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Thoughts on deciding NOT to breed....

I got into keeping snakes by buying my daughters a sub adult normal for christmas(I think 7 years ago). I have purchased 3 others since then and 2 never survived(same breeder, at the same show, won't use that person again). I have 2 now and will only add to my itty bitty collection if I'm able to find a black milk.
For me and my daughters breeding never came into the conversation. It was just having a love of the snakes that we got into them to begin with.
 
whippet said:
Lauren and I have come up with a list of snakes we can part with. They are listed for sale in the insider's forum. I think this will be a lot better for us and for the snakes.

It's the right thing to do... even if it is hard.
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Kudos to you guys. I went through this with fish. I'm glad to see you bringing your collection numbers down so it will be less like work and more fun for you both. :)
 
I dont have as many snakes as you two, but I know how you feel. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with my small collection. Not because they are hard to care for, but I have so many other things to do that by the time I get to them I am tired. I dont enjoy it as much as I suppose I should. For a while, I have been debating about selling one or two of my adults. I always buy hatchlings in pairs because I keep the one I like and sell the other. I have very small breeding plans. Only one pair next year, and no more than two a year. It was hard just with my one small clutch from this year, of which I still have 5 left!

I think kudos to you for making the right decision, because its the right one for you!
 
I have thought about this a lot and can relate to what a lot of people are saying. I currently own close to 50 snakes and consider them all to be my pets. Lately, it's been overwhelming taking care of them, but not for the reason of being un-enjoyable, because I enjoy it very much. I find it overwhelming because I have a, hopefully temporary, physical limitation that makes feeding and cleaning day extremely difficult.

I have a wonderfully supportive wife, who is willing to help any way she can. I just hate to add another chore to her already taxed schedule. She already takes care of our rather large rodent population, as well as the house, kids, etc. So I labor through these events on my own.

I'm also concerned about this up coming breeding season, because of the situation, I'm currently in. Will I still be dealing with my injury? Will I still have a physical limitation? Can I handle a number of baby snakes? Am I going to be able to obtain and set up everything?

It's a very difficult decision, that I have to make. I'm very optimistic about my current circumstance, but I still have to worry.

Thank you for creating a thread to help us vent! :cheers:

Wayne
 
The only real day that felt overwhelming to me was feeding day when I was feeding all 70+ at once (actually, right about 100 with the ones I was babysitting at the time). It was hell! But like Nanci did, I split my kids up into 3 groups. Fridays are anything that's not a colubrid. Saturday is hatchling to yearling colubrid day. Sunday is everyone else. When it's spread out over 3 days like that, it really is a nice break. I'm sure no one here will think any less of you for wanting to cut back. Most of us have felt like doing it at one time or another.
 
This is a great discussion!

Yes, hatchlings are exhausting. I find them far more time-consuming and worrying than my adults, but then I know all of my adults' habits and foibles. It's very rare that adults do anything that concerns me, when hatchlings - especially the picky feeders or outright refuseniks - cause me actual sleepless nights.

As far as adults go, I keep a diary and feed three or four snakes per night. That way I can organise feeding evenings to ensure that I do get some nights a week off from feeding duties.

I've been honest with myself - I am at capacity with adults and I simply can't take on any more. I have four breeding females and they're all I can cope with. I also need to remember that NOT breeding is an option. I'd certainly have no qualms about rehoming some or all of my adults if I felt it was necessary (and have done so with a couple in the past, during a period of illness).

I sell my hatchlings on in bulk to my local reptile shop, but I'm confident that they only sell to individuals and other organisations who are responsible and able to care for the snakes. The ultimate fate of the hatchlings does give me pause for thought. If I hatch only one clutch a year, that could be up to 20 snakes. It must be the case that - somewhere down the line - not all of them will end up with the "right" person. But I still do breed, because ultimately I believe that people should own Corn Snakes - they're beautiful and amazing creatures that are a privilege to have in a home.
 
