I had a recent conversation with a pop/mom type petstore owner and he inquired about online pet businesses. Anyone who has a website as a main source of selling their chams, do yall have a small business license? I am located in maryland so we don't require a permit to breed and sell nonnative species.
Chams as a business
- Thread starter sking21
- Start date
Jakeelias93
New Member
get ready to have a very long comprehensive talk with someone from the forums... lol
tkilgour
Member
It can be profitable, but it is a huge amount of work and expense. Feeding tons of tiny mouths, providing proper hydration, and gutloads. It's no easy task. Not to deter you from attempting it, but you will need a business license, a quality web page and good web pages are not cheap. Then you will have to market and get your name all over google. It isn't an easy process and sometimes the expenses out weight the profit.
Not to say my sole purpose is a tax write off(but part of reason want official license)but my collection will steadily grow and I will have a variety of different pets, some of which the petstores want me to also lost thier inventory so it's a joint venture of sorts. And yes I have raised a few infants I got in a trade and it was pretty easy. Then I had dart frogs so I had fruit flys on hand. I was really interested in the business part of then business. Honestly a big portion of chams would be sold locally considering how saturated the internet is with big names. The petstore has the physical location where a lot of the babies would be sold. The website would be for the older chams and rare frogs and geckos
These are the questions I would ask myself in your position:
Do you have the time to run the new business?
Do you have an income to support you while you are starting up the business?
What are the costs to breed, house, feed, and heat chameleons, frogs, and Geckos?
What is the profit point to set my pricing to make this venture break-even, and then profitable?
If the pet store plan collapses, where will I sell my animals?
I think that making enough money in the 3 animals you list is at best, a tough go. My suggestion is to work with all three, try selling some to the pet store, and see if it makes sense.
I would not want you to believe that it will be easy to breed chameleons for profit; I think most on the Forum will tell you breeding is more work, time, and cost than they thought it was going to be.
Nick
Do you have the time to run the new business?
Do you have an income to support you while you are starting up the business?
What are the costs to breed, house, feed, and heat chameleons, frogs, and Geckos?
What is the profit point to set my pricing to make this venture break-even, and then profitable?
If the pet store plan collapses, where will I sell my animals?
I think that making enough money in the 3 animals you list is at best, a tough go. My suggestion is to work with all three, try selling some to the pet store, and see if it makes sense.
I would not want you to believe that it will be easy to breed chameleons for profit; I think most on the Forum will tell you breeding is more work, time, and cost than they thought it was going to be.
Nick
Tay And A
Member
I'll be completely honest with you. I have been doing this for two years and it's been mostly work over fun. The profit that I have made isint much. Then when you take into all the lights, food, water, etc you don't really make a profit. It's a hobby not a business. There are people such as chameleon company who makes a good profit only because he has the ability to have the Chams outdoors year round in the Florida sun. He has a huge warehouse to raise and breed Chams. People such as me do not have that kind of space. :\ if you'd like to a Cham breeder I say go for it but don't try to do it with more than 4 Chams. You have to be home a lot in order to do this too
Boogiedog
New Member
Last year I offered my services to a friend who opened a new Farm Store - I offered to obtain and hatch quality rare-breed chicks. Sounds easy and fun enough - heck I love hatching the little guys. It did not take long for the work to outweigh the fun. First, I work full time. Next, incubating, brooding, vaccinating and feeding (and supplies - lights, shavings, vitamins) - even though only a few days of brooding per clutch - put my PG&E in the $500 range (from $200) per month. The eggs from these chickens cost a chunk too - and no guarantees of hatching. There were always a few late hatchers, some worrisome hatchers etc. (any chick less than perfect) that I would hold back - and quickly ended up with a few dozen deformed chicks over the few months on my hands (that I had humanely euthanized at a vet). And I was kidding myself to think that after the chicks were delivered to the shop, my work was done. I got phone calls 7 days a week with questions -lots of questions. Needless to say, lesson learned. I doubt that even broke even. It was a long 5 months. LONG.
Granted these are chickens not chameleons, but the needs and costs are not dissimilar.
Granted these are chickens not chameleons, but the needs and costs are not dissimilar.
"Granted these are chickens not chameleons, but the needs and costs are not dissimilar."
Holy cow man that sounds horrible, thank god we dont have deformed chameleons around.
Ive had my share of disappointing grow out ventures. The key is having the ability to house the leftovers. With dart frogs making fruit fly cultures and keeping an ample supply was key. So I brought 20 froglets at a time, rasied them until a year old kept the best looking pair and traded and sold out the rest.
Holy cow man that sounds horrible, thank god we dont have deformed chameleons around.
Ive had my share of disappointing grow out ventures. The key is having the ability to house the leftovers. With dart frogs making fruit fly cultures and keeping an ample supply was key. So I brought 20 froglets at a time, rasied them until a year old kept the best looking pair and traded and sold out the rest.
Ladynyce
New Member
Well if your going to start to breed I am speaking on my be-have. It would be expenaive I have mellers so I would need to make a huge cage $$$ then double up the feeding $$$ horn worms, silkworms, more crickets $$$ extra lights yes $$$$ incubator $$$$ calum and multivitamins double up goes faster $$$ then once babies are born andable to eat buying extra small crickets (where adults eat full size)$$$$ extra cage for the babies $$$$ I can go on and if there is any vet appointments inbetween $$$$ .... this is what I am explaining vut then that's me. I wanted to breed my meller but then of course the possible funding of issues can pop up anytime You just never know ;-) GOOD LUCK HUN
Ladynyce
New Member
Thank you! These BEAUTIFUL species aren't experimental! They take lots of time, dedication and money. I'd you want to have healthy chams and the extra cost of food bills to gut load ur cricketa according ( collarsa greens, kale, strawberry, oranges, cricket water, dandelion, cricket food etc) all expenses go up. If your not willing to foek out the money please do not bring in innocent reptiles to stuffer to what they are entitled to. Its up to you hun and everyone will have there own opinion but from my experience money will differently be in this SO CALLED BUSINESS if u want happy healthy chams ;-)
GOOD LUCK HUN♥
Ladynyce
New Member
strongly agree! Think about it ♥
shaunaroxanne
Avid Member
Haha I wish. You are grossly underestimating the care that is needed. It's expensive. Not to mention that time is money.
fluxlizard
Avid Member
If you have to ask this question- you aren't ready yet...
also-
If you have to break even- you aren't ready yet...
Ladynyce
New Member
Agree! !!!! Strongly ....
Tay And A
Member
very true. everything about chams are expensive. i have flat out refused to sell a chameleon to some people because they have spoken of getting a boy and a girl at the same time. (intensions of breeding siblings). so that goes on to tell me that they haven't had chameleons before, most of the time...there's so much work and dedication in owning chams. period.
