# the best reptile to bred for £'ssss



## beardys (Sep 28, 2009)

just thought this would be the perfect place to ask. thinking of breading a reptile for profit buisiness purposes. just wanting to what people think with the experience of 
whats popular on the market
prices of selling babies
is there a market for them
would it be worth it
if i do enter into my next venture it would be done properly as i have the time money and dedication to do so.
:2thumb:thanks:2thumb:

at the moment i'm thinking silk back bearded dragons and also figian iguanns


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## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

I doubt it would be realistic with any lizard...maybe have a look at snake if you want to make some money, some of those really expensive royal morphs, but I imagine in these financial times it would be too risky, prices falling everywhere as demand drops.


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## beardys (Sep 28, 2009)

joeyboy said:


> I doubt it would be realistic with any lizard...maybe have a look at snake if you want to make some money, some of those really expensive royal morphs, but I imagine in these financial times it would be too risky, prices falling everywhere as demand drops.


yes thanks i was thinking along the lines of piebalds


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2010)

You are unlikely to make a profit from breeding lizards (unless you breed a morph which nobody else has and sell it for big £'s). The big money is in snake morphs : victory:


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

beardys said:


> just thought this would be the perfect place to ask. thinking of breading a reptile for profit buisiness purposes.


Ha

Hahaha

HahahaHAhahahaha.

Right, now that I've got that out of my system....



> whats popular on the market
> prices of selling babies
> is there a market for them
> would it be worth it


Unless you're building a reptile battery farm, investing huge amounts in the very latest thing that *nobody *else has.... you won't be making much of a profit, and the words "making less of a loss" are more likely.



> if i do enter into my next venture it would be done properly as i have the time money and dedication to do so.


You've got tens to hundreds of _thousands _of pounds to invest in a huge-scale reptile farming operation? I can certainly think of *better* ways to make a profit with the same amount of money, and those better ways don't need vet care, enclosures or feeding.



> i'm thinking silk back bearded dragons and also figian iguanns


Silkbacks won't make you a fortune - one, it's pretty easy to make them, and two, they're controversial. Oh, and three: They'll eat you out of house and home. They're still beardies.

Fijians.... 
Interesting idea, but you'd have to breed enough to bring 'em down to PET animal prices to make much in the way of profit....


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## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

The trouble with reptile morphs - especially those of a prolific species - is that the price comes down *fast*.


Case in point: last year Silkbacks were priced in the thousands - I seem to remember some with $3000-4000+ price tags on them, and they were selling at that price (a pretty key point - you can ask whatever you want for a reptile - and looking through the classifieds a lot of people do - but the only way you're going to get that money back is if someone's willing to pay what you're asking). 

I've seen silkbacks this year for £200 each (check the classified section at the moment for prices). Next year there'll be low-end baby silkies selling for under £100 each - guaranteed!

Leathers were at several hundred pounds each last year and at the start of this year; now you can pick up normal-coloured leatherback babies for £60.

The silkback/leatherback gene in particular is one which was always destined to crash in price as it's co-dominant; co-doms tend to crash faster than recessives, simply because the hets are visual, so it's much easier to plan a breeding programme for them.


Fijians? Possibly, but they're not exactly prolific breeders like some lizards are and by all accounts can be pretty tricky to breed. There's no guarantee you'd even be able to get offspring from them, but you'd still have to be housing and feeding them (not to mention buying them in the first place). As with everything, as more and more people breed them, the price will come down. You may find that next year the amount you'll get for a clutch of babies is the same as you'd pay for an adult pair this year - not exactly a "get-rich-quick" plan!!


The reptiles which hold their value are the ones which are harder to breed (and as such more of a gamble), and less prolific (so that gamble has a smaller payout anyway). Reptiles which are easy to breed, or which are prolific breeders (or both!) tend to rapidly come down in price simply because you're average Joe from the street can also breed them, so lots of babies are produced to meet the demand.


