Chad Brown
 On December 10, 2003, kingsnake.com was pleased to welcome Chad Brown as our guest at our annual Chat Week. Chad is the owner of ProExotics and a football player for the Seattle Seahawks. He says, "I started Pro Exotics in my mind in 1988 when I got my first snake, a boa my freshman year at CU. It wasn't until I was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1993 that I had a little money in my pocket and started to really put this business together." On top of all that, Chad describes himself as a "full time husband and dad."
PHSplendens: Kingsnake.com is pleased to welcome Chad Brown, from ProExotics as our guest during our Sixth Annual Chat Week.
SinCityRetics: ?
snmreptiles: You created one of the nicest, cleanest retail shops I have been in. Unfortunately you closed the doors on the retail end of it. I was just curious what your advice would be to someone opening up their own retail shop, or what you would have done differently
PHGinger: do not speak out of turn
chadbrown_nr: well, reptiles are a tough business to do at the retail level. keep it simple and small!
chadbrown_nr: don't try to be everything to everyone. do what works for the customers and you while still earning money.
diamondpython: ?
PHFaust: Hbaily, go ahead with your question...
PHFaust: I have ya!
HBailey: Chad, I just adopted a 3'ft 15 yr old HY water monitor. Anytips on how to keep the water clean in regards to setup?
chadbrown_nr: we just change the water often. waters can be dirty lizards
PHFaust: Chad, can you type g/a when done so I know an answer is complete?
HBailey: lol, well I'll post if I can get it automated
PHGinger: next ?
PHFaust: Demonfrog you are up
DemonFrog: what is it like working with mandarin rat snakes? (are they like corn snakes?) and how big do their clutches get on average?
snmreptiles: ?
Jeremy Carroll: ?
jonf: ?
chadbrown_nr: mandarin rats are not like corns to me. they are much more fragile and they don't like wide temp changes. we offer ours a little heat for the most part they hang in the cool part of the cage. g/a
chadbrown_nr: we are seeing good size clutches of about 7-10 eggs with our bigger females. g/a
PHFaust: gotcha...
PHFaust: Diamond Python your UP!
diamondpython: which snake is the most expensive
derekls_nr: ?
chadbrown_nr: the most expensive snakes are what is the newest and latest ball morphs. g/a
PHFaust: SinCity your up
SinCityRetics: Did you ever think blood pythons would explode with the popularity they have from going from once a experienced keep only snake to almost along the lines in popularity as Ball Pythons.Does PE have any other snakes ready to be exposed as better snakes to keep then previousily thought the blood python?
chadbrown_nr: we started keeping bloods years ago, we only had hope that they would reach their current popularity. right now i can't think of better pet boids other balls, bloods and boas. g/a
PHFaust: SMN your next
snmreptiles: How hardy are the Red Mountain Racers (Coxi), and also what is their average clutch size?
chadbrown_nr: they are as hardy as a snake can be as long as you keep they cool. the only way we have lost any is to too much heat. 4 to 9 eggs is what we saw last year. g/a
PHFaust: Jeremy your up!
Boaboy00: ?
Jeremy Carroll: up for what?
PHFaust: your question
Jeremy Carroll: oh sorry...
Boaboy00: What Ball Python Morphs Are you Currenly working with? And what morphs will u be selling this up and coming year?
chadbrown_nr: we have clown, pied, ghost, spider, mojave, caramel albino, albino, striped and a few others too. most should go for us this year. g/a
PHFaust: Ok JonF
jonf: chad, what reptiles are you keeping in your basement/workout room these days?
chadbrown_nr: this past year i moved twice, so all i had at home was some leopard geckos in my little girls room. i'm thinking this year i'll keep a few rhino rats. g/a
Boaboy00: :)
PHFaust: Derek your next
derekls_nr: Hey Chad!, first off, big fan of yours (football wise) , I got a male ball pyhon from PE, jsut a normal but a perfect one nonetheless, Robyn is a great guy! ok my question is, ive been hearing rumors that PE is going to shut down all aspects of commerical selling of reptiles? is there any truth to this? Since you did close the retail part , thought it was a good question to ask, especially since it has be rumored around quite abit.
chadbrown_nr: we have no plans to stop selling reptiles. we just want to focus more on the breeding groups and less on the store. g/a
PHFaust: Diamond your up
diamondpython: why are they saying diamond pythons are hard to breed in captivty and how do you hibanite them and how do you bring them out of hibanition. and what age is best to start breeding. and are pythons easy to breed or not.
chadbrown_nr: we have never keep diamonds. i known a few keepers who have had a lot success with vthem. most poeple who do they well use a very low cooling temp to get they to breed. g/a
PHFaust: Boaboy your up
Boaboy00: What, if any, combos do u have planned or are in the works for ur ball pythons morphs?
chadbrown_nr: we are trying any and every combo with the morphs we have. We got a great start last year with the ghost pastels and we will always try for something new. g/a
PHFaust: Jeremy
Jeremy Carroll: anyone else on the seahawks or nfl in general into herps?
chadbrown_nr: there are a few nfl herpers. leroy glover with the cowboys has a good size collection. g/a
PHFaust: SNM your turn
snmreptiles: What was your first "breeding project", and what was your first sucessfull breeding project?
chadbrown_nr: like a lot of keepers my first project was leopard geckos. next was cal kings. both were successful for many years and hundreds of hatchlings. g/a
PHFaust: Boa boy
Boaboy00: About how many balls are in ur collection/breeding colony?
chadbrown_nr: right now we have about 100 females with another couple coming up. g/a
Boaboy00: thanks
PHFaust: Demonfrog your next
DemonFrog: how ya holding up? well back to mandarin rats, can they be handled often, and how do they differ from corn snakes, like are they nippy or quick to stress?
chadbrown_nr: they can be nippy. most are not. they also can be quick to as well when they aren't set up right. i think they are a great snake look at but not something that should be handled all the time. and for the 15 week of the season i'm holding up well. g/a
PHFaust: Boaboy next
Boaboy00: Do u import ball pythons? i men do u like have a connection over in africa that tells u when a new ball morph pops up? Or do u just buy what is available on the market?
chadbrown_nr: i'm not that big of a player yet in the ball world. Importing can be a real pain, i just buy from the guys that bring them in.
