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Overwhelmed...I need opinions Please!

DragonBoy

DragonBoy

Crazy Cornsnake Breeder
I am not sure why but since the events of the summer took place I just have not been able to keep up with my web site and email and list serves and etc.
Breeding season went good, show sales were good too. However it's like my drive is simply gone. I used to work 60+ hours a week at the hospital and have plenty of time for everything else. Since the lay off in late summer I work barely 40 hours a week in my sales job and don't seem to have the energy for anything else.
I have a show this weekend and I have decided to take all the ball pythons except my two pets (the albino and the woma) and anything normal. This will put a hurting on breeding season next year because the bulk of my mature females are visual normals het for this that and the other. That would leave me with a lot of Ghost's, butters and lavenders and motleys and a handful of stripes. I have a few anerys and a few amels as well.
It would leave me with Miami's, classic bloods, upper keys,butters, carmels, ambers, gold dust, cinnamon, hypos and ultras.
I think it would take me from 85 mature females to about 30 going this route.
There are no classic males in the place. Cleaned them out last fall. I have also eliminated the texas rats, the bulls, the gophers and the pueblos.
I would have cal kings, florida kings, nelson's, and hondurans for non corn species. All my hondurans are female which means I need to find an adult male or two.
I am sorry I am rambling...just need opinions please.
thanks
 
I read through your post twice and am unsure of the exact question being asked. Are you asking if your plan of downsizing is sound? Or are you looking for reassurance that selling off the bulk of your collection is the right thing to do? Both queries can be answered the same way. There is no right or wrong in this case only how YOU feel about it. Lots of people burn out. It's part of being human. There are members on this forum that have been in and out of the hobby many times. If downsizing helps you function better at this point in time then go for it.

Terri
 
I guess if you had the _desire_, you'd make the time. So it's probably better to cut back to whatever level you're comfortable with rather than trudging along until you can't stand it any more and sell everything.
 
My animals being brumated has been a relief for me. Most of last year and even feeding just the yearlings the past few months has felt some what an inconvience if not a chore. Maybe last years breedings being a complete bust contributed to my attitude or maybe like Terri said, just some burnout. So I've been careful not to make decisions when I feel that way.

I've got a couple projects going right now that I've finally realized I started not because I like them but more ego wanting to be the first to produce the target morph. So I decided to sell off everything except the projects I like. That decision alone has helped to renew my interest.

I'd suggest doing some soul searching. As Terri eluded to, we really can't answer questions that only you can answer. Good Luck!!
 
My husband has put a cap on the corn snake limit, so I must be very careful choosing the next morph since every snake counts. I know for sure I want a female strawberry het amel or anery, then a lavender male and another female possibly ultramel or a motley. Those are all of them besides the two I already have. I also want a king snake too.

It is difficult right now to do anything you actually enjoy. I'm trying to finish college, find a good job, and raise two kids. Snakes have become an escape for me. Sometimes you do need an escape plan from your escape. At least the snakes don't form a bond with you like mammals, so when they settle into a new home they wont pine.
 
Thank you all. I reread the original post and realized in my rambling I never actually asked the question which was "Does this make sense"! Thankfully everyone got the question from extrapolation.

I think Strange Cargo summed it up best...going back to the things that make me smile. Between grieving the loss of my father-in-law and the loss of a job I gave my heart and soul to for soooo long, as well as a recent death of another friend. It has been one hell of a year.

It is good to know that I am not the only one out there who has been here, nor will I be last. I have missed this list and now I know why. Life may change but ultimately life does continue.

Thanks again...Now back to packing for tomorrows show.
 
DragonBoy, it has been one hell of a year. I know what it is like to loose two people who are close to you, so close together. My wife lost her grandfather from one side of the family, and then her grandmother from the other side of the family, all within 3 months of each other. It has been rough, and I am really glad that I had not started breeding corns and kings yet, because things got really tough for us due to all of our traveling.
Things will get better though, and getting back to what makes you smile will help you get through this tough time.
I hope things work out for you.
 
It does sound like you have a an awful lot of snakes. I think I would certainly be overwhelmed and maybe burned out with that many of them on top of trying to raise a family, work a full-time job and run a reptile business. I don't have quite that many snakes, but I know am constantly having to sell off snakes I love just to keep things manageable. It's so easy to end up with a lot of them once you start breeding them. If you were to breed all of those big females this coming season, you could easily end up with over 1500 babies! And a large amount of them would be normals, like their moms. I know I couldn't handle having that many babies to care for. If I were in your place, I would definitely start selling off some of those big normal girls, starting with the ones that carry duplicate genes or genes for projects you are least interested in pursuing. Being so close to breeding season, I bet you you could sell them pretty easily here on the forum. Good luck!
 
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