As Ssthisto said, there are far better ways to make money than reptile breeding (possibly aside from "farming" of vast numbers of petshop-quality reptiles). If you want to keep reptiles, do it for the enjoyment of keeping them, not for the profit you expect to make!


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## chandelierman (Apr 13, 2010)

beardys said:


> just thought this would be the perfect place to ask. thinking of breading a reptile for profit buisiness purposes. just wanting to what people think with the experience of
> whats popular on the market
> prices of selling babies
> is there a market for them
> ...


 
There is someone on here that sells baby spencers monitors for £4000 :whistling2:


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

I think if you're only wanting to breed to make money then you shouldn't be breeding! 

You should do it because you have a genuine love and interest in the animals you are breeding and the genetics behind them.
Not because you want to make a quick buck.


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## sambridge15 (Nov 22, 2009)

short of selectivly purchasing several animals with unique features and creating a new designer morph then holding back females to prevent further breeding you will struggle plus I agree don't breed for money


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## GlasgowGecko (Feb 23, 2008)

maddragon29 said:


> I think if you're only wanting to breed to make money then you shouldn't be breeding!
> 
> You should do it because you have a genuine love and interest in the animals you are breeding and the genetics behind them.
> Not because you want to make a quick buck.


Its an interesting point, and while I don't disagree with the sentiment there are many different, equally valid reasons for breeding. Just because someone intends to breed for profit (and I strongly question if this is possible in the UK) doesn't mean they won't take adequate care of their animals.

To the OP, as has been said, you would need to find something pretty rare (and pay a lot for it likely, and even then, you'll be lucky to make the inital outlay back with the first clutch... if you can get them to breed...

Andy


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## daveplymouth (May 26, 2009)

Would cost you a lot to get the amount and quality you need to make a profit, theres better ways to make a profit if thats the only reason you are gonna do it.Got a much better chance of doubling ya money on a roulette table tbh. Most of us on here breed becasue we enjoy it first and foremost and if we make a few bob every now and then, then great!


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## beardys (Sep 28, 2009)

maddragon29 said:


> I think if you're only wanting to breed to make money then you shouldn't be breeding!
> 
> You should do it because you have a genuine love and interest in the animals you are breeding and the genetics behind them.
> Not because you want to make a quick buck.


:blah::blah::blah:

new there would be comments like that a guessed you would be behind a least one.i did reply a page long explaining but network crashed and cant be bothered too again.

the jist was all i take great care with all my animals a reps and probably maintain there health, enclosures everything better than alot of people. if youy dont beleave me then your very welcome to come and visit, and i can promise you wouldnt disagree
if i were to be rated on this i would probably be in the top ten.

if i was to bread then those animals wouldnt get any less love or attention than my non-breading animals.to be honest they would probably get more based on the fact you would want and feel you had to keep more of an eye on them.

all you do is bring out the negatives in peoples threads and are very critickle in every-bodys threads. why dont you start your own thread and see what other people think. the title should be what do you think of me.


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## Evilmoo (Sep 22, 2010)

beardys said:


> :blah::blah::blah:
> all you do is bring out the negatives in peoples threads and are very critickle in every-bodys threads. why dont you start your own thread and see what other people think. the title should be what do you think of me.






:bash: Fighhhttttt!!! :gasp::whip:


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## mjp1pink (May 3, 2008)

*Re The Next Big Thing*

Hi

If you want my opinion you should only breed animals for the love of breeding animals. The time, effort and money that you will have to invest in caring for both the breeders and the babies will very quickly wear thin if all you are in it for is the cash.

Turning a "REAL" profit is incredibly difficult on a small scale if you properly account for all of your costs. It is very easy to see £££££'s when people advertise animals for sale for hundreds and even thousands of pounds. What you don't see is the fact that they probably paid 4 or 5 times that amount for their breeder animals and then the costs of feeding and raising them for several years before they had anything to sell.

