Droppin like flies...

Anyone else notice the recent drop in the amount of Leo breeders lately? Walkabout Reptiles 2 years ago (due to health issues),Monte cut back (also 2 years ago I think),Kevin Hanely-Albino Geckos(excessive work load I believe it was), Robin-R2R(due to eye surguries, hope everything is going well), Brian Milwaukee(Mill-ey-wau-kay as Alice Cooper put it) Reptiles (due to school), Jodi Aherns-Ground Gecko Freak(for some me time). I am sure there are more but my poor little brain doesn't want to wake up this morning!

To those of you that have taken a step back for whatever reason... I wish you luck!

Anyways, just an observation I thought I'd share!

Monte cut back?!?!

I haven't been checking up since I also took a break due to school, but I have A LOT more time now that I switched majors... I'm coming back in and I didn't know all of these people were leaving . Monte helped me a lot with my gecko questions, he was one of my favorites! Now less places for me to find some leos... even though I always check up the sites of all the other sellers here.

I hope everyone that left is doing well and I wish them all the luck in their ventures. Hopefully I'll be taking a step up as I have been thinking of breeding for the '06 season. We'll see how that goes though

I've seen it. I'm trying to scale down myself.

Originally Posted by Blazin

I've seen it. I'm trying to scale down myself.

Im considering my leo collection right now too..

Ive noticed a lot leaving too but I hope I am here for the long haul.

I bought one of Monte's last leos for sale a few months ago and I was so so happy to be able to get one from him.

There are a few of Jodi's and Brians that I wanted, well still want but no extra money to buy them

I am a stay home mom so I have more time than most but I will not be able to continue to stay home when Emily goes to school in 2007 if I do not have some income. Right now I at least break even on feeders most months and have my own mealie colonies doing well and an orangehead colony that should start producing soon so that will turn feeder expenses into actual income money.

I am planning on buying about $2000 in more breeders this coming spring too so that it will increase my chances of being able to continue to stay home and do the leos full time.

i asked about this b4, it worried me. will there be no market for leos? I have started breeding recently, and there is no way i can care for all of the babies i expect, if theres no market, what will i do with them?

Well , was there ever any guarantee you were going to sell all of the babies

Originally Posted by Tang

i asked about this b4, it worried me. will there be no market for leos? I have started breeding recently, and there is no way i can care for all of the babies i expect, if theres no market, what will i do with them?

I hear they are really good sautee'd with some onions and a dash of poppy seeds.

Just kidding! The market will be there as long as people are educated regarding the proper care and we constantly reach out to new people to not only sell to but to pass on what we have learned. If we don't then yes, there won't be a market.

LOL Gene

I wonder how well the breeders do during big shows,,, like, how much profit do they make and how willing are buyers to spend money on some of the more desirable animals. I personally am doing this on a very small scale and am working on a website that is more information-based than sales-based. I have noticed that people tend to lose interest and time with this hobby and eventually get out of it. But you can bet your bottom dollar that most of them will get back into it at some point. Even I lost interest for a few years, and just started up with it again this year.