New to pythons

I am new to the world of pythons and have a few questions that I'm hoping people with real experience can answer. I work at a wildlife rehab center that also takes in abandoned exotic animals for veterinary care until they can be placed in good homes. A few months ago a small ball python was found in the street and brought to us (he was 236 g). Our vets said he was perfectly healthy, and just needed to gain some weight. I ended up fostering him for two months and absolutely fell in love with him. However, I did not have the right set up / cage / etc and so when a great home came available, I gave him up. Since then I have been wanting to get one of my own. I have been slowly gathering equipment and supplies, and now I think I'm ready to start looking for a snake.
Now to my question, I'm not comfortable buying from petsmart, the employees could not tell me where the snakes come from. One said they were captive bred from a "good" breeder, another said they were imports (I'm assuming they were wild caught or imported from Africa), and the manager said that they came from various "sources". So there will be a reptile expo in Richmond VA next month and it's not too far of a drive for me, and I was wondering where some of you have gotten your snakes? Any particular breeders that may be in the Virginia / North Carolin / Maryland area that are particularlly wonderful. Also, is it generally better to get one from a breeder?
I'm not looking for any particular morph, I just want a healthy male snake that will eat fairly well and be gentle.

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Originally Posted by Crowfingers

I am new to the world of pythons and have a few questions that I'm hoping people with real experience can answer. I work at a wildlife rehab center that also takes in abandoned exotic animals for veterinary care until they can be placed in good homes. A few months ago a small ball python was found in the street and brought to us (he was 236 g). Our vets said he was perfectly healthy, and just needed to gain some weight. I ended up fostering him for two months and absolutely fell in love with him. However, I did not have the right set up / cage / etc and so when a great home came available, I gave him up. Since then I have been wanting to get one of my own. I have been slowly gathering equipment and supplies, and now I think I'm ready to start looking for a snake.
Now to my question, I'm not comfortable buying from petsmart, the employees could not tell me where the snakes come from. One said they were captive bred from a "good" breeder, another said they were imports (I'm assuming they were wild caught or imported from Africa), and the manager said that they came from various "sources". So there will be a reptile expo in Richmond VA next month and it's not too far of a drive for me, and I was wondering where some of you have gotten your snakes? Any particular breeders that may be in the Virginia / North Carolin / Maryland area that are particularlly wonderful. Also, is it generally better to get one from a breeder?
I'm not looking for any particular morph, I just want a healthy male snake that will eat fairly well and be gentle.

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The reputation of the breeder (and there are many good ones) is more important than proximity. The snakes get shipped overnight.
That said, I think Peter Kahl (spell?) is near you. Dave Palumbo (Muscle Serpents University) has a good video with him.

There are plenty of great breeders that go to that show. A few that I highly recommend are:
Conley herps
Hulker herps
Burning garage reptiles
Recessive Obsession
And American Made exotics

All of which are run by great guys that produce awesome animals.

Thanks so much, I tried looking some of the vendors up, but I don't know enough about the breeding process to know what warning flags to look for. I really appreciate giving me some names to look out for.

When you check out a snake you want to make sure it's healthy. No respiratory sounds like wheezing or clicking, no bubbles or mucus in the mouth, no mites, and just look it over for anything unusual.

The python I fostered always whistled a little, sometimes louder than others. Had three separate vets look at him, and the last one said that ball pythons 'talk". He said that they will whistle and occasionally sigh or hiss, and it's totally normal. Is this true? And if so, how do you know if one is having respiratory issues or if it is talking? Also, can you see reptile mites without a microscope?

If it's doing it excessively. Like every breath. Sorry, should have mentioned that. My big guy dies that but I'll only hear it about once an hour when I have him out. When he had an RI when I adopted him it was closer to every breath he did it.

Great, thanks. When he was first brought to us, I thought that is was a RI, but no bubbles and breaths were regular and even. He usually did it while he was out and about exploring his cage or being handled. Never heard it when he was curled up snug in his hide.

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Originally Posted by Crowfingers

Thanks so much, I tried looking some of the vendors up, but I don't know enough about the breeding process to know what warning flags to look for. I really appreciate giving me some names to look out for.

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Most of those guys aren't big on websites but you can find them on Facebook