Is there an age where a Ball python is too old to buy from a petshop?

[waggygee]

I would like to get a ball python within the next few weeks. I saw a nice one at a petshop but it is 2years old... Is this too old? If so what is the preferable age to recieve a BP? (note: I have no previous experience with CB snakes, I lived in Africa before Malaysia so I caught my pets myself and freed them after a few months)

[frankykeno]

There's a number of issues with pet store snakes that can be a problem. With a very young one you have to worry about it being a freshly imported captive hatched baby and has it been properly hydrated and issues with parasites, etc. With a snake that's already 2 years old I'd be asking the pet store where it came from. Most likely it's an abandoned pet snake but it could also be a fresh import. Most of the bigger bp's you see in pet stores though were somebody's pet that they grew bored with and dumped off at a local pet store.

Some of those adults can be wonderful snakes to get. I have a few in my collection that we found in pet stores. You just have to be good at judging the condition of the snake and be willing to deal with quarantine and vet costs if you find it has health issues. Always be very wary of mites. A lot of not great general pet stores (not reptile specialists) send you home with a free case of those.

[Bruce Whitehead]

I would agree with Franky.

As long as you understand the risk, and can get information regarding the snake's history, you could be OK. I have a few adoptees that are much older, and haven't found any concerns regarding temperment. My adult adopted females are the sweetest snakes in my collection.

Also you want to bone up on proper husbandry and potential consequences so that you can evaluate the conditions they are being kept in. Proper heat? Proper moisture, appropriate cage furniture, and is the bp housed singly or does it have roommates?

bruce

[waggygee]

Also you want to bone up on proper husbandry and potential consequences so that you can evaluate the conditions they are being kept in. Proper heat? Proper moisture, appropriate cage furniture, and is the bp housed singly or does it have roommates?

bruce

I asked the shop keeper about heat and moisture, he said that according to all his experience, the humidity and temperature here is great for the snakes so there is no need to worry about that. This bp will be alone... I want to gain experience before I keep more than one. Do you have any links to good threads I could read up on? more especially on furniture and choosing the right one.

Thanks for the replies!

[Reediculous]

Check out this site FAQ's

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=31102

[Reediculous]

also check out this thread from our own Cue! if you get the 2yr old snake this ten gallon will probably be to small, but Cue covers the basics here!


http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=55849

[waggygee]

also check out this thread from our own Cue! if you get the 2yr old snake this ten gallon will probably be to small, but Cue covers the basics here!


http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=55849

Thanks! I have been over that FAQ before, but it still helped big time

[Bruce Whitehead]

I asked the shop keeper about heat and moisture, he said that according to all his experience, the humidity and temperature here is great for the snakes so there is no need to worry about that. This bp will be alone... I want to gain experience before I keep more than one. Do you have any links to good threads I could read up on? more especially on furniture and choosing the right one.

Thanks for the replies!

Best thing you can be armed with is knowledge when you go in. I am a pain but if they "yeah, yeah... the temps are great"... I still push as to what they define as great or good. If they tell me humidity is great... I ask "where is the guage?"

Do not be afraid to be really specific with your questions, and then to double guess it. Doesn't mean you're being difficult, it just make you a sharp keeper. Dare I say an informed consumer (hate that term when addressing animals - but reality is such).

The tricky part with petstores may not be the individual animal, but you have to consider all the animals in the shop. AKA mites, RIs, parasites, etc. How long the animal has been there? What is their quarantine procedure? Things like that.

Also... to give that dead horse one last blow. To be minimally cautious. Fecal float at the vet, pretreated enclosure for mites, and check for all the signs of a healthy bp.

I don't have the list... but google is your friend. No open sores, clean vent, clear breathing, non-listless, etc.

Good luck. Only thing more exciting than a new snake is... two new snakes!

Bruce

[Ginevive]

If the store knows how to care for them properly, and it is an established snake that eats regularly, I see no problem with it being from a store per se. I would get a written guarantee that the snake is free of parasites both internal and external, and ask to see it feed before bringing it home (a few days before bringin home actually, so it can digest.) By knowing how to care for them before even going into the store, you know what to look for, and what to provide for your snake.
I would grill the seller, though. Where did the snake come from? Who bred it? It would not be enough for them to claim that it is captive born; if it was wild-caught and acclimated, and they said so, I would rather hear that, than for them to lie about its origins. Ask them to sex it for you also.. and make sure to point out any retained shed, etc.
There are advantages to buying slightly older snakes, as opposed to hatchlings. Babies can be harder to feed if, say, they have only eaten 1-2 times in their lives. But with a full-grown snake, the disadvantage is never really knowing how old the snake is, unless your seller is trustworthy and has records, dated pics, etc.