Boaboy00: kk
Boaboy00: thanks
PHFaust: SNM go ahead
snmreptiles: If you could only keep one species of reptile, what would it be and why?
DemonFrog: nice question
chadbrown_nr: i really, really , really like boleans pythons. something that look, all black and velvetly.
PHFaust: Joe, your up
varanusjoe: what apects of the black throated monitor make it the prefered choice over the savannah monitor? And when is the best time of the year to get a hatchling?
chadbrown_nr: we think black throats are great because-they are quite tame, they look great(not shaped like football like most savannahs), they are very interactive and we have never had a black or white throat customer tell us they didn't love their monitor. g/a
PHFaust: Derek your UP!
derekls_nr: chad, Does Robyn keep a private collection(if so whats he keep)?
chadbrown_nr: no he doesn't. he's at the shop for at least 10-12 hours a day, he just doesn't have the time. his wife has a few pets at home. g/a
PHFaust: Boaboy
Boaboy00: Who was the nicest person u have ever delt with in the Ball World?
chadbrown_nr: there are more than a few very nice people in the ball world. kevin at nerd, pete khal, the sutherlands just to name a few.
Boaboy00: :)
PHFaust: SNM
snmreptiles: Are you guys currently working with Boelen's, if so what are you doing differently from people that have failed in the past? Also how many do you keep and what cage size?
chadbrown_nr: our boelens are keep in series of vision cages stacked side by side as well as on top of each other. we cut holes in the cages so they could pick which cage they when they like. the different cages have different temps and they use they all. each snake have seven cages to choose from. g/a
PHGinger: Diamond you are up
diamondpython: breeding pythons how many female mice and rats would i need to breed and would the mother be able to incubate the eggs and how much does it cost to breed pythons
chadbrown_nr: we keep them in our coolest room, its gets down to the high 40s in the winter.
chadbrown_nr: its not cheap breeding pythons. you need the pythons, food for them, and a cage for each of them.
PHFaust: Joe you are up
varanusjoe: when is the best time of the year to get a black throated monitor hatchling?
chadbrown_nr: the best time to get hatchling monitors is the spring.
PHFaust: Derek
derekls_nr: at pe , do you breed your own rats mice, or do you get them from anoterh source? Also on all hatcling balls, do you start them on live mice or thawed right off the bat?
chadbrown_nr: we breed some of what we need, the rest we buy frozen. Most like a live mouse for a few meals. we try to switch them over to thawed as soon as we can.
PHFaust: SNM
snmreptiles: What other dwarf monitors are you currently working with? ? Pilbarensis? Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to with us, how many months out of the year are you in CO with us? Also Faust...is that a white boxer, or A. Bulldog?
PHFaust: Its my American Bulldog... :)
snmreptiles: GREAT DOGS!!
PHFaust: and thank you for noticing him...
chadbrown_nr: i do six months in seattle and six in colorado. right now we only breed ackies. i like the others a lot but we need to get a few ironed out first before we jump to the next monitor.
PHFaust: Jeremy
PHFaust: Going once....
Jeremy Carroll: what species of herps does DT glover of the cowboys keep? Also, would you consider black throats a pretty docile monitor?
chadbrown_nr: i'm not sure what he keeps. yes i think they are pretty docile.
PHFaust: Golden Gecko
GoldenGecko: Hey Chad, My name is William. I'm assuming you live in Colorado. Do you herp often? I live in Pueblo Colorado. My favorite herp around here is the red phase western coachwhip. I'm also breeding them!. Thanks for your time chad.
Jeremy Carroll: ?
chadbrown_nr: right now! i really like coachwhips. such an active snake. Way to go breeding them!
GoldenGecko: thank you chad
PHFaust: And last question goes to Demonfrog, who the blonde forgot....
DemonFrog: yay
DemonFrog: What would you reconmend to someone thinking about starting their own reptile breeding business/hobby/company?
chadbrown_nr: its going to be a hard road. you get to really enjoy the reptiles more when you keep it a hobby. too much of our time at pro exotics is needed on so many other things then reptiles. customers, banking, employees, etc. that part can really take the fun out of it. keep it a hobby that you can really enjoy is i way to go.
PHSplendens: Chad, on behalf of all of us at Kingsnake.com, thank you so much for being our guest tonight! Thank you to all who joined us tonight as well.
PHSplendens: Please be sure to join us Thursday night at 8 PM Eastern, when our guest will be Craig Hassapakis, Editor/Publisher of Amphibian and Conservation Magazine.
jeffb: Chad thank you for taking the time to be here with us tonight. I appreciate you taking time out of your season to chat with us here
PHSplendens: For information on all our Chat Week events, please visit www.pethobbyist.com/ChatWeek2003.html
PHFaust: Chad, thanks for coming! And tell that coach of your the packers him
chadbrown_nr: thanks for having me. this was fun!
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