A change in direction on selling animals....

Originally Posted by cornspot

I understand what's it's like to have a hobby turn into burnout. You should do whatever helps keep this interesting for you.

I don't think the issue is that Rich isn't interested in Corns anymore...

Originally Posted by Rich Z

Seriously, you all really didn't think I would live forever, did you?

Uhm... maybe..yes?

I can see how hired help would be a major headache. Trying to get a part time high schoolers to accurately label and store all your snakes... I don't think I would be able to handle trusting someone with such a huge responsibility.

So... this might be an insensitive question to ask, but do you have a predecessor for Serpenco? When you retire will that be "it"? I can't even imagine this place without Serpenco. Rich, looking through your photo album before I was even a member here made me fall in love with corns!
I wish the best for you and Connie, it's so tough when someone you love is in the hospital or having medial problems. Sounds like you guys have it ten times as hard.

On a lighter note, I think it might be kind of cool to have a snake with unknown or unsure hets. It puts some chance into breeding, removes the human hand slightly. You never know, your favorite hatching of the season could end up being something you didn't plan for. Also, it seems like there's always an element of excitement to a clutch that contains a surprise.



Somewhat offtopic, but did you know that some Poision Dart Frog breeders will actually hide the fact that they have frogs that are known hets for albinism and disperse the animals as far away from each other as possible? Their philosophy is that they should never attempt to create a "new" type of PDF; that perhaps the occasional breeder will be "rewarded" with an albino popping up amongst his tads, but an albino gene or any aberrancy from a wild type frog is never to be selected for.

Originally Posted by Jessicat

So... this might be an insensitive question to ask, but do you have a predecessor for Serpenco? When you retire will that be "it"? I can't even imagine this place without Serpenco. Rich, looking through your photo album before I was even a member here made me fall in love with corns!
I wish the best for you and Connie, it's so tough when someone you love is in the hospital or having medial problems. Sounds like you guys have it ten times as hard.

Good question......

When it comes time for me to have to give up actually working with the corns, I will likely always have an interest in them. I don't know if I could actually find a buyer to buy SerpenCo outright.... Certainly doing all the manual labor associated with working with the animals has a finite time in my future. Not sure if the time I stop will be voluntary or involuntary, however.

But, as long as I am able, I will keep this site running, regardless. But if I were to die suddenly, I'm sure Connie wouldn't have a clue about the server, passwords, or anything else related to this stuff. The server payment is automated through PayPal, so as long as money was coming in from the site into that PayPal account, it will keep running. But when the domain name expires? Well, that would certainly kill it. I guess I could register the domain name for 10 years, which would make things pretty much self sufficient, somewhat. But honestly, when I'm dead and gone, I will have other things to occupy my time. Like tracking down that Murphy's Law guy and thoroughly KICKING HIS BUTT.....

Originally Posted by Rich Z

But honestly, when I'm dead and gone, I will have other things to occupy my time. Like tracking down that Murphy's Law guy and thoroughly KICKING HIS BUTT.....

YEAH YOU RIGHT !!!!
Get some in for me Rich.....

Walter,
BOUT' CORNS !!

Originally Posted by Rich Z

Thanks for the input, but I think some of you don't realize the entire situation. Connie and I are getting older and the workload we have been maintaining just is not possible to continue. Earlier this spring I was laid up in the hospital for only a couple of days and it dumped ALL the workload onto Connie, which she was fortunately able to do because of the lucky (comparatively) timing. At either breeding season, or right now with babies hatching out that need to be sexed and labeled, she would have been completely over her head. And there is absolutely no one I could call on who could possibly handle those sorts of details. So basically, with bad timing, such a thing as an extended hospital layover could put us down for the count. And not just ME going to the hospital. Connie does so much around here that if she were laid up, it would be just as bad as my being laid up. I honestly could not do everything that we BOTH do around here to keep things running.

I would be extremely foolish to continue thinking that this just cannot happen. So it's either cut down the work load in any way possible, or get taken out of this completely by something that forcefully takes me out of it. This is one method I have chosen to cut back the work load. Some will like it, and others won't. Sorry, but there really is little choice in the matter. Please trust me when I say that unless you are in my shoes, you probably can't comprehend the total situation. I seriously doubt anyone who is 30 years old can grasp the changes in life when you start getting past the half century mark. I really like working as much as I do with the corn snakes, but not enough to watch it kill myself and/or my wife in the process.

As for hiring people, well one of these days I will write a book on the trials and tribulations of just trying to hire people to take care of the adult corms. Hiring someone to do "detail" work to handle aspects of the business that I have to handle is not something I am likely to entertain. I have already had workers come REAL close to closing down the business by the mistakes they have made. The idea of hiring someone to handle that sort of thing as a book keeper for the details around here is laughable in a very sad way.

Sorry guys, it's just not possible for Connie and myself to kid ourselves that we can continue the workload we have been under for what seems like forever. So this is a necessary step in a transition that is inevitable.

Seriously, you all really didn't think I would live forever, did you?

