I am very much into this hobby , and I am building up a large collection of Ts ,I am now learning a great deal about breeding these beautiful spiders, I am building up a collection focused more on the rare Ts in the hobby , my question is can you make a decent living saleing the offspring of these beautiful tarantulas?
Making a living breeding /saling Ts
- Thread starter dougle
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2009
- Messages
- 298
Expect a very controversial thread... Search making money and you will find a bunch of threads.
In summary.... Can you make money... DEFINITELY... Now, can you make a profit? NOT easily! Ken the Bug Guy has repeatedly told everyone that he hasn't made any profit.
Remember, feeding isn't free, vials, strate, blah blah blah........
Ok, so, can a hobbiest make a few bucks, sure! But nothing that would be income worthy. Any money most hobbiests would make would go RIGHT back into the hobby!
In summary.... Can you make money... DEFINITELY... Now, can you make a profit? NOT easily! Ken the Bug Guy has repeatedly told everyone that he hasn't made any profit.
Remember, feeding isn't free, vials, strate, blah blah blah........
Ok, so, can a hobbiest make a few bucks, sure! But nothing that would be income worthy. Any money most hobbiests would make would go RIGHT back into the hobby!
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2008
- Messages
- 3,105
The only money I've made was from my blue fang sac. Even then, every single dime of it went to buying new T's! lol
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2008
- Messages
- 59
I definately think you can make money from breeding the rarer species in the hobby. But I would be extremely wary quitting your day job for it.
Good luck in whatever choice you make.
Good luck in whatever choice you make.
In theory you can. And you can have roach colonies going that more or less self sustain save for some watering and feeding.
But if I were to take on such a project, I'd certainly not be arrogant about it and take heed to the fact that my husbandry techniques ought to be spot on and I should be able to give the T the best possible living situation before I get it. These are things you might want to consider before trying to get a hold of two P metallicas for a breeding project. I myself have never had a P metallica but I do care for other Pokies.
Just to get what you're looking for, you'd have to do a lot of networking. That's gonna involve having a lot of contacts and keeping in touch at the right times with the right people to snatch up the P metallica when you see it on the market. And an adult female typically sells for like $700 I think. So going the high road for the high reward is no cheap expenditure.
These are just the first steps in a lot of things to consider, but I definitely agree, I don't think anyone can make an outright living off of it. To even try to it might involve some serious upselling of your product that involves going as far as calling back old contacts to see if they're interested in your new import. That sometimes happens, heh.
But if I were to take on such a project, I'd certainly not be arrogant about it and take heed to the fact that my husbandry techniques ought to be spot on and I should be able to give the T the best possible living situation before I get it. These are things you might want to consider before trying to get a hold of two P metallicas for a breeding project. I myself have never had a P metallica but I do care for other Pokies.
Just to get what you're looking for, you'd have to do a lot of networking. That's gonna involve having a lot of contacts and keeping in touch at the right times with the right people to snatch up the P metallica when you see it on the market. And an adult female typically sells for like $700 I think. So going the high road for the high reward is no cheap expenditure.
These are just the first steps in a lot of things to consider, but I definitely agree, I don't think anyone can make an outright living off of it. To even try to it might involve some serious upselling of your product that involves going as far as calling back old contacts to see if they're interested in your new import. That sometimes happens, heh.
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2003
- Messages
- 2,837
factors of profit when it comes to tarantulas
1) feeding, this can be voided by raising your own feeders.
2) housing, this is inexcapable you will constantly be having to buy new vials shipping containers etc
3) heating,water etc. this is not free, and does add up to your monthly bills.
4)importing the "rare" species, They are rare for a reason, meaning, hard to import high expenses permits etc.
5)growth rate. Lets face it, spiders while some of thetrue spiders can mature in under a year.arn't exactly the harvest annualy crop, to achieve these levels you need immense count of spiders.
6) it is entirly possible to loosean entire line of tarantula, to parasite disease or the simple "unkown" factors, due to so little in the way of vetranarry (spelling) services.
and finaly 7) supply and demand. Almost everyone who owns a tarantula will breed a tarantula, for some reason the two go hand in hand. So the demand is constantly influx, many prefer to trade over buying new T's So you could potentialy gather the few hundred P metallicas to give a year round supply, that is, if you understand you can easily loose sacs to mommas atop of it all. But once you begin supply the slings, others will breed them, and your hot thing will now be wide spread and breed.
1) feeding, this can be voided by raising your own feeders.
2) housing, this is inexcapable you will constantly be having to buy new vials shipping containers etc
3) heating,water etc. this is not free, and does add up to your monthly bills.
4)importing the "rare" species, They are rare for a reason, meaning, hard to import high expenses permits etc.
5)growth rate. Lets face it, spiders while some of thetrue spiders can mature in under a year.arn't exactly the harvest annualy crop, to achieve these levels you need immense count of spiders.
