2nd Petco BP Visit

[TraconSnake]

Stopped by PetCo again today to get more info on theri ball pythons. They slipped down a few points with me.

The price for their BPs (normal, of course) is $80, probably about what I'd pay to get one delivered. But there are some issues.

1) Gender information is unavailable. So without paying a vet to probe one, no telling if I'm getting a male or female.

2) They had to be force fed when the store first got them, but are now feeding normally on Frozen/Thawed.

3) This particular batch seems to have a bad attitude, according to the clerk. When we got one out to look at them, all three did "false strikes". The one I held stayed curled up in my hands in a strike posture. I wanted to hold it longer to see if it would calm down and start exploring, but the clerk took it away after a few minutes. (of course, if I was happily in bed and got pulled out of my room by some giant hands, I might be a little grumpy also)

First, is it reasonable to expect to know the gender of a BP, especially if paying $80?

Next, can early force feeding cause eating problems down the road?

Finally, for the third item, I'm actually not all that concerned. I'm inclined to chalk it up to snakes that are stressed because they're in a pet store with kids tapping on the glass, and they also probably don't get out very often. Is it reasonable to expect that once one of these guys/girls is put into a quiet vivarium with good temps/humidities, left alone for a couple weeks, then taken out for short handling sessions would come around and tone down? Or are these not a good idea for a first time snake owner?

After this, looks like I may have to get a snake delivered sight unseen after all...

[kavmon]

those are probably imports that have not been kept and cared for properly. you could do better contacting a breeder and getting a cb baby for around the same price. for those petco babies, i would also factor in a vet visit and a round of meds maybe. that would jack the cost higher than buying from a breeder. just my thoughts!



vaughn

[itzazoo]

Don't be tempted to buy from a pet store. You'll get a much better pet from a breeder. Just my $.02

[Vomitore]

Yeah I compared my CB BP to a Petco BP. Mine was easy to handle the first handle. Has only tried to strike at me one time. The first night I had her, and 2 weeks later but it was because she was hungry so I really wouldn't count that as a strike at me. The ones at petco were shedding in only 30% humidity and their cage temp was only like 78. Go with a reptile store that has CB BP's.

[JLC]

After this, looks like I may have to get a snake delivered sight unseen after all...

Have you checked for any reptile shows coming up in your area? Even a 2-3 hour drive would not be too far to go, in my opinion. Besides just the fun of attending, you may get the chance to look through LOTS of bp's in person and actually speak to the people breeding/selling them. Way, way better than a few sad snakes in a pet store.

But even if you can't get to a show, I would rather buy from a breeder online than buy from a petstore. The only time I would buy from a petstore (if my husband would tolerate it...LOL) is if I happened across an extremely unusual bp for a "normal" price. ...Figure the odds!

[TraconSnake]

I was told that they were captive bred, but who knows. I think the bigger chain stores are doing captive bred, however, due to the pressures of trying to maintain a positive image.


As for shows, the herp society lists the next reptile show as September 16, 2006. Quite a ways away. I'll be ready to go in July.

I contacted a breeder in this forum and he pointed me to a breeder down south of here. This breeder states on their website that they will only do single sales with genders which they have an excess of. And they seem to operate out of their home, so I'm not sure if they'd allow me to pick one up in person yet (E-mail response pending)

Colorado seems to be a great void of breeders, or at least, the ones who can be found through a search engine.

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

I would buy from a pet store if they had a 2500 gram female for $100 I know my friend has found a few of those.

I wouldnt buy a baby though. force feeding is rarely needed if you provide the BP with proper temps and humidity and hides.

[hornsrule]

talk to jamie glass. he has one normal male left according to his site. it will cost you about 85 with shipping. he posts on this site a lot. i bought my male bp from him and he is great. his website is www.glassreptiles. i believe another person on the forum bought one of his others.

[JLC]

Yeah, Jamie is a great guy. You can't go wrong with him!

[daniel1983]

I was told that they were captive bred, but who knows. I think the bigger chain stores are doing captive bred, however, due to the pressures of trying to maintain a positive image.

No big chain store is doing captive bred. They all sell CH imports, and anyone that tells you different does not know any better. The number of normal captive bred ball pythons produced each year is so small compared to the demand for babies that probably all of the BP breeders in the US combined could not supply one big chain like Petco or Petsmart. The cost of CH babies when compared to CBB babies is also a reason that these chains sell CH. I could buy 5-6 CH ball pythons for the price you would pay for one CH BP in any petstore.....petstores can mark up the price of an animal over 3x what they paid for it.

Buy from a breeder or at least a quality dealer...You will be much happier with your purchase.