Besides, it's only about hets. Just about everything going out of here for the last couple of decades whether labeled as such or not were quite likely het for something anyway. I'm just making it official policy now that I'm just not concerned with them. If I lose some sales because of it, then that will certainly have the slack taken up by the wholesale orders. Honestly, I get dealers ALL of the time wanting to take the het stuff if I will lower the price to the visual only. And they don't mind if I take off the labels to identify the hets. Which quite likely means I will be able to sell out early and maybe have a few months with some REAL down time. Seriously, I have gotten to the point where selling something right away for $20 is MUCH better than keeping it around for 9 months and selling it for $60. Both Connie and I are just tired of working nearly every day on the calendar. We haven't had a vacation for more than 3 days since the mid '80s.

It's just time I started taking steps for us to live a little (while we still can) rather than work all the darn time.

Darn, I really should have put this time into my price list.... But I felt I needed to explain some things further. Certainly rambled more than I had intended though.... See what I mean about this old age stuff?

Rich I can relate to what you're going through. There are days that I'm just ready to sell everything off. I know that I really don't plan on doing this into my retirement. I just want to get out & enjoy the rest of what's left, before I have to sign up for " The Bucket List".
Not disclosing hets should help lighten the workload.

Although I understand (as much as I can, as I will never have such a workload), I must admit I am a little sad! I became a member on this site in 2002 when I saw the most beautiful snake ever, a Butter Stripe (the creamiest butter color with a slightly darker/richer color for borders-ahhhh)! Anyways, out of the dream clouds, at the time, I think they were going for like 2 grand? Im not sure and its like 4:30am and I am not going to even try looking. Even the common everyday morphs with the hets to make a butter stripe were unaffordable to me (then)!

To the point. I have bought corns since 2006 I think (most were impulse), figuring the price would go down where I could get a pair of Butter Stripes or a male butter stripe w/ a homo/het matching female. With all things considered in my collection, I actually had plans to buy a couple double homo w/ one het (to increase my odds) pair or trio THIS year and then this!!!! I shouldnt have waited, what the heck was I thinking other then the newer morphs were more important then the older ones and it would always be there (goes to show you, DONT WAIT on something you REALLY like). Oh well....

I hope things work the way you and Connie plan and get that LONG needed vacation Take care, Rich

ps. If you do change your mind, or have any of these still avail w/ labels please let me know! I wont wait and unfortunately I will never make a Daytona show

1.) Amel Stripe het Caramel maybe even blood or another NON masking gene
*I am PICKY about the stripes though. I like Bold, Full Body, no cubing, missing portions etc!*

2.) Caramel Stripe het Amel (same 'conditions' as above)

3.) Butter het Stripe (from parents with beautiful color and striping)

Originally Posted by LindsayMarie

Although I understand (as much as I can, as I will never have such a workload), I must admit I am a little sad! I became a member on this site in 2002 when I saw the most beautiful snake ever, a Butter Stripe (the creamiest butter color with a slightly darker/richer color for borders-ahhhh)! Anyways, out of the dream clouds, at the time, I think they were going for like 2 grand? Im not sure and its like 4:30am and I am not going to even try looking. Even the common everyday morphs with the hets to make a butter stripe were unaffordable to me (then)!

To the point. I have bought corns since 2006 I think (most were impulse), figuring the price would go down where I could get a pair of Butter Stripes or a male butter stripe w/ a homo/het matching female. With all things considered in my collection, I actually had plans to buy a couple double homo w/ one het (to increase my odds) pair or trio THIS year and then this!!!! I shouldnt have waited, what the heck was I thinking other then the newer morphs were more important then the older ones and it would always be there (goes to show you, DONT WAIT on something you REALLY like). Oh well....

I hope things work the way you and Connie plan and get that LONG needed vacation Take care, Rich

ps. If you do change your mind, or have any of these still avail w/ labels please let me know! I wont wait and unfortunately I will never make a Daytona show

1.) Amel Stripe het Caramel maybe even blood or another NON masking gene
*I am PICKY about the stripes though. I like Bold, Full Body, no cubing, missing portions etc!*

2.) Caramel Stripe het Amel (same 'conditions' as above)

3.) Butter het Stripe (from parents with beautiful color and striping)

Just so happens that I do have a few pairs of Butters het Stripe labeled. Do you want a pair?

In the past I have bred snakes with the same hets together to be disappointed at what did not show up so can see some of where you are coming from.
Also recording all the hets must be a nightmare.
Sometimes it is nice to be surprised by snakes that turn up in clutches expressing unknown hets. I have a pair of your opals that have proved out to carry anery, hypo, caramel, motley and charcoal !
Must admit I'd still like the chance of some higher end hets, but as you say there will be other people still supply those.
All the best with your new plans and I hope you and Connie get a proper holiday.
Stephen.

I've been lurking on this thread and finally decided to post. I'm a new hobbyist looking toward the longer term, and hets are definitely a consideration for me. BUT I certainly can respect the difficulty inherent in keeping track of the almost innumerable hets in thousands of hatchlings for multiple generations. Life is short, and we never know how much of it is left. If not listing hets makes yours simpler and better - and I don't see how it can help but help - then do what you need to do. I don't know how many homo caramel bloods or lav bloods I can afford, but that's not the issue. Thanks from a newcomer for your many contributions to this industry which I'm rapidly coming to love, and best of luck to you and Connie.