It's been a long while since I've kept a breeding colony of anything, so it was a surprise even to myself when I heard the words "I'm starting a commercial breeding colony of kingsnakes this year" coming from my mouth earlier this spring. Some of my friends thought I should have my head examined.

I had long ago swore off "keeping" as an addiction that in my position could easily, and quickly, spiral out of control, yet here I was making plans for exactly that, except on a larger scale than I had ever attempted as a hobbyist some 20-odd years ago.

At least this time I'd be going at it with a plan, of sorts, and a direction, rather than just buying or catching the things I thought were "cool." And now there was an industry to support my endeavor, rather than a scattered grouping of friends and a handful of reptile events.

Yeah, a lot has changed since I was a hobbyist keeper the first time. There are many more captive-bred species available, the Internet is now a vast communication network that everyone uses rather than just an odd few techno geeks, and many of the technologies and gear that hobbyists had to develop and build by hand are now readily available as quality manufactured items.

And reptile breeders are much more professional and businesslike in their approach than 20 years ago, as well. On top of that, there is much more knowledge and information available than ever before. And I have had 20+ years to learn from my, and others', mistakes.

Putting this all together should be easy, right? I'll be documenting it here, so stay tuned and find out!