Then there is the trips to the vets which you will inevitably have. I've had two geckos at the vets this year and my wallet is £280 lighter.

It's a fact that prices for animals will always fall year on year as more become available through captive breeding. Before you invest for profit you really need to account for the annual devaluation of the animals that you are looking to buy. There are very few business models where your customers very quickly become your competitors.

The best bet is to do it for your own enjoyment, forget the cash and make sure that you take the best possible care of the animals that you have got

Regards

Mark


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## 12843 (Nov 16, 2007)

maddragon29 said:


> i think if you're only wanting to breed to make money then you shouldn't be breeding!
> 
> You should do it because you have a genuine love and interest in the animals you are breeding and the genetics behind them.
> Not because you want to make a quick buck.


*2nd that!*


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## xvickyx (Jul 21, 2009)

GlasgowGecko said:


> Its an interesting point, and while I don't disagree with the sentiment there are many different, equally valid reasons for breeding. Just because someone intends to breed for profit (and I strongly question if this is possible in the UK) doesn't mean they won't take adequate care of their animals.
> 
> To the OP, as has been said, you would need to find something pretty rare (and pay a lot for it likely, and even then, you'll be lucky to make the inital outlay back with the first clutch... if you can get them to breed...
> 
> Andy


Agree with this ^^^ :notworthy:


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## _Ben_ (Feb 27, 2010)

As had been said, breed an animal for the love of breeding, and animals which sell for alot are either not in high demand or very difficult to breed.

I have no doubt your care would be good, but if you looked at the long term breeding plans, assuming that with every season the prices will go down as what ever your breeding becomes more popular. In the long run you could hope to break even if your lucky.

And as to what to pick, the "in demand" animal changes from year to year, so you could invest in some very pricey stock and then find out next year loads of people are breeding and the price has crashed.

If I were to pick a lizard to breed to bring in the £££'s I would consider a leachie, as nice specimens are not so over priced that they rule out alot of buyer, but not too cheap that it isnt worth it. They dont seem massivly difficult to breed apart from the extra aggression. But in my opinion if I were to breed any lizard I would want to get a single one and keep it for awhile to make sure I could care for it, and learn as much as possible before taking it onto the next level. (the leachie suggestion was just off the top of my head, I havent looked into it in great depth).

If you were ready to invest big bucks then you could pester the new zealand goverment to allow you to export some of these guys Naultinus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

Evilmoo said:


> :bash: Fighhhttttt!!! :gasp::whip:


I wont fight with someone who cant spell BREED right, even though thats what they want to do.... :whistling2:

Oh and to the OP, people are welcome to say what they think of me, to me. And believe me many people do. I take it all into consideration. And if i dont like it... well if only this was the internet and i could not care.... oh wait


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

beardys said:


> :blah::blah::blah:
> 
> new there would be comments like that a guessed you would be behind a least one.i did reply a page long explaining but network crashed and cant be bothered too again.
> 
> ...


Chill mate I'm sorry but maddragon was correct in my opinion. You'll struggle to make profit and if your looking at £ signs then you'll be severely dissapointed. I've invested a lot of money in a breeding programmr of my own I may never break even and I haven't even started breedinh yet. Why do I do it? Not for the cash but to stop wc in that particular species


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## Big Red One (Oct 17, 2007)

Really wasn't going to post on this thread but hey............

I would suggest that you breed only the animals that you have the time/setups for and appropriate knowledge of, then do it so that you are happy everything is covered off.
Personally - I don't think anyone should realistically think 'I can breed these for x amount of profit' until they have kept them as a pet/hobbyist first.
As other guys have said, there are numerous issues to consider, least of all your available time/space,vet bills, timescales for any project, tax implications, PSL issues etc etc.

I am not trying to 'have a go' or put you off, but I think, like most things that if we could make money from keeping reps as well as indulge our passions then most of us would already be doing it ! 

Hope that helps......


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## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

Closed by request of thread starter.


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