Why don't I do this for a living?

Last night, I spent some time with some family from out of town.

One of my cousins asked me a question.

He said "Heather, you seem really into the snakes.. Why don't you do this full time?"

Well....

Let me outline what I do.

I am a Chemist by trade, I work in a laboratory. I make chemical compounds. I work a full 40 hours a week, and then I come home and work another 238741078 on snakes.

Why do I do that?

Lets begin by saying, as much as I love the snakes, the constancy of snake breeding and marketing is difficult to grasp.

What do you mean, Heather?

Well, baby season is upon us, and I have many babies to sell.. But what happens when I sell out? Nothing left to sell for the rest of the year, which tends to happen around December (depending on the amount of babies hatched out that year). So hatching begins in July until December. What about those other months of the year? I am feeding, housing, cleaning, and health checking all of my animals, which tends to get expensive over the course of the year.

So for what it is worth, a sum of cash to last thruout the year is not enough for me to be comfortable with. I prefer consistancy.

Granted, there are pluses to only breeding snakes, ie. having a lot more free time and not so much stress, but then again, if you can't sell that one snake to buy food for a week, that's when you know you aren't where you should be, which is why I have never done so.

Snakes are a fantastic stress reliever, but also a source of stress. Its an odd conundrum of sorts, as doing shows, shipping animals, and dealing with customers isn't particularly a snake issue, but comes with the territory. THAT, my friends, is what is more difficult. This is not to say that my customers are not the most amazing people in the world, but as we all know, people in general can be a pain in the ass.

So, basically, I don't want to do this for a living. It would be cool, but I think I am good where I am at. I don't have a facility persay (a huge warehouse with tons of racks). I have a room in my home, where I go in and dissapear for hours on end. I would love to be able to expand a bit more, but for me and what I do, without any additional help, I am at the cusp of maximum capacity. I have over 200 snakes, and that alone takes a lot of work to keep up.

I wake up, go to work, come home, clean some snakes, make some phone calls, answer some e-mails, take some pictures, clean more snakes, ship a package, make dinner, answer some e-mails, do the blog, and go to bed.

That is my day to day. Feeding days are more complicated, of course, but there you go.

So I hope that helps you all out there understand what I do, and maybe help yourselves in what you plan to do or are doing already.

You CAN make it a full time thing, there is no doubt about it. If that is your dream, dream big and make it happen!

Have a great day, my friends.

Freaking out

This seems to be the time of year when most people stop and think, OH CRAP! I'm not sure what I'm doing, even though I have been pairing snakes for the past four months!

Even when you have some experience under your belt, there are things that happen, things you are not prepared for. And even when you think all is good, something else comes up, because you want things to work out!

Well, this is to be expected and anticipated, and I hope I can guide you thru the anxiety.

Freaking out about this is normal. Most people, non-snake, would think it weird that you worry about your snake breathing bubbles or getting too cold or not eating a rat. How often do you get to talk to people about that and know that they genuinely care about what you are saying?

Not often. Mostly at Reptile shows or meetings or conventions, and the occasional internet forum.

So, you delve deep, look around, find as much as you can in terms of the answer you seek.

And there are fifteen different answers.

I know this because that seems to be the common complaint when I take calls about things regarding people's animals.

"I looked around for an answer, and everyone was saying different things!"

Yep....

Welcome to the world of the internet and too much information.

And with all the knowledge brimming in your head, it seems to much to bear!!!

Yep....

Welcome to the world of too many people thinking they are experts.

So, lets go over a conversation I had with a friend recently over the phone.


-Yes, females ovulate and you can palpate them pre and post ovulation.

-Yes, you can squeeze them and it won't hurt the eggs. Just don't TRY and hurt her, and you SHOULD be fine. I say should cause I know some of you out there turn into the Hulk and destroy things...

-Yes, cooling your creatures is fine, but keep a closer eye out for respiratory issues and illnesses due to the change in husbandry temps.

-Yes, please do keep your Veterinarian in mind when things happen... You can't solve everything yourself. And even if the Vet is involved doesn't mean that things will be good again.

-Yes, plans do change, animals don't eat, males don't breed. WOOOSAH.

-Yes, I do run my incubator for months on end before my eggs are laid, JUST IN CASE...

-Yes, freaking out is totally normal, and yes, feel free to call me or e-mail me if you have any questions.


Now I want to say that I am not doing this list to offend anyone, but more for the general populace to see that they are not alone in freaking out a bit over their first, second or however many you have been doing season.

It is refreshing to know, in my opinion, that you are not the only one with the same concerns and problems.

Now the kicker is, this is just the first part. It gets worse when the eggs are actually HERE.

But we will cross that bridge when we get to it. 


Have a fantastic day, my friends.

Well, I have this... What should I do?

My friend Chad e-mailed me the other day and asked me about what he should get to fill out his collection of breeders.

He had cool things, including a Pied project, but he wanted a few more females.

His question to me was "What should I do?" (with more words than that, but I am summarizing).

Well... I told him to get some Pastel females, some het pied females, but mostly I told him:

You should do what you love.

Always.

That is a great mantra to have across the board in life...

Do what you love!

But in terms of snake breedings, work with the projects you love. Work with the animals that make you happy. Play with the colors that are your favorite.

Me?

Well, I heart Pieds. And I heart Axanthics, and I heart Crystals and I heart many other projects. There are some projects I heart less than others, but I heart them enough to play with them.

Yes, I have a lot of heart.

HAH!

Anyway, I really do suggest starting out, if you are a newbie, with something the INSPIRES you.

Take my friend Jackie. She got a Pewter cause she wanted to make Super Pewters. Well, there you go, my friends! She is on her way, with bells on! She didn't get an Albino cause she wanted to make Super Pewters... She had her eye on the prize.

So with all that I am saying, just keep your eye out for the one morph that makes you excited to work with Ball Pythons. And if you need more inspiration, keep an eye out for what hatches out around the world. There is some CRAZY stuff popping out of eggs every year, and I have to say, I'm excited to see it.

Every year is something new, something different, something worth striving for. Reach for the stars, and hatch yourself out the next big thing!

(And while your at it, get a few other things to tide you over.. that's what I did)

WOOOOO!

Have a fantastic day, my friends.