6) it is entirly possible to loosean entire line of tarantula, to parasite disease or the simple "unkown" factors, due to so little in the way of vetranarry (spelling) services.
and finaly 7) supply and demand. Almost everyone who owns a tarantula will breed a tarantula, for some reason the two go hand in hand. So the demand is constantly influx, many prefer to trade over buying new T's So you could potentialy gather the few hundred P metallicas to give a year round supply, that is, if you understand you can easily loose sacs to mommas atop of it all. But once you begin supply the slings, others will breed them, and your hot thing will now be wide spread and breed.
dougle
you are right about that , I have a few P Metallicas in my collection and they all were not cheap so if the breders keep the price up and if the availabilty of these blue Ts continue to be rare Ithink they will be in demand for some time to come.
you are right about that , I have a few P Metallicas in my collection and they all were not cheap so if the breders keep the price up and if the availabilty of these blue Ts continue to be rare Ithink they will be in demand for some time to come.
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2003
- Messages
- 2,837
The price has already dropped a fair deal, since their introduction to the US hobby.
If the price does not drop it would be due to breeding reasons.
such as
1) small clutches.
2)difficulty to breed
3)hard to rear.
4) Slow growth rate
While I will never discourage the captive breeding of spiders, To do so in hopes of profit, is fool hardy, and ill planned.
Lets go on the assumption that if heated high enough, these spiders take what 2 3 years to mature?
thats 36 months of watering, and eletric bills heating. food if you don't have a coloney. Food for that coloney if you do. and in the hopes of one sac. that I believe would be in the 30 to 40 range of slings? for the P metallica? That is, given they do not die prior to maturity, that they actualy breed successfuly, that the sac is not munched, then also develops successfuly to 2i.
Then, you get the gambit if those reach maturity
If the price does not drop it would be due to breeding reasons.
such as
1) small clutches.
2)difficulty to breed
3)hard to rear.
4) Slow growth rate
While I will never discourage the captive breeding of spiders, To do so in hopes of profit, is fool hardy, and ill planned.
Lets go on the assumption that if heated high enough, these spiders take what 2 3 years to mature?
thats 36 months of watering, and eletric bills heating. food if you don't have a coloney. Food for that coloney if you do. and in the hopes of one sac. that I believe would be in the 30 to 40 range of slings? for the P metallica? That is, given they do not die prior to maturity, that they actualy breed successfuly, that the sac is not munched, then also develops successfuly to 2i.
Then, you get the gambit if those reach maturity
I agree.While I will never discourage the captive breeding of spiders, To do so in hopes of profit, is fool hardy, and ill planned.
I think the question that begs to be asked is "Are you in it for the money, or are you in it for the captive propagation of the species and responsible continuance hobby?"
I plan to breed G pulchra. I hope to make enough to sustain the expenses of care and breeding. Anything beyond that would just be a bonus; which would, of course, be spent on the Ts.
If the Ts come first, and the money is just a nice perk, then I wish you the best of luck. Maybe you will soon be the next major breeder everyone turns to.
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2008
- Messages
- 644
I think it's very difficult to make much money. Even if you breed the rare species, the profit is short lived. If you're successful breeding something in any quantity the price crashes. You take the risk of investing lots of money or time and having someone else beat you by a month and destroy the profit margin. You can make some extra money, but trying to make a living is almost impossible, unless you want to be living in poverty. Even the bigger dealers on the boards have other jobs. Keep it a hobby and you'll avoid the stress of trying to keep a bunch of customers happy.
Well let's look at the facts.
Yes you can make some money breeding Tarantulas. I think how much is the question.
To the very best of my knowledge there is only one person in the US that his (or hers) primary source of income if from the breeding and selling of Tarantulas.
One. and it is NOT Ken.
If you don't plan on getting rich, it can be an occasional source of income and can often fund your addiction and grow your collection.
Yes you can make some money breeding Tarantulas. I think how much is the question.
To the very best of my knowledge there is only one person in the US that his (or hers) primary source of income if from the breeding and selling of Tarantulas.
One. and it is NOT Ken.
If you don't plan on getting rich, it can be an occasional source of income and can often fund your addiction and grow your collection.
dougle
The roachs are very cheap to breed , I purchase two large bags of dry dog food and I than blend the diffrent kinds of dog food together in the amount I need and pour the blended food into gallon large jars to keep it fresh , and I have roach food for a year , the cost about $20 bucks , I have three roach colonies that thrive on the stuff, I also toss in table straps , and fruit , and vegatables every once in a while , cheap to maintain large colonies.
The roachs are very cheap to breed , I purchase two large bags of dry dog food and I than blend the diffrent kinds of dog food together in the amount I need and pour the blended food into gallon large jars to keep it fresh , and I have roach food for a year , the cost about $20 bucks , I have three roach colonies that thrive on the stuff, I also toss in table straps , and fruit , and vegatables every once in a while , cheap to maintain large colonies.
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2007
- Messages
- 1,846
Yeh, Am sure you did, and I end up with a lesson