Hi

[Bpyefinch]

Hello, I'm Bridget and I'm a new member because I am soon to get my first Ball Python.
I live in NOR CA in Pittsburg, and I have no clue if there are breeders near me. I went today with my mom to Petsmart and I am reluctant to buy the $79.99 BP from them. I heard so many different things about the pets sold there and am very concerned. Also very concerned about breeders shipping ANY pet to me.

I want a BP that I know is healthy and I've read several books and online sources.


Any recommendations for those near me OR for those who have had their BP shipped?

[nicktreb]

Hello, I'm Bridget and I'm a new member because I am soon to get my first Ball Python.
I live in NOR CA in Pittsburg, and I have no clue if there are breeders near me. I went today with my mom to Petsmart and I am reluctant to buy the $79.99 BP from them. I heard so many different things about the pets sold there and am very concerned. Also very concerned about breeders shipping ANY pet to me.

I want a BP that I know is healthy and I've read several books and online sources.


Any recommendations for those near me OR for those who have had their BP shipped?

I would suggest getting your ball python online from BHB reptiles. Brian is awesome to work with. They have a show on youtube called snakebytestv you can watch. I'm sure there is an episode explaining how they ship also.

[Bpyefinch]

Thank-you!!

[Bpyefinch]

Well, showed my mom, she shot it down right away...she's convinced about petsmart's snake...I held one of the two BPs today, I liked it a lot...but I'm still worried it's not the healthy...my mom said "Well, you can tell if it had mites..." I told her that's not the only thing bugging me... (and no, the BP I held and fell in love with did NOT have mites)

If my mom won't budge from a pet store, are there any questions I can do, and particular signs other than the eyes, scales, weight, and respatory?

[Creeptastic]

I agree with the above poster on the bhb idea. I have a baby ball python from them, and had a pleasant experience, and will order from them again.

If you mom is against it, maybe get her to read some things about why petsmart snakes arent the way to go. I am a newbie to reptiles, but I can tell you what I have read in terms of what to look for, health wise.

Check for mites, stuck shed, make sure the belly is clean, no brown/copper discoloration. Make sure his mouth is clear, and is not open and wheezing. Ask the pet store worker to do a feeding so you can see if it will accept food.

That is all I can think of now, but I am sure more experienced persons will chime in with other ideas.

If I were you, I would seriously try to get your mother to steer away from petstore snakes. You will feel much better having one that you KNOW is in top shape to be your pet

[frankykeno]

Actually you can't always tell since mites have a 30 day life cycle and may not be in the more visible adult stage at the point you looked at that snake. Also neither you nor your mother are likely experienced enough to pick up on the more subtle signs of illness in this type of snake (a brewing respiratory infection, etc.).

I'd suggest you do some searching here about people's pet store experiences vs good breeder experiences. Find those threads and then ask your mother to read them. It's best since she's expressing an opinion to make that opinion an informed one.

As far as recommended breeders that will ship you a healthy snake, here's a few in no particular order.....Bailey & Bailey Reptiles, 8BallPythons, N.E.R.D., BHB.

Another point to talk to your mother about would be this. With a pet store snake you will likely not have it's hatch date, you'll be lucky if it was properly sexed (if sexed at all), you'll maybe get a pretty spotty feeding history and you may or may not be unwittingly buying a recently imported hatchling. With a good breeder you will get all the information on the snake, you will get a guarantee of it's health, gender, etc. You will also get the backing of that breeder if you have questions or concerns after the sale. Try going back to any major chain pet store with a sick snake or one that won't eat for you and see just how much they care about you or that snake they sold you.

There are some good pet stores, however, most are privately owned and specialize in reptiles.

