I was going to breed my corns next yr, but now i am having to think twice about it.

Have been trying to sell me leos and have realised there are very few people from the west midlands around here, and i worry i would not be able to find them all homes.

What reaserch in the selling did you guys do, before starting breeding?

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Ask around at local shops - do they sell alot of corns etc? Would they be willing to buy all off you for a good price? Generally just scouting around and working out costs etc - i.e food for a month or so based on an average clutch, housing all the hatchlings, heating and incubator running costs, possible vet bills for the female. Then after you've given it all serious thought, think again cause it will never be that easy, lol.

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bouncy bouncy, shoes all in a line, bouncy bouncy, having such a good time.......

Firstly, I make sure there's a few interested parties before I breed, then keep them posted on developments. Once the hatchlings are out I pick my holdbacks (If any) and advertise private sales. I usually also have a shop or two lined up incase I can't shift them.

The most important factor however is that I make sure I always have room for the hatchlings if they don't sell what so ever.

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Welcome to the reality of being a breeder you will never find enough local customer unless you only breed very small numbers, you have to be willing to travel, sell at shows, sel to shops etc etc.

As an example say you breed amel corn snakes and hatch 40 (a couple of decent clutches, i'm making numbers up to make it easier.

Advertise at £30 each you'd sell a few, a few more at £25/£20 the rest you'd ahve to taske to shows, hold on to until a customer appears or take them to petshops where you'll get offers from £7/8 each upwards either in money or shop credit (some will only do shop credit, or at least tell you they will, unless you're breeding somethign spectacular they won't be *that* bothered if they don't get any. they can always order them.

you have to be prepared to hold onto things for ever until you get the right money for them or let them go cheap.

Mason

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my local pet shop said they would have all babys for 10 quid each lol.

But im hoping to find someone with an opal stripe to breed my het opal stripe with, see if we can get any.

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That'd be good but that brings another thing to consider...

If you breed anything a bit more "top end" then yes your hatchlings are worth more.

this also means there are more people wanting them but less people who actually have the necessary spare cash, it also prices your average rep shop out of buying them unless you let them go really cheap. Most rep shops cannot afford to have much money tied up in corn hatchlings that they may be stuck with, cheap amels/normals/snows etc will always sell so they will always buy them. So you'd be faced with probably selling less to pet shops.

Mason

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i doubt id get all opal stripes if any, she is anery het opal stripe, and who ever had the male would want half the money or babies etc....if i can find a opal stripe.

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When I started breeding corns I had two shops lined up to buy the hatchlings. I was more interested in seeoing how hard it was to get them to breed and hatch the eggs then making loads of cash.

This year about half of mine will be going to 5 shops and the rest I will sell private.

Depending on what morph they are drives the price. I have never sold to a shop for less then £12.50 a hatchling and they were normals. It really depends on how many other people in your area breed and sell to reptile shops.
The shops that have bought of me a couple of years now buy more because they know me and know and my stock

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I tend not to panic about selling them , i only breed 1 or 2 females per year and if they dont sell july/august just grow them on and out of season you will sell them no problem and get a fair price

Very good point though, and pleased that punky has aired it !

Breeding is not just about puting a male and female together, sitting back and hey ho, in comes the cash, we are dealing with just this situation right now, where we have been landed with 30+ eggs from corns, where the owner just wouldnt listen to us and now dont have the time or the will to lookafter so many babies.

If you do go ahead, I wish you luck, and as someone who thinks about these things, your sure to do well !

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