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Does anyone else have trouble selling their snakes?

Vithaxton

Vithaxton

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I know I have a ton of snakes that genetically I just don't need that are sitting in my collection! I could totally sell them and use the tub space to house some incredible triple to five gene morphs but I can never bring myself to sell them! Lol A lot of those snakes are literally just sitting in my vision racks as pets. I mean some of them are even rescues. I get so attached they might as well be part of the family or a dog! Lol Does anyone else have this problem? :face_palm_02:
 
Oh yeah! Some years ago I used to breed several kinds most every year, & it totally mattered to me that they weren't sold cheaply just to move them, figuring they might be someone's "toy", it mattered that they each had a strong feeding record to do their very best, and it was nearly impossible for me not to pick out several (at least!) hold-backs that I truly didn't need...I'll admit it, I love the little buggers, & care about them having a good life with caring owners, so ultimately I decided it made more sense not to breed any more. I had a full house & I wasn't playing poker... I also had a number of rescues including non-commercial natives & neglected pets of all sorts. I feel your pain
and I wish I knew of a remedy. Being a commercial snake breeder was never my goal anyway...I enjoy snakes, I enjoyed breeding some, and after many years, I knew I had to cut back or risk "burn out" as happens to many in this pursuit. I've kept countless snakes for over 30 years, but finally now have only 16 pets. I guess we each have to decide for ourselves, but I know I'm a "softie", lol. And I enjoy them more as pets than all the work of breeding & marketing anyway.
 
:exactly: Omg your so right! You get so used to their feeding schedules, what they prefer to eat, what their tempers like, how to handle each individual one, it gets hard not to get attached! I'm running out of space lol I love it when people ask why do you have a random pastel male that your never going to breed and I'm like first of all his name is Jeffrey! XD Everyone of my snakes has a name! I'm a total sucker for them! And yeah I can see where business and pets start to blur together! I guess I'm a softy as well!
 
Well there's NOTHING wrong with caring about the animals we know & keep, I'm sure of that. Yes, mine all have names too...they really ARE all individuals. What I enjoy far more than breeding/selling is educating people about snakes...seeing people meet my friendly snakes and totally change their minds about snakes & lose their fear. And even see their beauty! That became my "mission" and for that, having an assortment is a plus.
 
I sell a lot of baby ball pythons locally to new keepers. I give new buyers a shopping list for equipment and help them get everything set up and working for a fraction of what the big box stores charge, which they appreciate. That way I ensure that my babies don't end up drying out in fish tanks and they're happy and feeding.

I've also taken in a few rehabs/rescues over the years, some of which need to be rehomed as pet-only due to their issues. I don't advertise them openly for sale, but when I see a WTB ad where one would be a good fit I do some research on the new owner and if that person checks out I'll make the offer privately.
 
Thanks bcr229, that reminded me that whenever I sold any 'baby' snakes I included a complete care-sheet as well, & I sold rodent feeders (cheaper than local stores) if they wanted them also, since I raised my own & always had a surplus. I welcomed questions from people keeping snakes whether or not they got them from me.
 
This possibility is part of why I am hesitant to get into breeding. I'm interested but I would be devastated if something went wrong and something happened to one of my pets for starters. Would rather just collect!
 
BlueCrowned said:
This possibility is part of why I am hesitant to get into breeding. I'm interested but I would be devastated if something went wrong and something happened to one of my pets for starters. Would rather just collect!
Click to expand...

I know one breeder that’s bigger then me and he told me he doesn’t buy snakes anymore he just has holdbacks! Lol And yeah I’ve seen the stillborn snakes and deformities that occasionally occur. Not everyone likes to acknowledge the less glamorous side of breeding. When I was first starting out I looked up super cinnamons and I wanted to make one so bad! And then I looked at how many hatchlings end up with cleft pallets, kinks, and other defects so I never bred my cinnamon pairs together! I feel like as a breeder I’m responsible so I try to steer clear of spider ball pythons and anything that can cause defects! I also have a rescue spider ball python that I acquired. A breeder thought it would be a good idea to breed spider to spider and the end result was my rescue spider “Terror”! She lashes out at anything! Doesn’t matter if it’s the couch, herself, and especially not me! It’s really sad because she bites and constricts things and has seizures and she just seems to be unable to control herself. She eats and sheds fine though. So I keep her as a pet! But she’s definitely made me rethink breeding balls in general multiple times!
 
We're on the "same page" again, Vithaxton. When you breed snakes there is always a small risk of defects that can either make snakes non-salable or non-viable, but I'm totally opposed to inbreeding or breeding anything with known issues (like head wobbles), that's awful IMO. For that reason I prefer "normals"- nature gets it right...I can't deny that many c/b snakes are "eye candy" but are they healthier? In the long run I don't think we're doing any favors trying so hard to get rare, fancy colors & patterns just to make money being the first to market them. I'd rather have a snake with health and personality anyway...fancy colors & patterns become routine in time & our eyes just crave something else. I realize that's not how pet stores look at it, but that's why I'd never do that for a living.
 
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