[BeastMaster]

Keep an eye out for a show like Repticon to come your way. Then you can pick from hundreds of wonderful snakies

http://www.repticon.com/atlanta.html

[kc261]

As Joanna (Frankykeno) already pointed out, you CAN'T be sure just by looking if a snake has mites. You can not see the eggs. Many pet stores will treat their snakes with a mite treatment that kills the live mites, but not the eggs. So the snake looks like it doesn't have mites, but after you've had it home for a little while... the eggs hatch, and your snake has mites.

You also can't tell just by looking if a snake has internal parasites.

You said you are very concerned about a breeder shipping to you, but you didn't specify why. If it is an issue of trusting the breeder to actually do it, that should not be a concern as long as you choose a breeder who is well known and has a good reputation. Joanna listed several, and if you come across another one that interests you, you could post on this forum asking about that breeder to find out if they are trustworthy or not.

If your concern about shipping is the stress for the animal, well, you are right, it is stressful. For less than 24 hours, because they are sent overnight. And the good breeders do everything they can to minimize the stress of shipping as much as possible. Snakes are packed carefully and shipped in insulated boxes with either a heat pack or a cool pack, depending on the weather, to keep them comfortable. If the weather is too extreme, the breeder just won't ship at all and will wait until the weather is more favorable.

Compare that to what most pet store snakes have gone through. Most are what are called "captive hatched", which means the eggs were laid in the wild, then collected and incubated on farms in Africa. As soon as they hatch, before they have shed or eaten, they are packed together in bags, and shipped to the US. They pass through at least a few hands, being shipped each time. For example, at Petsmart, the best you can hope for is that they went directly from Africa to some Petsmart facility, where they were divided into smaller groups and sent out to individual stores.

At the pet stores, they rarely receive proper care, which may include any of the following: improper temps, improper humidity, more than one snake to an enclosure, too small and or too infrequent meals (if they will even eat at all, which they may not due to their stressful conditions), lack of adequate hiding places, and probably a few others I'm not thinking of.

So when you think about all of that, the stress a snake goes through being shipped directly from the breeder to you is pretty small.

Also, something that has not been pointed out yet, if you want the snake purely as a pet, it does not matter if it is a male or a female. Many breeders will give away normal males absolutely for free. They just want to know it is going to a good home, and you just pay the shipping. Which will be less than the $79.99 that you mentioned was the price at Petsmart.

Going to a reptile show is also a good option. I have seen captive bred normals, both males and females, for as low as $15 at reptile shows, although $25-$30 is a more typical price. The only problem with reptile shows is that some vendors are better than others, so you'd be taking your chances a little bit if you weren't able to research them ahead of time. You could always ask around at the show. One thing to ask about is whether they bred the animal themselves (usually a good sign) or are reselling it. If they did not bred it themselves, ask if they know if it is captive bred, captive hatched, or wild caught. Captive bred are generally best. There will be a show in Daly City (san francisco area) this coming weekend:
http://herpworldexpo.com/

Finally, in the interests of honesty, I want to say that none of this means it is impossible to get a healthy snake at a pet store. However, especially for someone inexperienced, it is impossible to know exactly what you are getting. You GREATLY increase your chances of having an easy and positive experience by going with a good breeder. And, in the event that you do have problems with your snake, a good breeder will stand beside you all the way, helping you resolve the issues. Some pet stores may TRY to do this, but there is no way they can compete with the knowledge and experience of someone who specializes in this species.

This got kind of long. I hope some of it is helpful to you.

[Bpyefinch]

Thank-you to everyone!

Hopefully I will convince my mom to buy from a breeder.
Note: Yes, I was concerned about the stress level for the snake, sorry I forgot to mention why.

[divine_reptiles]

I was the pet care manager at a Petsmart and I would not recommend you get your ball python there. I'm not a disgruntled ex-employee or anything of the sorts. Just from my experience, they were snippier and not as good of eaters as the balls I own, that are all from breeders. The poor things are usually pretty stressed out too because the enclosures at the stores aren't possible to set up cool/hot spots in and the humidity was almost impossible to control. Also 80 bucks is just too much for a normal imo.