Craigslist

[sophia]

Hi,

I'm looking at a couple snakes for adoption on Craigslist, but I want to approach the situation with caution because I've had plenty of deals go bad on CL. The last thing I want is to get a shady seller and involve a live animal in it all.

What sort of questions should I ask? I've got some standard stuff covered, such as CB/CH, care history, health history, and so on, but I really don't want to miss anything. I have a BP who is healthy and thriving, but I'm still starting out in keeping herps.

Who here as gone through the process and what words of advice do you have?

Thanks,
Sophia

[Kagez28]

your not allowed to sell animals on craigslist, so any ball python found on there is gonna be a rescue. alot of time its someone going to college and can't bring his snake. or maybe just moving somewhere and can't take it. alot of times they just don't want to take care of it anymore. in that case it has probably been mistreated and in some bad husbandry for awhile. unless the person took down records it's unlikely you will have a good history of the snake.

i have also noticed that you rarely find just a snake for sale. most of the time people want to sell the whole set up they have going. most of the time the stuff they have isn't worth jack to a snake, so it really just ups the price of the snake, since you can't "sell" the animal they sell the stuff to it make up.

one last piece of advise from me... buy from a reputable breeder, not from craigslist. with a breeder you get a healthy snake from someone that cared about the animal.

[CntrlF8]

I've "adopted" a total of 4 snakes from Craigslist so far. My pastel male and a very pretty juvenile reduced pattern female from a breeder who was getting out of the biz, an adult female from a family who didn't have time for her any more, and an adult male who was a true rescue in that he escaped his cage and was harassed by the family's cats. All 4 of them were healthy and eating when I got them, and all 4 are healthy today. It's not ALL bad on CL, but you do have to be picky.

The male that I rescued was being let go by the family because he was nervous/agitated and would strike at anything near him that had body heat. I got him home and was able to handle him no problem, he never hissed or struck at me once. 6 weeks later, after making sure he fed properly and didn't have any lingering "attitude" issues, I adopted him out to a forever home, where he has been happy and healthy ever since. I paid $40 for him to get him out of that house, and let him go to his new home for free.

[frankykeno]

I would say be cautious and don't pay an "adoption" fee that seems unreasonable or for equipment you don't need or want. Be prepared for vet costs if this snake is not healthy and also fully quarantine it from your other snake...that means a seperate room, seperate husbandry tools, sanitizing between them, etc.

[melinda.s]

Personally I sell My baby normals on craigslist. As long as it is listed as a rehoming fee there is no problem. I have met some really nice people off of there.

[frankykeno]

Personally I sell My baby normals on craigslist. As long as it is listed as a rehoming fee there is no problem. I have met some really nice people off of there.

Ummm that would be called lying. Craigslist is not set up for breeders to sell on, there are other venues for that. Bending the rules doesn't make it right.

[Nifer]

People who sell their animals via a ridicoulus rehoming fee annoy me greatly.

[FreQ]

my normal was a freebie on Craigslist. The guy I got hiom from is a morph breeder and when this male normal hatched he kept it for a bit and then posted it up to give away. I know you arent "supposed" to sell on craigslist but I mean come on now if you get a pet off there and pay for it you aren't "adopting" it youre buying it. Now if said breeder is selling her normals at below normal breeding rates or pet store rates than thats fine IMO.

[slartibartfast]

There's a big difference between using CL to rehome animals who -need- homes, and to sell product. If you have to resort to CL to sell your stock, there is something wrong. I monitor the pets section here locally, and flag anything that's obviously a breeder.

As far as buying from there, you have to be pretty cautious. Last night I e-mailed a guy who put an ad up there, and he's wanting $70 each for an '06 normal female and an '06 male he was told was "het for pastel". I don't think I"ll be jumping on that....

[adizziedoll]

I know you arent "supposed" to sell on craigslist but I mean come on now if you get a pet off there and pay for it you aren't "adopting" it youre buying it. Now if said breeder is selling her normals at below normal breeding rates or pet store rates than thats fine IMO.

Agreed.
Exchanging cash for an item is a sale.
Call it an "adoption" to make it sound flowery since we're involving a living animal and nobody wants to sound insensitive, but it is still technically a sale.

The lines are so incredibly blurry it's like watching a glowstick spin around in circles. Who is to decide what's a sale and what's an "adoption"?
Yes, $500 for that "puggle" is a high number, but I guarantee someone will "adopt" it for $500. So ... if someone advertised it as an adoption and someone else exchanged money for the animal knowing they were adopting it .... doesn't that make the transaction an adoption???

I get frustrated with the word "adoption" in general. If you aren't a rescue agency, you're selling me the animal because you don't want it anymore, for whatever reason - just like a rug, a microwave, a tea kettle - whatever.
Call it a re-homing fee and I'm happy
Sorry for the rambling - my thought were all over the place on that one