• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

profit

henry2009

henry2009

New member
Im just curious is there any profit in breeding corn's. I love corns the kids love them. I would love to breed them even if its for a little profit, but also i do not want to be in the hole to do it.
 
im sorry maybe you misunderstood me. I want to breed them because i think it would be a good experience for me and my kids. I love dealing with the snakes. Money is somewhat tight with the economy. I dont want to breed them if im going to have to put to much money into it. Just wanted to know if you can make a little money from doing it so i can experiment with the morphs and not get into to much dept doing it.
 
I completely hear you henry. Ive been wondering the same thing but just never have asked. I love corns a lot as well (have 3 soon to be 4) and have wondered if there is any profit. I would love to breed as well but not if a lot is going to be coming out of my pocket and not seeing profit or my money coming back.

I cant answer your question but would benefit by others comments as well.
 
I doubt that you will be able to correctly provide for the snakes and make a profit while doing it unless those are some NICE babies. You'll get around 10-15 a piece for average snakes based on what I'm seeing them go for on the internet and around here. Then you have to pay for the parents housing, heating, decor, food, incubator, bedding (which is $21 per 8 oz bag around here), keep some money stashed for possible vet bills, the list goes on and on.

There are many more things you can do with your current corns with your children. Maybe redecorate one of the habitats to make it look more natural. There are lots of lessons children can learn about the snake just from small activities like that.
 
Unless you are breeding your own food, buying bedding in bulk and maintaining a large colony (if you have to have permits in your area) you will most likely never turn a profit.
 
I wasn't trying to be rude earlier. I just thought that you where interested in the money that can be made. Trust me, there isn't a lot of money to be made in the pet breeding industry, unless you plan on collecting a lot of different types of specimens.

Then you are talking about a sizable investment just in snakes. That doesn't include vivs, rack systems, dishes, substrate, food, incubators, advertising, shipping or possible veterinary care. Also, can you guarantee a home for every little hatchling?

I would seriously sit back and think about the health and welfare of the animals, plus about how much time and effort is needed before jumping into this.

Good luck with your decision.
 
As someone still selling the last of my first clutch of low-end corns I can say you aren't going to turn much of a profit, if any. Remember that not only do you have to house all the extra babies individually, you also have to feed them every week until they are sold.

Since my clutch hatched Aug 29, 08 I have sold 11 out of 18. I've been feeding all these guys a pinkie a week and some of them are starting fuzzies now. Most of the babies ate at least 8 times before being sold. I'm keeping 2 but that till leaves 5 to sell. Even buying in bulk from TMF this is still not exactly cheap to do.

ALSO, it may be pretty hard to sell any locally as most pet stores that deal with herps probably already have suppliers that they pay $5 per snake. Selling on the 'net sounds easy but you have to jump thru a lot of hoops to get FedEx certified to ship them. Then you need to buy specialized shipping supplies, again not cheap.

So, if you want to breed them for the learning experience feel free, but don't expect to make any money, unless as mentioned, you breed some rarer snakes. :D I'm having fun doing this as a hobbiest and my wife puts up with it, but I'm sure not ever gonna get rich off it! :D

Hope this helps!
 
Thanks for the reply's i think i might breed once see how it goes. I own my own house so room is not a problem. If it runs to high then that will be the last time i do it. I just think its real cool to mate them to get the different color morphs.
 
I started breeding last year. Found a pet store that wanted to buy locally. I only had 7 babies but sold all of them for $20 a piece. They were all normals. I have a found a second store that wants to buy now. They both say they would rather buy locally and save shipping.
 
Well, before you breed determine your local market. Go to your local pet stores and see if they buy the morph of corns you'd produce, and for how much. If you have local shows in your area, vending at a table is a possibility just keep in mind that if you've only got one pair of corns the show may cost more than you sell. You could ask vendors there if they buy corns, too.

If you're sure you have destinations for all babies, then it's possible that breeding corns can be "profitable", that is, if you already have the pair as pets producing babies might net more money than not (unlikely they will do more than put a dent in how much the snakes cost, overall, though).

The next step is to figure out how much pinkies will cost you. Do you buy local, or order? Will a special order of pinkies be more than you're likely to sell the babies for? You'll probably want to give at least 3 feedings before selling, as from what I know that's considered "established".

So that's my 2c. In most places there's still a demand for healthy corn snakes, and I consider babies from well-kept pets in an attentive home a good thing. But as to whether they'll make more money than they cost, depends on your local area!
 
Oh yeah, forgot about housing the babies :) That need not be very expensive - I keep mine in tupperware stacks. Still, it should be factored in to the overall costs of breeding.
 
I do not make a whole lot of money myself but have been lucky. Got a great deal on my snakes (thank you Susan), have had many great deals on tanks and supplies. The food price was expensive but just bought some mice to breed. I am not doing it for the money really; I do it because I enjoy reptiles and I have the time to get more in depth into it. People have their hobbies that are expensive, such coin collecting (I do that too), antiques (sometimes expensive) or upgrading a vehicle with engine, system, etc. This is mine and even though I do not get out of town like I used to, every time I am home I can relax with me reptiles. To me, it is like meditating. :)
 
psychoprimate84 said:
I do not make a whole lot of money myself but have been lucky. Got a great deal on my snakes (thank you Susan), have had many great deals on tanks and supplies. The food price was expensive but just bought some mice to breed. I am not doing it for the money really; I do it because I enjoy reptiles and I have the time to get more in depth into it. People have their hobbies that are expensive, such coin collecting (I do that too), antiques (sometimes expensive) or upgrading a vehicle with engine, system, etc. This is mine and even though I do not get out of town like I used to, every time I am home I can relax with me reptiles. To me, it is like meditating. :)
Click to expand...

You mean I'm not the ONLY person who finds cleaning snake-poo relaxing? :)
 
It is sad but true, unless you plan on a having a huge scale operation it is not too often that you make money in the short run. However, not necessarily with corn snakes because the market fluctuates almost as fast as the ball python market, some other species tend to hold their value a little better than corns. I have made a little profit off some of my boa projects, very little if any off ball pythons, and surprisingly a good amount off of my sand boas(only one year, lets see how this year goes). The economy is pretty crappy right now anyway, so I have a feeling this year and probably a few years to come are going to be rather "shaky" for those(unfortunately this includes me) who have put a good deal of money into projects in the last two years, where the animals will be breeding for the first time this year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top