Re: I found something cool at petco!
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Originally Posted by jglass38
I would give my opinion on the wisdom of this but it probably wouldn't be what you want to hear...Best of luck with it though!
No explanation needed here!!! ;)
Re: I found something cool at petco!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jglass38
Or weird... :)
Arrrgh why can I not spell that word correctly! It's like some sort of mental block! :tricho:
Re: I found something cool at petco!
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Originally Posted by pslsnakes
Im buying half a crate of imported baby balls with a friend this week end. Theres 1000 in this crate, and its unopened. So there can be ANY thing in there. Petco and stores alike arent getting there balls STRAIGHT from africa, but from distributors who buy them by the crate and probably supply a bunch of pet stores in the region.
No, there are "normals" in there. There is no such thing as an "unopened" crate ... that is a myth perpetrated on the market by jobbers looking to make $$$ ... within hours of landing on US soil, every "crate" is opened for inspection by US Fish & Wildlife ... it's a matter of federal law and international treaty ... the balls are sorted through by F&WL inspectors in the presence of the importer. "Unopened" my ace.
Ball python morphs are big business ... even BIGGER in Africa ... African trappers and exporters have a better eye for ball python morphs than 99% of the people in the ball python "biz" ... every single snake that is bagged up and put in a "crate" is scrutinized for it's value ... there are "normals" ... then there are "specials" ... the there are "odd balls" ... then there are "common morphs" (YB's, granites, clear bellies, etc) ... higher end morphs are a totally different deal ... each of these types (normals, specials, odd balls, and common morphs) are bagged separately from each other and painstakingly itemized by the exporter so that the importer has a detailed invoice of wait he paid for.
Typically what happens is after the US Fish & Wildlife inspection, the importer pulls the bags of "specials", "odd balls", and "common morphs" out of the "crates" and resells the normals in bulk to a distributer. If the importer is any good, he will at least hydrate the normals before bagging them back up and sending them out ... if he's a scum bag, the normals just get tossed back in the box and sold as an "unopened crate".
Virtually nothing "slips through" ... these people are professionals ... it is what they do all day every day to put food on the table ... ball pythons are in their blood and bones ... something "slipping through" means less money in their pocket and that isn't going to happen.
This is the reality of the ball python world ... get it? ... got it? ... good! ;)
-adam
Re: I found something cool at petco!
Yes. I didnt know that they get inspected. :confused:
What do you mean by hydrated? They trow some water on them, or?
Re: I found something cool at petco!
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Originally Posted by pslsnakes
Yes. I didnt know that they get inspected. :confused:
What do you mean by hydrated? They trow some water on them, or?
When balls come in from Africa, they have usually been without water for so long that they are terribly dehydrated and need to soak overnight. It's a pretty standard practice.
-adam
Re: I found something cool at petco!
PetCo is famous for dehydrated/underfed snakes..Not to bash the employees, I realize the employees usually try to do all they are allowed by the corporation and management.
Side note: Pls make sure you check them for parasites.. :)
Re: I found something cool at petco!
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Originally Posted by pslsnakes
Yes. I didnt know that they get inspected. :confused:
What do you mean by hydrated? They trow some water on them, or?
Really? Even I new they were inspected by the F & WF.;) :P
Thanks for the info ,Adam!
Re: I found something cool at petco!
Hey pls, post some pics of your snake room...i wanna see what a room ready for 1000 babies looks like! What enclosures are you using? I heard petco was selling 10 gal tanks for real cheap these days!
Re: I found something cool at petco!
LOL...1000 snakes arent going to be at my house.
Im only keeping around 100-150, maybe even less.
And they are going to be in a first ohillips shoe box rack.
Re: I found something cool at petco!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pslsnakes
LOL...1000 snakes arent going to be at my house.
Im only keeping around 100-150, maybe even less.
And they are going to be in a first ohillips shoe box rack.
Are you ready for the costs involved of getting rid of internal and external parasites? Are you able to quarantine that many animals? It sometimes ends up being more expensive to deal with ch animals than just paying extra for cbb. There was a person on another site that bought a large group of animals and thought they had a adequate quarantine setup, all their animals ended up with mites. Just something to think about. ;)
