It’s Been a Long Time!
2023 Recap and 2024 Sneak Peek
Greetings everyone,
It feels like forever since our last chat here. Keeping up with this blog and social media was a major goal for most of 2023, but let me tell you, it was one rollercoaster of a challenge. As life picked up pace throughout fall, we dove into house hunting, the whole buying process, packing, and then the big move—all while keeping up with 1 or 2 shows every month. Talk about a whirlwind, especially juggling Raleigh Repticon (Nov 25 and 26), relocating 250+ animals three hours away on December 2nd, followed by Charlotte Repticon (Dec 2 and 3), and then the Durham Show Me Reptiles on the 17th. But hey, we're almost settled in now, and things are finally starting to find their rhythm.
Before diving into what lies ahead, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on 2023. I'll admit, the first half of the year was a bit rough for Danelle’s Critters. I was a tad in denial—I had the breeding aspect down (especially for crested and gargoyle geckos), but I was hoping the sales part would just fall into place. It was like that old saying, "build it and they will come." Except, in reality, there were only a few sales, and things were far from flying off the shelves.
Meanwhile, we were also diversifying. In March, we got a batch of corn snakes from BHB Reptiles. We invested in a breeder trio of Western hognoses too. We tried pairing these animals and ended up with two corn snakes producing fertile eggs, hatching our first 16 baby snakes. However, the Western hognoses didn't quite work out as planned, and two of the corn snakes didn't produce fertile eggs.
But that's not all that happened in 2023. We added more corn snakes to our collection—some will be ready over the next few years. And get this, we’ve got rosy boas, tricolor hognoses, and ball pythons that we are hoping we can pair and produce babies this year! It's going to be a blast!
So while that is the recap for 2023, it is also a bit of a sneak peek to this year because we are hoping for lots of baby snakes 2024!
Oh, and there's more! We've got a ton of crested geckos—lots of babies joining MorphMarket and rotating onto our show tables this year. Plus, we’ve got various species and varieties of isopods gearing up to join our offerings. Exciting news: my rubber duckies had babies! They're still a ways away from being up for sale, but noticing those tiny babies on Christmas day was such a thrill!
Looking ahead to 2024:
YouTube: Video content is on the horizon, short clips for Instagram and longer ones for YouTube.
Giveaways: Monthly giveaways starting soon—cool merch, isopods, and some gecko giveaways. Snake giveaways might even happen this fall if all goes well.
Email List: I created the Critter Adventure VIP Club, and offered a coupon code (used by someone—super exciting!), but now it’s time for the cool Critter Adventure Newsletter to actually go out.
Busy Show Schedule: We've got quite the lineup this year.
So, that's a quick recap and a sneak peek into the coming year, but brace yourselves for an exhilarating ride ahead. Stay tuned for all the excitement!
Warm regards,
~Danelle
Danelle’s Critters