Buying a pastel-first time buyer.

[Maya2012]

So I'm new to the site and new to the snake world. What's a good price on a pastel. I'm looking to buy one today and here's the info I got. He is 3.5 to 4months old, weighs 170g+, he is under a foot long. He's looking for 70$ and will throw in a duel zoomed light. Just wanted to get some input. I just got a normal as well and I was curious what you guys thought about housing together. Is it a no no or what? Thanks in advance for your input
-gabi

[mainbutter]

1) Housing together is generally a no-no for snakes, though I co-habitate my western hoggies during breeding season. Even when breeding ball pythons, I do a few days together, a few days apart.

2) Prices for hatchling/small pastels range from $40 for low quality males to $300 for high quality females. If you think it's a snake you want to keep as a pet and it's one you think is beautiful and is healthy etc, $70 is a fine price. If you're considering purchasing an animal with the intention of breeding, NEVER use the phrase "I'm looking to buy one today". It took me 18 months to find the right pair of ball pythons for my SPOG project. I'm picky about my pastels.

[satomi325]

Pastel males go for $75-100 these days. Females are about $125-200 depending on quality.

And I highly advise not house your snakes together. Especially if both are new arrivals and haven't been quarantined yet. You risk mite and potential illness transfer if they are housed together. And while it is very extremely rare, there have been cases of cannibalism. Some people have been able to house multiple ball pythons together successfully, but it's not worth the risk in my opinion.

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[Maya2012]

Mainbutter: I keep getting mixed reviews about housing together but I think I'll go with my gut and your advice and not house them together. I'm not jumping into breeding just yet, I've only just got into snakes so dont want to push it yet. I said I wanted to buy one today because I was talking to Someone interested in selling his male, but wanted some advice before committing. I think I'm goin to stick to my normal and get use to her first and down the road maybe get another one.

Satomi325: thanks as well, last thing I want to do is hurt my bp.