The Effect of the Economy on Gecko Breeders

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The world community has felt the hard hit of the economy. So have gecko breeders. In this guest post we discuss how the economy has affected breeders, retail stores, and how you can save money while keeping the geckos you love.

What Breeders had to say:

We have been talking to several breeders, small breeders as well as bigger ones, and they told us that the economic crisis is affecting the sales on leopard geckos. The problem is that people are not willing to buy the expensive morphs. People still want to buy leopard geckos from 100€ up to 400€ but if the prices go higher than that they simply don’t buy it. Some breeders are still able to sell some of their expensive animals but they  don’t sell like lower priced animals. For some of the morphs, prices are dropping very fast because of the effect of the crisis, and in some cases the morphs drop because they’re not popular anymore or are less popular. It’s not that the big breeders are having the kind of problems that would mean closing or stopping their business, but they do feel some effect of this worldwide money crisis. All breeders, Gecko Nation Antwerp included, are hoping that this crisis will soon stop.

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Do Stores and web shops Feel the effect of the crisis as well?

Stores and web shops are feeling problems as well; people spend less money on supplies for reptiles.

Items such as  incubators, shelters, food and lots of other reptile products are not selling as well.

Stores experience a downturn in customers that buy animals. The reason for this downturn is that stores ask higher prices since they need to buy them from breeders themselves. Supplies are a different thing: supplies and food are less expensive at reptile shows so people frequently buy their supplies and food there, and this impacts the stores.

Our advice in this crisis:

• Buy your food and your needed supplies in bulk so you save money in the long term.
• Use paper towel instead of sand so you can save money and you can clean your cages faster.
• If you are a hobby or small breeder that only breeds for the fun of it, keep it small and simple for your own pleasure and that of your pets.
• Don’t breed too much offspring at one time.  Make sure that you will be able to keep track of them and that you get your stock sold.
• At all times be sure to respect the animals’ health.  If animals are not feeling well or looking good don’t breed them. Be sure to visit a veterinarian.

Good luck making it through this rough time in all of our lives! May the geckos be with you!