What would you do?

[Crawly's Mom]

Okay so poking around craigslist, which I am beginning to learn is a terrible idea, I came across an ad for a female ball python. This is the ad...

"I have a female ball python that is possibly gravid. I have no set fee for her. Im taking offers but be reasonable. She was paired to multiple morph males. Shes a big girl well over 2000g. Currently in shed, either pre ov or pre lay. I never caught the ov so im not entirely sure which one but I believe its prelay, this is the 2nd shed within a months time. She has a nice reduced alien head pattern and is a proven female that lays large clutches."

So I wrote him an email asking about the snake, what is her temperament like, has she been handled with any kind of regularity or simply used for breeding, what is she eating, also what kind of males has she been paired with that she could possibly be gravid with, and what kind of price he was hoping to get for her.

This was the response I got...

"She's completely chill. I handle my snakes as much as possible. She's kept in a tub in a temperature controlled room, I still have to put together a couple of my racks I haven't gotten to yet. She will eat f/t and live rats. Her last meal was 2 weeks ago after not eating for some time (breeding etc, she wasn't interested in food) she was paired with a yb, a fire, a butter and black pastel. I'm taking offers."

So my question is, what would you offer in that circumstance? I was thinking partial cash and maybe a clutch agreement? That if she does produce a clutch, we split the profits from that clutch. Because what real guarantee is there that she will actually produce and that it will be worth anything? Could slug out... could not be avid at all, right?

You guys have always been super helpful in the past, I'm sure y'all have some advice now.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Key word "Possibly" while I know it is often tempting to get a shortcut and get a gravid female I would stay away from craigslist.

1# Possibly gravid
2# Even if gravid what were the pairings? Is it something you would even be interested in? Personally I am all about SELECTIVE breeding so a female that might have been paired to just any male (maybe an ugly pastel or ugly spider) would not interest me.

I would not be willing to pay more because the animal is "Possibly" gravid especially not from craigslist.

But the bottom line it's up to YOU.

[Crawly's Mom]

If she ended up being gravid by the fire or the butter, then yes I might be interested as they would contribute to my future breeding plans for Nuclears. That was why I was hesitant to go up. He said he'd dropped the price to 300, which to me still felt high for a normal female. I was thinking of offering lower and then maybe doing a contract? Something that says if she is in fact gravid by one of his males and produces a clutch, that we split the profit from the clutch. But what is a fair offer for a normal female?

[angllady2]

I would be VERY cautious and VERY suspicious here. A gravid female, especially one bred to a number of morphs males, is very valuable, so why is he getting rid of her now instead of after she lays ? If he suspects her shed is prelay, she would drop her eggs in a month, which is when 95% of big females get sold, right after they lay.

Does he have pictures of her AND of these males he claims to have ? What about pictures of her locked with any of them ? Something just doesn't add up to me about this. If she lays a clutch of say, 8 eggs, statistically 4 of them could be morphs, and he could easily make several hundred dollars off that clutch. So why on earth is he basically giving it away?

If you decide to make an offer for her, make the offer as though she ISN'T gravid, because you have no guarantee she is, no matter what he says. DO NOT offer to split the clutch, if he wanted the clutch he'd wait until after she lays in a month.

A nice, big normal female that is healthy and of breeding weight { ask for a picture of her on a scale } is worth around $125-$150. If he will let you, ask to see her BEFORE you make an offer. Bring your cash with you, but do not make an offer until you can see this animal in person. If she really is gravid, and within a month of laying you'll be able to tell. If you aren't sure you can, visit this site: http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html and study the pictures of the gravid females.

My advise is if you really want her, buy her as a big normal female who is ready to be bred, NOT as a gravid animal who might lay a clutch worth a few hundred dollars. If you spend too much on her and get no eggs at all, or something else goes wrong, then you'll be kicking yourself in the head over it. Be safe, not sorry.

Gale

[Crawly's Mom]

I was curious about the timing as well. He said the only reason he was selling her was because he needs the funds to fix his car. I guess we can all get into binds, but yes it does make me nervous.

The only reason I thought about offering to split the profits of the clutch was because it might make him a little more willing to sell her for a fair price if that is the case. If she never produces, then I would never have to split the clutch, but would still have a breeding weight normal female.

It is a weird situation, thats why I sought some good advice!

[lasweetswan]

Sounds sketchy to me.

[Crawly's Mom]

I think perhaps I might just avoid the whole thing. I asked if he had pictures of her and the males she locked with. He responded by telling me no that he doesn't have the time to take pictures of them locking when he has a job. I didn't even ask for locking pictures, just of the female and the males in question.

He lives at least an hour and a half drive from me, so I am not all too keen on driving that distance without so much as a picture of the snake to go off of. :\

[jtomb1510]

This sounds a little too good to be true. I'd be very hesitant.

[lasweetswan]

I think perhaps I might just avoid the whole thing. I asked if he had pictures of her and the males she locked with. He responded by telling me no that he doesn't have the time to take pictures of them locking when he has a job. I didn't even ask for locking pictures, just of the female and the males in question.

He lives at least an hour and a half drive from me, so I am not all too keen on driving that distance without so much as a picture of the snake to go off of. :\

That would put me off instantly. I'd never be rude to someone that was trying to do business with me. Sounds like someone you want to stay away from.

[snake lab]

First, ask for pictures, second why is he selling a poss gravid girl on craigslist and not on ks or fauna? Third if he knew anything and believed she was gravid he would have an asking price. A poss normal gravid girl wouldnt be worth more then 150.00 bucks in my oppinion. Sounds sketchy to me. The fact this animal is listed on craigslist would throw flags up for me