preacherman
Gecko Genetics
- Messages
- 1,106
- Location
- Wisconsin
I’d like to address the recent comments that have been made regarding the ethics involved in breeding and selling leopard geckos.
First of all, I have noticed that the word “marketing” has become a dirty word on this forum. It seems that it is only being used with a negative connotation attached to it, as if marketing requires a compromise of one’s ethical integrity .
It is no secret that the leopard gecko market is a very competitive one. More and more people are producing leopard geckos each year, and subsequently the market becomes more and more saturated. In order to increase your chance of selling your animals for a profit, it becomes necessary to market yourself, your business, and your animals. All breeders market. We may not all do it in the same manner, but we all do it. Websites, business cards, online advertising, attending reptile expos, coining creative names for morphs, and even showing pictures of your offspring on these forums are all types of marketing. If a seller resorts to dishonesty in an attempt to sell his or her animals, that is unethical. However, MARKETING IS NOT UNETHICAL. In the end, our customers will hold us responsible for the quality of our animals and our integrity as a seller.
Along with this, it is perfectly okay to make a profit from the animals that you produce. I frequently see comments like “I don’t really want to make any money from breeding, I just hope to make enough to pay for my feeders”, as if there is a need to apologize for profiting from your breeding efforts. There is nothing wrong with breeding for fun, but there is also nothing wrong with breeding for profit. Breeding leopard geckos is a labor intensive occupation. Many of us maintain colonies capable of producing several hundred offspring each season. Working with a colony of that size takes a great deal of work. I personally spend an average of 4 hours a day working with my animals in the winter, and 6-8 hours a day during the breeding season. An average day consists of cleaning tubs, feeding, checking individual females for ovulation, keeping tabs of breeding pairs, checking lay boxes for eggs, placing eggs in the incubator, placing new hatchlings in their tubs, and feeding and maintaining feeder insects. Add to this the amount of time required to maintain a website, compose advertisements, and answer phone calls and e-mails, and you can begin to see the amount of work that goes into becoming a successful breeder. This is on top of the hours that I spend focusing on my full-time “job”. Anyone can produce leopard geckos. To consistently produce beautiful, healthy, well-tempered offspring takes an incredible amount of dedication, a strong work ethic, and a genuine love for the animals. If you are able to make a profit from the time that you have dedicated to producing healthy animals, there is nothing to be ashamed of. THERE IS NOTHING UNETHICAL ABOUT SELLING THE ANIMALS THAT YOU HAVE PRODUCED FOR A PROFIT.
Whether you are a hobbyist with only a few geckos, a small breeder who barely breaks even, or a professional breeder that depends on an income from your business, we all choose to participate in this forum for one very simple reason: we love leopard geckos. I hope that the negative inferences that have frequently been made concerning the questionable ethics of those who breed for a profit will cease.
We are very fortunate to have this “community” of fellow enthusiasts to share information with. The end result of that sharing of information should be the advancement of our understanding in regards to keeping and breeding these amazing animals.
If you have something CONSTRUCTIVE and POSITIVE to add to this discussion, please do. If not, your comments will fall on deaf ears.
“…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8
First of all, I have noticed that the word “marketing” has become a dirty word on this forum. It seems that it is only being used with a negative connotation attached to it, as if marketing requires a compromise of one’s ethical integrity .
It is no secret that the leopard gecko market is a very competitive one. More and more people are producing leopard geckos each year, and subsequently the market becomes more and more saturated. In order to increase your chance of selling your animals for a profit, it becomes necessary to market yourself, your business, and your animals. All breeders market. We may not all do it in the same manner, but we all do it. Websites, business cards, online advertising, attending reptile expos, coining creative names for morphs, and even showing pictures of your offspring on these forums are all types of marketing. If a seller resorts to dishonesty in an attempt to sell his or her animals, that is unethical. However, MARKETING IS NOT UNETHICAL. In the end, our customers will hold us responsible for the quality of our animals and our integrity as a seller.
Along with this, it is perfectly okay to make a profit from the animals that you produce. I frequently see comments like “I don’t really want to make any money from breeding, I just hope to make enough to pay for my feeders”, as if there is a need to apologize for profiting from your breeding efforts. There is nothing wrong with breeding for fun, but there is also nothing wrong with breeding for profit. Breeding leopard geckos is a labor intensive occupation. Many of us maintain colonies capable of producing several hundred offspring each season. Working with a colony of that size takes a great deal of work. I personally spend an average of 4 hours a day working with my animals in the winter, and 6-8 hours a day during the breeding season. An average day consists of cleaning tubs, feeding, checking individual females for ovulation, keeping tabs of breeding pairs, checking lay boxes for eggs, placing eggs in the incubator, placing new hatchlings in their tubs, and feeding and maintaining feeder insects. Add to this the amount of time required to maintain a website, compose advertisements, and answer phone calls and e-mails, and you can begin to see the amount of work that goes into becoming a successful breeder. This is on top of the hours that I spend focusing on my full-time “job”. Anyone can produce leopard geckos. To consistently produce beautiful, healthy, well-tempered offspring takes an incredible amount of dedication, a strong work ethic, and a genuine love for the animals. If you are able to make a profit from the time that you have dedicated to producing healthy animals, there is nothing to be ashamed of. THERE IS NOTHING UNETHICAL ABOUT SELLING THE ANIMALS THAT YOU HAVE PRODUCED FOR A PROFIT.
Whether you are a hobbyist with only a few geckos, a small breeder who barely breaks even, or a professional breeder that depends on an income from your business, we all choose to participate in this forum for one very simple reason: we love leopard geckos. I hope that the negative inferences that have frequently been made concerning the questionable ethics of those who breed for a profit will cease.
We are very fortunate to have this “community” of fellow enthusiasts to share information with. The end result of that sharing of information should be the advancement of our understanding in regards to keeping and breeding these amazing animals.
If you have something CONSTRUCTIVE and POSITIVE to add to this discussion, please do. If not, your comments will fall on deaf ears.
“…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8
