ghosthousecorns
New member
It seems I see a lot of threads by people who get into corns and want to breed them right away. What is is about this hobby that pulls us in, that makes us all want to be the next big name with the coolest new morph?
Reading the threads on here and seeing all the pretty pictures, it looks so easy. Just buy a bunch of snakes and put them together, come up with a neat name for your business, and shazzam right?
I've seen a lot of seasoned breeders step in and try to talk to the enthusiastic new would-be breeders and gently try to discourage them (or in some cases not so gently) but it sometimes seems to have the opposite effect - the newbie becomes more than ever determined to be a Corn Snake Breeder.
I feel strongly that nobody should be told not to breed corns just because they are new to the game, but more and more I feel like those of us who have been around have a duty to tell them what to really expect if they breed their corns. I just wanted to take a minute to point out a few of the cons of breeding - and I would welcome input from other (seasoned) breeders.
1- Unless you have morphs that are somewhat sought after, you will probably not be able to sell most common morphs except at prices that are hardly worth the time and effort it takes to breed, incubate, hatch, get them established, etc. You will likely not make much if any money, but you will have the responsibility to feed and house those babies if nobody buys them.
2- It takes a really long time and a lot of effort to get established as a breeder, and many people hesitate to buy snakes from someone they haven't heard of. If you don't have an outlet in mind to sell your babies it is something to think about before you breed!
3.- It takes a great deal out of a female corn to produce eggs, She needs to be in optimal shape, not too overweight or she may not have the muscle tone and not too thin or she may not recover from the ordeal. Even a female of optimal size and condition can have trouble, become eggbound, and die. If you want to breed take a good look at the snake you have in mind - is she in shape enought to be a mom?
4.- The male can also be at risk, while more uncommon, cases where a male injures a hemipene during breeding do occur.
5.- There is no end to the number of heartbreaking things that can go wrong with the babies. Eggs that just never hatch. Kinked, deformed babies that need to be put down. Seemingly perfect babies that just won't eat and starve themselves to death. Oh and be prepared to spend many hours of your life getting them to eat...
6.- If you do everything right and have some nice babies to sell be prepared to see a really ugly side of people as they try to get what they want (your snakes) and pay as little as possible. They might ask you to hold the snake and change their mind because it was cheaper from someone else. They might offer a ridiculously low amount. They will ask you a million questions, want you to go out of your way to take pics for them, then decide they don't want the snake after all. Customer service can be not that much fun.
Reading the threads on here and seeing all the pretty pictures, it looks so easy. Just buy a bunch of snakes and put them together, come up with a neat name for your business, and shazzam right?
I've seen a lot of seasoned breeders step in and try to talk to the enthusiastic new would-be breeders and gently try to discourage them (or in some cases not so gently) but it sometimes seems to have the opposite effect - the newbie becomes more than ever determined to be a Corn Snake Breeder.
I feel strongly that nobody should be told not to breed corns just because they are new to the game, but more and more I feel like those of us who have been around have a duty to tell them what to really expect if they breed their corns. I just wanted to take a minute to point out a few of the cons of breeding - and I would welcome input from other (seasoned) breeders.
1- Unless you have morphs that are somewhat sought after, you will probably not be able to sell most common morphs except at prices that are hardly worth the time and effort it takes to breed, incubate, hatch, get them established, etc. You will likely not make much if any money, but you will have the responsibility to feed and house those babies if nobody buys them.
2- It takes a really long time and a lot of effort to get established as a breeder, and many people hesitate to buy snakes from someone they haven't heard of. If you don't have an outlet in mind to sell your babies it is something to think about before you breed!
3.- It takes a great deal out of a female corn to produce eggs, She needs to be in optimal shape, not too overweight or she may not have the muscle tone and not too thin or she may not recover from the ordeal. Even a female of optimal size and condition can have trouble, become eggbound, and die. If you want to breed take a good look at the snake you have in mind - is she in shape enought to be a mom?
4.- The male can also be at risk, while more uncommon, cases where a male injures a hemipene during breeding do occur.
5.- There is no end to the number of heartbreaking things that can go wrong with the babies. Eggs that just never hatch. Kinked, deformed babies that need to be put down. Seemingly perfect babies that just won't eat and starve themselves to death. Oh and be prepared to spend many hours of your life getting them to eat...
6.- If you do everything right and have some nice babies to sell be prepared to see a really ugly side of people as they try to get what they want (your snakes) and pay as little as possible. They might ask you to hold the snake and change their mind because it was cheaper from someone else. They might offer a ridiculously low amount. They will ask you a million questions, want you to go out of your way to take pics for them, then decide they don't want the snake after all. Customer service can be not that much fun.
