Buying first morph?

[pdr-now]

Hi, I've been interested in purchasing a morph ball python and tomorrow I am planning on taking a trip to go have a look at some snakes. I live on the west coast of Florida near Tampa and am heading to the east coast towards Miami (3+ hr. drive). It seems there is more stores that carry morphs then they do near me. Since I am new to morphs I thought it would be best to go see them in person that just buying online.

Is their any stores/breeders that you could recommend near east FL that would allow walk-ins to look at there inventory? And does anybody have any recommendations when purchasing a morph what to look for as far a quality? Thanks for any help.

P.S. I'm looking for a Pastel, or Spider. Also can I get your opinion of the snakes in this link as this is one of my planned stops and I like all these snakes but not sure I can afford all 3. Please any opinions, Thanks! http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=32&de=529042

[jglass38]

There are plenty of quality breeders that will ship to you. Check out www.8ballpythons.com. Adam is a great guy and a contributor on this forum. If you are set on going to a store, check in with Ben Siegel Reptiles in Deerfield Beach. No need to drive all the way to Miami. Ben's website is http://albinonile.com/ .

Another place is Underground Reptiles which is right down the street from Ben's shop. I don't particularly like the owner but its a very clean shop and worth stopping into. www.undergroundreptiles.com .

Other than that, check in with Neil Golli. He is in the Tampa area and is a member of this forum. www.gollireptiles.com . I don't know if he allows people to his facility but its worth a try.

[Kagez28]

or check out www.glassreptiles.com

[Nate]

I know Alice of Florida Reptile Room (goes by just "Alice" on these forums) has an outstanding collection. She doesn't really have a store front, but if you're considering making a purchase, i'm sure she would be more than happy to show you what she has for sale. She lives close by me, here in Orlando...i don't know if that would be way out of your way or not.

All of the recommendations that Jamie gave you are great as well.

[Icatsme]

If you are set on going to a store, check in with Ben Siegel Reptiles in Deerfield Beach. No need to drive all the way to Miami. Ben's website is http://albinonile.com/ .

I second that. I've been there several times, their staff is incredibly friendly. If they have something in particular you are looking for in stock, and not out in the front of the store, they don't hesitate in letting you see/inspect the animal.

[jglass38]

or check out www.glassreptiles.com

Thanks!

[pdr-now]

Thanks everyone! I'll add Ben Siegal and Underground to the my trip. I'm kinda looking forward to the cruise cause I don't usually stray to far from home and I've had some extra time on my hands so this will definitely give me sumthin' to do. For the other names mentioned, Neil and Alison, I will keep in mind cause I'm SURE this won't be the last snake I buy. If tomorrow turns out to be a good day and I come home with a new friend I'll post some pics for sure. Thanks for the help!!!

[pdr-now]

Well I was too tired yesterday when I came back from my trip to post anything, but good news, I came home with 3 little boys, yeah, 3. I'll try to get some pics up soon but want to let them get settled.

Now I have some questions for getting these guys set up. I'm new to the tub style set-up and have some questions.

These guys are only about a month old to give you an idea how small they are.
I went to walmart yesterday and got 3 34 qt. tubs, 3 accurate thermometers, and 3 small ceramic water bowls from somewhere in the kitchen stuff department. I seen Pine and ceder, but i thought I read on this forum that these are not for snakes so i didn't get any bedding. Is walmart supposed to carry aspen or is the pine stuff they have OK? Then today I went to Target and decided that the 34qt might be to big so i got 15qt from Target and some AAA batteries for the thermometers. For there hides I looked at the ceramic pot things and could not figure if those little 4 inch dish things would have enough headroom under them for the snake to hide under? They were very shallow? I also need to order some flex watt but don't know what size 3'' or 4'', and should I just get one long piece since i will line the 3 tubs up next to each other?

I'm trying to get this these set up quick because right now I have all 3 guys in one 10 gallon glass aquarium with a 60watt bulb for their heat. I don't think I can get them in their tubs until it is set up with the UTH, right? are they OK together until I get their tubs ready?

Sorry about all the questions!!!

[Kagez28]

did you buy them all from the same place? you really should quarantine any animals the you bring in to the collection so you don't spread mites/diseases. but being all three and in one tank you can throw that out the window.

i would get them in there tubs as soon as possible. if you knew you were going out to pick up new snakes, which you said you were doing 3 days ago, you should have made the tubs up ahead of time.

[pdr-now]

did you buy them all from the same place? you really should quarantine any animals the you bring in to the collection so you don't spread mites/diseases. but being all three and in one tank you can throw that out the window.

i would get them in there tubs as soon as possible. if you knew you were going out to pick up new snakes, which you said you were doing 3 days ago, you should have made the tubs up ahead of time.

Yes, I bought them from the same place and they were all in the same tank in the store.
If you are concerned why I did not have their tanks set up already, I did not know if i was coming home with one, two , or any snakes. So I just prepared the one set up. I appreciate your concern but I'm just looking for help.ok?