• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

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    Posted 08/15/2025
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    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

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    Addendum: 01/10/2026
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    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

For those of you who think you can get rich raising Leos...

Golden Gate Geckos

Golden Gate Geckos

Mean Old Gecko Lady
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I thought I would post Golden Gate Gecko's Profit and Loss Statement for the year 2005:

Total Sales: $18,345.90
Paid help: -$800.00
Geckos in: -$2,580.00
Feeders: -$2,155.00
Veterinary: -$438.00
Supplies: -$1,148.51
Advertising: -$1,126.00
PayPal/Credit card fees: -$527.50
Show expenses: -$980.50
Misc. expenses: -$263.60
Mileage (1860 x 0.40) -$744.00

GROSS PROFIT: $7,582.79
Avg. hours worked: 1280
My hourly rate of pay: $5.92/hr.
 
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I don't "think" I'll get rich...I "know" I will...any minute now! LOL (just kidding) :raspberry

Thanks for sharing Marcia. Very helpful info, as always. Hey, I'd be proud to be a minimum wage geckoholic... :hehe:
 
Let's not forget the IRS: Taxes must be paid, but can be offset by some of the posted expenses, still, the overall profit will be less after tax.....
 
Lucille said:
Let's not forget the IRS: Taxes must be paid, but can be offset by some of the posted expenses, still, the overall profit will be less after tax.....
Click to expand...
You are right, Lucille! I have to PAY my Federal and State income tax every year just like any other business does.
 
I didnt even know you could turn a positive income off the little buggers! To think every year I lose money on them, I must be doing something wrong :). In all seriousness it's a time consuming, expensive hobby, that I love so... It's worth the money spent.
 
well crap.... anyone wanna buy a bunch of geckos??? sigh.... here's I was with my heart set on a Harley this season as well.... ummm... the bike, not the crestie... lol

Man, if I could just break even I would be thrilled, there are a lot of other hobbies/interests out there that have ZERO return other than the enjoyment and pleasure intrinsic in the pursuit itself...
 
Or....if I HAD a dime for every

person that came to my pet stores and later to my vendor tables at reptile expos/shows that thought they could ever see ANY return on the breeding of ANY reptile/animal, then I WOULD be rich ! LOL !
 
there was someone asking on another site how much people were profiting from bredding their leos and poeple told the person theat they make basically nothing its more of a hobby and a love for the animals he asctually got mad and returned his leos to the petstore he bought them from. I thought that was a little overboard and wrong.

When my two leos are old/big enough to breed I am going to do it mostly because I just love them to death and its a great hobby, also as a learning experience for my children. I am teaching my 3 year old son how to take care of them now. He keeps asking mama when are they gonna have little leos?
 
I am very glad you posted that Marcia...I think it should be made a sticky. There are so many that think they can make not just money ...but quit the day job. Anyone who thinks that they can do that with live animals....well maybe I wont even say what I think of them because i think you all know.I have bred Leos and Dragons...none of it for profit...mainly for the love of the animals....Oh and Marcia...did you forget the electric bill???
Robin
 
nydrgnldy said:
Oh and Marcia...did you forget the electric bill???
Click to expand...
The electric bill comes under "misc. expenses", and is probably a conservative number. The IRS gives me allowances for using a room in my house, utilities, phone, and Comcast.
 
Great post, Marcia. Many people don't realize how many $35 ones you have to produce to get those $750 ones (then again if they all came out killers they wouldn't be $750 ). David over at Tundra Geckos - great guy with beautiful animals - told me that he'd figured it takes $26 in food alone to raise a leopard gecko to one year. If you're making 6 bucks an hour and could be making 40, you're losing 34. Let's face it... we're addicts. We've got to see what pops out of that next egg - and the next one - and the next one.
 
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