What Supplies and Investments You'll Need to Breed Reptiles
Cream Harlequin crested gecko
Breeding Reptiles: What to Expect
Although I have had reptiles for years and have successfully bred them, I never really considered breeding for anything but my own enjoyment and pets. I either kept what I bred or gave the hatchlings to friends. I was responsible with my initial breedings, but I usually don't recommend it to others. Please realize that before my first mating pair, I had researched reptiles—the leopard gecko more extensively—for over two years at that point, with one year of hands-on experience.
Supplies and Expenses
Below, I share what I learned by breeding reptiles—what supplies I needed and what expenses I had.
- Good breeders
- Reptile racks
- Food, nutrition, and feeding supplies
- Feeder insects
- Other investments
1. Good Breeders
One may not think there are too many bills in regards to reptiles. They're not like dogs in the sense that they need yearly shots. They don't require expensive premium foods. They're simple, right?
Well, if you're going to be serious about it, even if it's a hobby, you at least have to have nice breeders. I decided that I was going to start off with leopard geckos and African fat tail geckos, and then move towards crested geckos, gargoyle geckos, and others. I already had one African fat tail and a few leopard geckos, but my leopard geckos were more pets, not breeding quality. I had to find a few nice reptiles to start off with.
Searching through the internet and speaking with a few of my reptile pals, I found a few good breeds that happened to have geckos that I was interested in.
How Much Do Good Breeders Cost?
I started with five unsexed crested geckos for $195 (including shipping), four African fat tails for $300 (including shipping), and four leopard geckos for $700 (including shipping from two different breeders).
2. Reptile Racks
Then it was time for a reptile rack for $300, which I ordered wrong, and I had to order Flexwatt heat tape and wiring equipment (another $50). I had to purchase a digital proportional thermostat for over $100 to make sure that the Flexwatt tape didn't overheat and catch the house on fire.
When drilling air holes, a few of the tubs cracked, so I had to purchase a few spare tubs for $2 each.
3. Food, Nutrition, and Feeding Supplies
You'll need calcium supplements, vitamins, and crested gecko meal replacement. You'll also need food and water bowls; I started off with Gatorade tops, but they needed to be refilled often and just didn't hold enough. I needed bigger bowls that would hold more water and keep mealworms from climbing out (see more about buying mealworms and crickets in bulk further below).
I actually think that supplies are probably one of the more troublesome expenses for any business. In terms of purchases for animals, it's a constant renewal of supplies so that you never are completely out; no bottle should ever be empty before a replacement is purchased.
Absolute Must-Have Supplies
Supplies for breeding reptiles that I must always have on hand include:
- Calcium supplement
- Vitamin/mineral supplement
- Liquid calcium (for gravid females)
- Crested gecko meal replacement diet
- Egg cartons
- Perlite (for incubation)
- Various sized plastic deli cups with lids (for shipping reptiles and incubation)
- Fragile-perishable shipping boxes with fitted insulation
(Ok, well, the egg cartons aren't a constant, everyday purchase, but I need them on hand for crested gecko and gargoyle gecko enclosures, as well as for feeder crickets and roaches.)
Important Supplies to Keep in Stock
Items that I like to have extras of but are not necessary or can be substituted temporarily include:
- Food and water bowls
- Fake plants
- Snake aspen
Other Supplies
Other supplies that I use:
- All-natural baby food
- Digital scale (keeping proper weights)
- Hovabator incubators (but I have plans to upgrade to a Nature's Spirit)
- Spray bottles
- Exo Terra Electrolize Drops
- Exo Terra Calcimize Drops
- Liquid Vitamin Electrolyte Spray
- Paper towels
4. Feeder Insects
And, the absolute worst part of the expenses comes in the form of nasty, creepy-crawly BUGS!
- Crickets
- Mealworms
- Discoid Roaches
- Phoenix Worms
- Waxworms (on occasion)
I am by no means a big-time reptile breeder, and I never plan to be such; I just have more reptiles than the regular reptile owner of one or two. I have to pay $50–$75 for 10,000 to 20,000 mealworms every few months.
5. Other Investments
Past the supplies, the investments are the most costly part of any business, whether they be a new invention, stock, bonds, or, in this case, reptiles.
Being that goReptiles is more of a hobby (an expensive one), I take the mindset of it as a business in terms of making the right investments and purchasing the right reptiles. I have to be smart and savvy—barter a little, try to get a lower price. I have to decide with a set income (very little at the moment) what I can afford to buy and what I can't.
New Reptiles and New Bloodlines
If I find a perfect addition to my collection, but the price is too much, then I have to pass; otherwise, I jump on it. Occasionally, I'm able to find gorgeous reptiles for a cheap price, or multiple reptiles for a great deal; those get purchased and shipped to my door. But, again, with a set income, I can't shop around all the time. It's the occasional purchase that works for my hobby.
I have to make sure to bring in new bloodlines and new reptiles to make the morphs better in terms of possible hatchlings. I have to make sure that my breeders are affordable to my pocket, but at the same time will lead me to a nicely priced hatchling to help pay for breeders, accessories, and feeder insects.
Website Costs
Luckily, in terms of the website for my business, my father hosts it on his server, and he pays the goDaddy domain charge.
Taking the Investments Seriously
The investments of my hobby are the most important part of the hobby, as without them, I would have no hatchlings, which means no business. So, I take my investments seriously, not only because of the money I spend to care for them but the money I spend to purchase them and the money I hope to gain from them.
The moment I can't handle my chosen hobby is the exact moment that I bow down and back out because I will not purposely put any animal under harm or neglect. And, because it is a hobby and nowhere near a true, profitable business, I'm in debt—serious debt. The moment I care more about the money than the animals is the moment I've waited too long to get out.
Can You Make Money Breeding Reptiles?
After doing my books from 2008 and 2009 so to get started with my 2010 expenses and sales, I found that I am still in the red in every single aspect.
- Leopard Geckos: $1,110.80 in the red
- Rhacs: $2,923.45 in the red
- Misc. Animals: $1,005.00 in the red
- Supplies: $1.232.75 in the red (does not include all supplies as not all have been written down from the very beginning)
- Feeders: $2,871.50 in the red (not all expenses have been recorded)
- Shipping Costs: $270.53 in the red
It's Hard to Make a Profit as a Small Breeder
I have had two full breeding seasons with my initial breeding leopard geckos and three with some of my initial crested geckos. The market is fully saturated with both, and it is hard to make a sale unless you drastically reduce your prices. I have found equal to lesser quality geckos sold by breeders with decades of breeding experience selling for four times what I sell, but small breeders almost never make a profit.