What's the deal on "papers"?

Okay, I'm originally a dog person, so papers to me make it the offspring of two papered dogs. These papers come from a nationally recognized association. Snake papers, I know, mean the same thing, but where do these papers come from? Are they just typed up by the breeders? And how are they recognized as legit?

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pretty much. Big companies like NERD and Markus Jayne sell their animals with papers and they carry weight with the reputation of the company. Smaller breeders will often give you a file (I do) with parental and clutch information and often include photos.

Where as domestic animals are monitored more by the government, with regulations and permits.. snake breeders don't face the same restrictions.

Ball pythons in particular, carry many recessive genes that lay dormant, so the more proof you can gain from the seller, especially when dealing with hets, the more confident you can be about your future pairings.

Personally I don't deal with hets outside of people I trust, and companies that are known for their integrity. Papers mean nothing if there is no reputation behind them. So as a new breeder trying to introduce your animals into the market, the only way to make yourself more credible is by keeping your records precise and accurate, and passing them on with the animal.

They are just typed by the breeder. Many will add photos of the parents as well.

In the reptile world papers are only as good as the breeder that they come from. They do not guarantee anything more than the possibility of taking legal action... but even still things like this can happen:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ptiles-bad-guy

Yes they are just created by the breeder you are buying from. So they are truly only as good as the breeders word. That is why it is so important to do your research and buy Hets from someone that is reputable and that you trust.

Edit: Wow, I got beat to it by 2 people! Usually it's just Aaron!

I've got a het pied without papers. I bought her from a breeder with an excellent reputation and a guy who I trust. I don't for one minute doubt that she's a het, papers or no papers. I never even asked for papers.

When you buy a het from a breeder, all you have is his word that the snake is het. Papers are basically a way to put that word down in writing, nothing more.

I also have a het that came from a breeder who I don't particularly trust. I bought the snake for it's own unique qualities. If that snake ever proves out to be het for what he was sold as, it's a nice surprise. But I didn't pay any more for him than I would have if he were known to be not het.

Papers are also for the seller's protection just as much, if not more than, the buyer's. A smart seller will save and send papers in a PDF format. If down the road, a scam artist sells a normal to buyer C and claims it came from Company A, Company A may have to defend their reputation when it doesn't prove out. Stored papers from Company A can show it's not even their snake.

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In the reptile world papers are only as good as the breeder that they come from. They do not guarantee anything more than the possibility of taking legal action... but even still things like this can happen:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ptiles-bad-guy

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What if in the above example, the seller had real het papers(instead of the obvious fake ones) but photoshopped a different snake in? Having clear photographic records that show the scam artist bought a different snake as a 100% het will clear the situation up immediately and protect the original breeder.