breeders vs Pet Shops

What is better getting a Ball Python from a Pet Shop or an Breeder. Is there any breeders in Texas

it just depends on the pet shop really. there are breeders all over the place or you can purchase from anyone and have it shipped. there are lots of options. look here for breeders in your area: http://www.kingsnake.com/breeder.html.

breeders hands down. vpi is in texas, one of the best.


vaughn

We've been lucky enough to find a few great pet store ball pythons but in the end I'd always say go with a reputable breeder. Whatever you might save purchasing through a pet store (if anything) might end up spent at the vet for fecals, meds or sexing or in ending up ordering Provent-A-Mite. Some pet stores are great and you can find nice snakes, but sadly they are few and far between it seems.



~~Jo~~

i live in austin and got my guy about 2 months ago from glass reptiles. i tried to contact vpi about getting a normal but only got response back and no more after that. anyway if you are just looking for a male and dont mind shipping i think jamie has 2 more normals and mine has been perfect so far. www.glassreptiles.com. send me a message if you have any other questions.

not to state the obvious but a breeder knows everything about their animals from the time it was laid as an egg to birth. They also actually care about the quality of the animals. Pet shops get some if not all of their animals from importing usually looking for the cheapest and marking it up with just plain rediculous prices. There are exceptions of course but this is my generalization.

Go with the breeder, just in case. I got lucky with Bauhamat, I got her at Petco, but they had two snake parents working in the reptiles section, so they were pretty well taken care of, but not all pet stores are like this, and if you get one from a breeder you know your snake's history and if it's healthy or not. Another bonus, if it's from a breeder it's captive bred and most pet stores carry only wild caught.

I found a reptile show and got one from there. im not sure where in TX you live but here is a show.


ELK'S LODGE, 601 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington, TX 76010 DEC 17-18
http://www.texasreptiles.com/

That's the one I plan on going to. I heard there was another show on the 4th and 5th but can't for the life of me find where the site was. The last show at that location(Elks Lodge) was not a good one. Very small and there were mainly invertebrates and geckos, some snakes(sandboas, short tail pythons, arboreal pythons, and common boas). It wasn't worth my $6 to get in, but that is just my opinion.

One show that you SHOULD definately attend is the Constrictors Expo in July. It is huge and there are so many nice vendors to buy from.

I agree with everyone here, buying from a good, reputable breeder is the best way to find a quality snake, hands down.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Danielle(THM)

...and most pet stores carry only wild caught.

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Petco (and most chain type stores) usually have farmed snakes. They're not exactly wild caught, but they're not captive bred either. The eggs are actually imported and hatched here.

Although, at Petco, you will usually get lied to from my experience, and they'll tell you they're captive bred/born. The girl I got Jake from actually told me that "they" (as in everyone) haven't been importing Ball Pythons for years. Everything you find in pet stores these days are all CBB. lol Ahhh... pet store folks... gotta love 'em!

All the more reason to go with a breeder. You may pay a little more (most of the time you won't because of pet store inflated prices. With a breeder you get all kinds of piece of mind too. Usually a sexing guarantee, health guarantee, most breeders will start their babies before selling them by giving them a few meals to make sure they have a good feeding response. And pet stores usually can't tell you when your snake was hatched, where as a breeder can tell you when, and probably show you pictures of the clutch hatching!

I don't regret getting Jake from a pet store, as I didn't know any better. I am VERY happy with him, he has a GREAT feeding response, and has been very healthy. I also have four girls that I got from a breeder (Adam). Also, no regrets there, and I DID know better. :) I got very lucky with the group of snakes we have.