When IRCF (International Reptile Conservation Foundation) was having difficulty with it's fund raising efforts to help save some of the critically endangered iguanas, I wanted to step up and help. After couple days of thinking, I decided that the best way for me to help them right away was to run a raffle for one of my most desired species (albino tegu) that would be produced in 2016. At this point in the year, I was mostly sold out of animals that I produced in 2015 and I was also tapped out on my giving to reptile related causes, which exceeded $50,000 in 2015.
I ran the idea by IRCF, which is a registered non-profit, and they agreed that we should give it a try. The idea was for me to donate 2 albino tegus to raffle off to raise funds. In addition, I also donated a third albino tegu to a donor who wanted to donate $2500 for one albino tegu---instead of participating in a raffle. We collectively raised more than $7500 (it might be closer to $9000.00 but I can't remember the exact figure at the moment) for IRCF.
What I forgot or didn't think about at the time of the raffle was that there are two types of albino tegu: one is typical albino which are T- albino and the other is highly priced T+ or Purple albino tegu. These were produced by breeding heterozygous blue tegus, so the outcome of which albino or how many by looking at the parents or the eggs are useless. I typically sell my T- albino blue Tegu's for $2500 and T+/purple albino blue tegus for $5000. In 2015, most of my albinos were T- with only two being hatched as T+, which I kept as future breeders. That result was what I was expecting in 2016 but it didn't turn out that way---all the albino tegus I produced were, to my surprise, T+ albinos. At this point, I decided to tell Michelle and others that, although I produced albino tegus, they were all expensive type and that I would buy 3 normal T- tegus from a friend to send to them. I could have just bought the tegus from a friend and shipped them without them knowing but I wanted to be honest and open. The other two winner and buyer was more than happy and gracious but not Michelle. She wanted the $3000 instead because "I didn't produce albino tegu"---which I clearly did. If she approached me and asked for money because she needed the money due to her financial need, I would have most likely to helped her by sending her the money but I felt that she was rather being greedy instead.
