Jag Carpet Project

phassin · 04-04-16, 08:29 PM

Sup guys. I'm Patrick and I've been checking out the forum for a couple weeks now. Lately I've been toying with breeding my Jag and have had dozens of questions. This place has answered many a question regarding all kinds of stuff. Thanks!

Anyways I got my plans up and running and have decided to pursue getting a second snake to breed. I bought a bunch of wood to make two stackable cages 4'x2'x2'. My boy Jac has a date with a reptile specialist and a probe tomorrow (I'm planning on forcing the guy to teach me how to do it as well). Gotta double check since I didn't get him from the breeder. He finally shed today so he's back to his bright yellow coat.

My question to you guys: should my other snake be a jungle, irian jaya or something totally different? Im not quite sure but was planning on getting on at the next reptile show in Charlotte.

**Minkness** · 04-04-16, 08:40 PM

I say IJ to allow smaller jags! =D

phassin · 04-04-16, 09:11 PM

I was kinda thinking the same thing but then I see all these gorgeous jungle jags and I can't decide! If t comes down to two comparable snakes available I'd probably go with the IJ

Here's what Jac looks like post shed in all his glory

**EL Ziggy** · 04-04-16, 09:14 PM

Welcome to the forum and best wishes Patrick. I'd go with either a jungle, or a diamond x jungle. The jaguar gene would be awesome with either of those.

phassin · 04-04-16, 09:26 PM

Ziggy why go jungle over IJ though? I honestly haven't seen many IJ jags to know if they vary in brightness or what not.

**EL Ziggy** · 04-04-16, 10:18 PM

My apologies Patrick I didn't ask what kind of jag you have. If he's an IJ jag I'd can't go with an IJ. If he's a jungle jag I'd get a jungle. You really can't go wrong either way and I'll admit I'm a big fan of jungles. Jungles are also a bit more popular and IMO they would probably sell faster and possibly for a higher price.

phassin · 04-05-16, 06:17 AM

Good point about popularity and selling. I had half a thought to think a IJ Jag might be easier to sell because they are smaller and one thing that seems to turn most people off of a snake is that it may get too big (even though an 8ft carpet isn't the same as an 8ft boa). Then again most people buying a jag usually aren't typical snake owners and are looking specifically for that morph so those rules may not apply.

Also he's a Coastal Carpet. That leads me to another question I have. How can someone visually tell the difference between a coastal and a jungle jag other than size?

chairman · 04-05-16, 06:39 AM

I have a male IJ jag and a female IJ. I plan to acquire a female caramel IJ for my male as well. If everything goes according to plan I'll have jags and sibs from one pairing and jags, caramels, caramel jags, and sibs from the other. Given my preferences, I'd recommend a caramel coastal for your project.

The biggest thing to make sure that you don't do, in my opinion, is do not breed a jag to a jag. A python with two copies of the jag gene either dies in the egg or dies shortly after birth.

Telling the difference between the carpets in the US can be tricky because the bloodlines have been muddled by people who haven't been concerned about purity.

phassin · 04-05-16, 07:18 AM

Chairman, for sure not getting a another Jag. Agreed that would be a really bad idea. Sounds like you have a good setup going yourself. I have seen some unreal caramels out there (Looks like Gebon just got a beauty), but I'm wondering about size. Are Caramel Coastals 8+ feet as adults?

Also I have been wondering this one and it sounds like you may have an answer if you're already a breeder but how did you start selling your snakes? Did you go online and post ads, go to reptile shows, sell to local shops, or something else?

Three different people with different ideas and all sound enticing.

gebon · 04-05-16, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phassin

I have seen some unreal caramels out there (Looks like Gebon just got a beauty), but I'm wondering about size. Are Caramel Coastals 8+ feet as adults?

The size also depends on how you feed them. The breeder I know has a bunch of adult coastals which has been fed a little less and none of them are more then 7 feet. He also have a female that have been fed the "American way" and she is 10 feet

**EL Ziggy** · 04-05-16, 09:57 AM

@ Patrick- I agree with Chairman. If it's a coastal jag I'd go with a caramel coastal or super caramel coastal would be even nicer. You are right about their size. They can potentially grow to 7-9 ft. I'm hoping my male caramel hits 7ft +.

chairman · 04-05-16, 11:36 AM

I haven't bred snakes since the 90's and my male carpet won't be ready to breed until next year and the female probably the year after. Back in the day I primarily sold to a local shop. In recent years I've worked with some other reptiles and I've sold to local shops, via Facebook, via craigslist, and at a local reptile expo. Because I keep my sales relatively local I tend to sell for below market prices and I hold my animals for a long time. If I were to advertise online, say on fauna, I'd probably do better. Unfortunately, in order to ship animals you have to be near a staffed fedex shipping store and you have to be able to get there around the time of their last pickup, usually 4 or 5 pm. My current situation would require me to take a half day off work to ship anything and by the time I factor in all the costs I lose quite a bit of money even selling at slightly above market prices. Luckily for me, I'm in a position where my reptiles can be a little of a money pit hobby so I just have to keep my activities such that I limit my losses appropriately.

As far as the carpets go, I got IJs because they're a great size, they're great eaters, they sit out where you can admire them, and they handle well to boot. I will probably only breed a season or two, maybe hold back a male caramel jag, and sell or trade the rest. I'm not going to make any money but I might actually break even on them.

If I were you I'd look into your situation and figure out where you plan to be in a couple years. Breeding snakes is a costly endeavor and is highly unlikely to bring in very much income. People seem to be paying more attention to carpets but only time will tell where supply is going to be relative to demand. Occasionally breeding pets I enjoy keeping looks to be the best path for me but some people are better off just buying the animals they want without ever breeding them.

phassin · 04-05-16, 12:16 PM

I am not really looking to make any extra money off of breeding snakes. I'm a single guy with no kids working as an engineer wanting to take a life long obsession with snakes as far as I can. I wouldn't mind making a little money of course but I've done some estimates and very best case scenarios are still low after equipment/care costs. My reason for taking on this venture is primarily for enjoyment. I've had my jag for about 4 years now and I want to take it further. Seeing that he's actually a desirable snake to breed makes it all the more worth trying.

Thanks for the info on how you have done sales. There's really only one pet shop in Charlotte I know of that sells any large(ish) snakes and I didn't like the care/attitude I saw. I get the feeling I would be pretty protective of the first babies produced. I have seen some a bit further into North Carolina that look to sell a lot of snakes and I know they pick up from local breeders.

I'll keep an eye out for some caramels as well. June will the next reptile expo so that's my deadline for buying a snake.

phassin · 04-25-16, 07:10 AM

Currently working on building the new enclosures. I've been putting pretty much all my free time towards these behemoths. Two 4'x2'x2' that will be stackable. I'm using pine plywood for the walls and 1.5"x1.5" for the foundations. Here's the progress..

phassin · 04-25-16, 07:14 AM

I'm also making the edging and background out of styrofoam/great stuff. I couldn't find any good fitting 2D backgrounds for a good price online and I didn't want it to look boring so I am trying to go the extra mile. Turns out not to be that difficult to do the styrofoam background thus far. I still have to seal it but I go the grout on the edging and started to set up the background. I'll make the back pieces removable for easier cleanup and set up.