I decided to collect corns for both breeding and as pets. Although I have enough breedable corns to produce about 8 - 9 clutches a year, I won't be breeding on that scale. I have a partner I am working with for the 2010 breeding season, and we are both of the belief that limiting ourselves to about 5 clutches will satisfy our goals. I look forward to participating in a couple of shows in the 2010 season and 5 clutches will not only provide the stock that would make this feasible, it also satisfies the desire to breed and produce quality corn snakes. I'm currently reducing my inventory of breedable snakes to those only with future breedings in mind.
2009 was my first breeding season, producing 5 clutches and I've really come to appreciate all the hard work that goes into caring for hatchling corns. I don't know how some of you do it who are breeding on a much larger scale, as I found feeding day for the hatchlings to be a monumental task. I quickly developed a system that made the work easier, but still, I can't imagine feeding 10 - 20 clutches of hatchlings.
So much thought has to be put into how many and what animals to breed, as you have to look closely at what the market is looking for. This past year has certainly been frustrating for many of you as the economy has been hit hard, not to mention the fact that many hatchlings were offered for sale here on CS.com at a greatly reduced cost due to Rich's retirement. I'm sure many of you will be rethinking 2010's breeding plans after the way things went this year.
There is always the debate over whether breeding is for money or the love of the hobby. I think most who breed do it for both reasons. It isn't wrong for a person to consider the economic side of breeding, after all, it affords an opportunity to recoup some of the costs associated with breeding snakes and make it self sustainable. But think twice if money is your only reason for breeding snakes, as I think many would be disappointed if that is your main reason for producing corns. Pick your pairings wisely, using realistic numbers when considering who to pair together and only produce what you honestly feel you have the capability of selling.
 
I've tries a couple of times to give a good reply to your concerns, and every time, I realise that my advice is UK biased.....
We are smaller and better connected than you guys so an irrelevant point of view on my part...
What I will say though is specialize... Try cutting back to a handleable amount of snakes and keep them all the same... Try a project. Focusing can rekindle your passion and remove any doubts....
Roy Munson said:
And believe me, being over-burdened is a great remedy against sentimentality... ;)
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That's a really profound sentiment. You have to know your market limitations and have a plan 'B' for any overspills.

RobbiesCornField said:
The only real day that felt overwhelming to me was feeding day when I was feeding all 70+ at once (actually, right about 100 with the ones I was babysitting at the time). It was hell! But like Nanci did, I split my kids up into 3 groups. Fridays are anything that's not a colubrid. Saturday is hatchling to yearling colubrid day. Sunday is everyone else. When it's spread out over 3 days like that, it really is a nice break. I'm sure no one here will think any less of you for wanting to cut back. Most of us have felt like doing it at one time or another.
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Thats the only way to feed a multitude of snakes, especially if you have lots of hatchlings..
We (Joel and myself) live in the snake room, we surf and feed and water and discuss and chase people up and are either on the forums or snaking it.... None stop... We have no other life outside of this.... Well except for when I go to work....LOL
Sad I know, but we know loads of snakie people....which is handy when your selling..
 
snakewispera snr said:
I'
We (Joel and myself) live in the snake room, we surf and feed and water and discuss and chase people up and are either on the forums or snaking it.... None stop... We have no other life outside of this.... Well except for when I go to work....LOL
Sad I know, but we know loads of snakie people....which is handy when your selling..
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As long as you're HAPPY, that's not a sad situation at all. Life contains enough unavoidable hardship & stress, snakes should not add overwhelmingly to the stress. If surfing & feeding & watering & discussing are working for you, it's all good!

Me, I figure 20-ish hatchlings will be my limit. But I work 60+ hrs a week at my income-producing job so it is what it is and that's fine. I look forward to the limited amount of craziness I expect (Goddess help me if I end up with a really huge clutch!)
 
While this is hard for me, I think it is for the best. We are talking about making the basement into a den-- adding a TV and couch-- so that we will be down there when we're not working directly with the snakes. More time with them will be better, for sure. We are going to get rid of the cages and move all of our remaining snakes into racks, decorated Nanci style, which will help with speeding up the feeding and watering. It will also save on space. :) We will be putting more effort into the snakes we have and their vivs and less into making a big collection. I am glad we made this choice.
 
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I would like to, at some point waaaaay in the future, get a pair very young and raise them to breed...but probably only one or two clutches. I'd immagine i'd keep a couple from that clutch....but i'm never going to breed with the idea of making any money. Also, i'm never going to breed more than i'd be comfortable being stuck with for an extended peroid of time. I want to do it for the experiance of having raised happy healthy snakes and seeing them produce more happy healthy snakes.... in the area i live, its not practical to ever really think that there would be money in it (besides all the comments i've heard about it being hard to make much money breeding corns).
When i was keeping large numbers of fish it became a chore that i hated (all the cleaning, feeding, lugging water, being wet...:nope:) but thankfully my father convinced me to downsize instead of getting rid of all the tanks. Now i have two tanks of fish i really enjoy. (mainly dwarf south american cichlids)
I never want to get to that point with any hobby again...it was a good lesson to learn.
 
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