fire super pastel clown would sell for I can’t find any sold or for sale
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Really depends on your ultimate goal. If you want to produce the higher end stuff then start with what will get you there imo.
I would start off with hatchlings of morphs that you not only love/are excited about, but will also sell. Buying cheap adults to breed just for the sake of breeding isn’t really a great idea as there’s already no shortage of ball pythons.
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How about getting into something you are passionate about and not making it about how much it’ll be worth? I’m so tired of watching people buy up snakes and then end up selling the collection off because they didn’t make enough money like they thought they would. If you don’t love just keeping them and all that comes with then it won’t work for you in the end. Just my 2 cents.
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I’m fully aware to expect to make little to no money like I said the morphs I’m really in love with are black/blue eyed Lucy’s and firefly clowns I think I’m probably gonna look for a pair of firefly het clowns
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In my opinion, just because an adult is of breeding size, does not mean they will breed that season,
I would go for a mix in age of what you like best.
Just a suggestion.
More then likely, they will not bred for multiple seasons/years.
As someone getting into this as a newbie myself, i spent a LOT of time browsing mm, checking out fb groups, and looking at snakes at expos. I let myself see it all, and gravitate towards what i really liked. Pieds are a big love. So thats my main focus. I also really like bamboo, and ill probably invest in a bamboo male at some point in the next few years if i decide i really like breeding.
Now that ive decided on my “cornerstone” male, so to speak, im building my plans around him, based on what i like and what will pair well. I havent really looked at MorphMarket to see what is selling well, vs not. Im not doing any of this because its gonna make me a millionsre (hahaha ohhhh thats funny) im doung it cuz i love my snakes, and love having them. Ill probably breed kane once and determine if i want to keep going, or just turn the rest of my groip into pets.
As a former pet rat breeder, i can tell you its 1000% a labor of love. I lost money on breeding rats, but i did it because i love the animals, i loved seeing what i could produce, and i loved seeing someone else enjoying my babies as much as me when i sent them to new homes.
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This. So much, this.
Animal husbandry is a labor of love, indeed. When people are looking at beginning, everyone sees the “love,” and they should. Trust me, there will be much more “labor” than you think, no matter how open you believe your eyes are. Some of that’s physical of course, and sometimes it’s physically difficult to get it all done. Sometimes the hard stuff is financial, unexpected vet bills or equipment crashes. The hardest can be the emotional heavy lifting when you need to euthanize or a special youngster just won’t eat.
And it can all be worth it, worth it, worth it again - but only if that true love and pleasure in the animals is there from the start.
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Heelll to the yes in the labor side of things! Snakes are honestky easier and harder in some ways than rats. Rats thrive on interaction and i spent hours every day interacting and socializing with my entire colony. Snakes, to some extent, dont need as much hands on interaction. They dont care. Handling is for our benefit, and more handling means the snakes dont view us as much of a threat.
I have a small collectuon. 37 total animals at last count and that includes the furry ones. I still spend hours every week, cleaning tubs, misting higher humidity animals, feeding, cleaning, and that doesnt include hands on animal time. Getting weights, doing well checks etc.
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Hello @lokibp and welcome to the community!
First off ask yourself if you want to be a hobbyist or a breeder. When I think of a breeder, I’m thinking of someone whose long term goal is to breed snakes as a full-time job. As a hobbyist I tend to think of people who produce a few clutches a year or animals they particularly know will sell with maybe 1/2 projects that they themselves enjoy.
When it comes down to getting into breeding your first question shouldn’t be about pricing and or “high-end” snakes. It should be “what makes me excited”, not “how much money can I make from this”. Because in all honesty if you’re looking to make a return profit you probably won’t see it until year 4/5 as a breeder.
You want and need to focus on projects that matter to you. Yeah, it’s easier to go down a path where you know people will always want clowns and recessives do hold their value, but what’s going to happen when you’re tired of producing the same old thing each year? That’s why it’s important to get an idea on projects/morphs that interest YOU. If you lose interest in a pairing you’re doing then you won’t really care about the outcome of those animals, and in turn you’ll probably get burned out and quit going into year 2 or 3. I’ve seen it happen to a lot of people who started around the same time I did (beginning of 2020).
As for how to jump into breeding that’s on a personal preference. Some people enjoy getting cheaper adults to test out breeding. I personally think that if you have a project in time, or you want to see a combo that’s yet been created get younger snakes. Get females before you get a male if you’re going with the young snake route. It doesn’t hurt for you to get two young female snakes, and then a cheaper pair of adults just to try out breeding. I bought a cheap Spinnerblast as my “experimental” just to see if I could breed. I found out the snake breeding part is the easiest part. The worst part is the incubation, cut date, and then having them crawl out of the eggs. It’s just stress. stress. stress. 
TLDR; Get a few snakes that interest you and don’t worry about the price tag
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Handling and interaction is so important! You’re absolutely right that the furred appreciate it more than the scaled, but I am firmly in the camp that some individual snakes enjoy the interaction. I’ve had too many curious, engaged classroom corn snakes to think otherwise. Fairly,
I’ve also got corns who are all about just chilling in their viv. (These still get handled, because I need to check them over for health, weigh them, make sure they stay ok with handling in case they need vet care, etc. but they’re not the first snake I grab for my own pleasure.)
Either way, you bring up an important point. For me, I enjoy my collection most when I have enough left at the end of husbandry to just enjoy holding a favorite snake.
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