Much Profit In Breeding?

Hi, i am levi, i have made a forum like this before, but this is just seeing if i would make profit...

If i bought all the lights, made another breeding cage and got all that stuff.. and then started breeding veiled chams

Would i make profit off of it?

Or would i just lose money..
?

Read this: https://www.chameleonforums.com/cost-raising-69-baby-18467/

If you're VERY lucky you'll make back what you've spent.

I think you'll find that if you took the time you'll spend on this and use it for something more profitable......like working at WalMart you'll be able to finance your hobby better.

Just my two cents.

Kevin

Veiled chameleons

Veiled chameleons are easy to sell up here (Canada). People buy veiled chameleons more often than panthers due to the cost. Pet stores will buy veiled chameleons for about $20-$30 each. Private customers will take them for about $50 each. If need be, wholesalers will take an entire clutch for $20 each. It doesn't sound like much, but it adds up. I'll sell 100-200 baby veiled chameleons to wholesalers at a time. So that is $2000-$4000. Your total costs of taking are of them doesn't come close. Then again it depends on how much your feeders, lighting and caging costs. It will pay for itself in the end. This is from my personal experience.

Would panthers be any more profitable seeing as the go for much higher?

check this link:
http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=21
http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=18

Panthers would be more profitable if you were able to sell them all. However with the way our economy is going downhill right now(again Canada) you may end up putting more into it then you will get back. Hopefully things pick up

namelessjo said:

Would panthers be any more profitable seeing as the go for much higher?

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I don't think there's much of a market for veileds. I guess they're like widgets, you might try to sell them in quantity hoping it adds up. But a lot of people here invest in a nice pair of panthers with good coloration/structure. It's easier to take your time, so you don't have to pump out hatchlings like they're worthless mexican toys and take your time in refining the techniques in breeding. And in some ways it makes it more enduring because you don't feel the pressure to sell like a lonely door to door salesman. You will get few buyers, but the price will be considerably more than what's offered for veileds. I feel veiled breeders get a little jaded because they need to sell so many to offset the cost of breeding/maintaining. And a lot of people here, would even be a little put off by the idea that you would get into the husbandry and breeding as strictly profit driven. But if that's something you're interested in; I would first say to start a website so you have something to direct people to for pictures/stock inquiries. It's also a good way to establish your name and it might be easier to claim it as a "proven" self-entrepeanur business that you can write off and get tax breaks/cuts as opposed to a lemonade stand style of selling. Keep in mind you're probably going to have to invest a good chunk of change to get into it and it might reward you a few years later, by that I mean profits. FYI, Amazon.com didn't make any profits until about 5-6 years into their operation. Think of it that way, but not so extreme.

Here's an image of just my equipment and supplies for my start-up. This does not include inventory (the chameleons), food, fulfillment (what it takes to sell the little darlings), vitamins, utilities, postage (in case I ship), shipping boxes, heat/cooling packs, and marketing...all that is on a different spreadsheet.

I am building my own baby cham cages but I'm purchasing the other screen cages because in my experience the costs are about the same.

This is just having 2.3 ambilobes (all from reputable breeders) and the 1.1 Jacksons that I already have. Year 2 my intentions are to add another male and 2 more females. Already I'm thinking that I switch to a different local (ambilobes are growing ever popular but I already have a female so that's what I'll start with)

Just spewing thoughts and hopefully you'll get an idea that a business plan is everything (if not exciting)

oops here's the attachment

Ahh if I only got $10 an hour working with my chams...lol Ask a breeder, most of them would tell you that if you chams pay off your hobby you are a lucky person. The thing people forget is chams don't fly out of their cages left and right, it takes a whole lot of time and the longer you have them the more space they need.

Its fun but definitely very difficult to make much of a profit.

-chris

I know with leopard geckos and nephrurus, we put in a lot of money and time and we still haven't made back what we initially invested. It's more about the love for the hobby and creating your own art work through beautiful animals. It's just something you do for the love of it and to make other people happy with beautiful animals. Do it for the love of it and you might get lucky and make a little money.

I've got it down pretty well. Most of the setup costs are sunk the first go-round. Spare containers, plastic plants, lights, etc. It's the food that costs. And time. Times especially.

I breed my females once a year usually, and only get 15-30 babies per clutch. I learned along the way that it's easy to sell a dozen or so baby lizards during the "profitable" stage in their lives (when they're big enough to sell, but not so big that they hate each other and require individual cages). Any left over quickly become a drain on your space, time and cricket supply.

I know enough that if I wanted to, I coudl breed them in volume and make a lot of money selling them in lots all year round. But that's not fun.

The absolute key is to keep it fun. IF you're having fun, you're doing it right. If you make money, even better.

15-30 babies only costs me a hundred dollars in feeders to raise up - more if it's during hte winter (shipping is more expensive on feeders). Another key - which is kinda tricky - is that I incubate them at lower temps. They take longer, but hatch out bigger. Bigger babies eat 1/8 inch, not pinheads. Most of mine are getting 1/4 inch crickets next week - I only had to order one box of 1/8" crickets for them. A few are still smaller, and will need 1/8" crickets next week though...

the money saved in feeder cost is huge - 1/4" crickets are much hardier and much bigger than 1/8" - but they cost the same.

Last clutch, most were eating 1/4" out of the egg.

And the most important factor in selling them is selective breeding. I paid nearly $100 (plus shipping) for my old breeder, and a lot for his mates. At the time I got him, veileds were going for $15-$20 at the reptile shows in my area. I've only bred 6 male veileds in my life(My original WC male, his son, the big male I had for 8 years and his son, a big blue european male I got a few years back and a WC from Florida) - and I've been breeding them for 15 years. I'm picky abotu the animals I invest my time in.

I am so rich from breeding chameleons, I don't know what to do with all the money! Ha! Anyone thinking profit right away is in the wrong sport. A small fortune is spent on the obvious chams,lights,plants,misting systems,cages,vines,supplements,cleaning supplies and feeder insects.
I spend alot on food for insects.All organic fruits and vegetables cost plenty.
I have 5 kinds of roaches,crickets of every size,superworms,hornworms,silkworms and stick bugs when available.
Chameleon owners are bug farmers.Remember your chameleons are what you feed your bugs. I would rather have a group of healthy chameleons than cutting corners trying to make a profit.

Oh yeah, did I say that I don't get to quit my day job either???

Anybody try to breed their own feeders? If you have the space you could get a cycle of crickets going by breeding them, saving you money on buying them. (just buying the gutload) Thats what I am trying to do now.

I have 16 panther eggs due to hatch in April. I have several bins of baby crickets and cricket eggs, as well as big crickets for my adults.

My hopes are by the time the babys come I will have a cycle of crickets.

I am also trying to breed silk worms. Im lucky enough to have a mulberry tree in the front yard.

I tried to breed the super worms too but I gave up on that. I got them to turn into beetles but never saw any eggs.

Anyway.. it sounds like a lot of work. and it is. but I love it. Its a hobby/addiction

Unless you are breeding ALL of your own feeders and are an experienced keeper, you will not make back your money breeding. Especially if you care enough about the animals to provide well for them and ensure they go to good owners (not bulk buyers).

In my part of Canada, panthers sell better than veileds - way more demand for panthers and insufficient supply.

No knowledge about selling chameleons specifically, but I made a profit of about -$900 breeding and selling leopard geckos this year

BigR said:

No knowledge about selling chameleons specifically, but I made a profit of about -$900 breeding and selling leopard geckos this year

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leopard gecko's care is not as costly and complicated as chameleon, imho.

Completely agree with you there. But note the "-" sign