Should I take this deal?

Well, if you are getting the tubs, does he keep them in a rack you can get, or are they all just individual tubs with lids? Your best bet for heat is to use heat tape. Either Flexwatt or there is a new brand out but I can't remember the name right now. With heat tape, since it's flexible and fairly easy to set up and use, you'll spend less money than buying individual heat mats. Properly wired, you can use a single thermostat for quite a large amount of heat tape, so you shouldn't need another one.

As far as wiring the heat tape, there are a number of very clear threads stickied here in the DIY section and they are all you need to get things going. If you can use a pair of pliers, a razor blade, and a soldering iron, your in business.

As far as a rack goes, if he does not have one you can get, as a temporary measure you can make one out of some basic storage shelves from Wal-Mart for a while. Especially if the tubs have lids.

Be sure to ask what prey they eat when they are feeding, and how often he feeds when they are on food. I would give them a minimum of a week before you try feeding, and two weeks might not be a bad idea since with no heat they will need the warmth to jump start their metabolism again.

If you like, you can add me as a friend here and keep in contact with me. I'd be happy to help you with any problems that crop up in addition to the other people here. I'm no expert, but having been in a similar situation and survived it quite well, I might be able to give you some insight on a problem or just a concern that might be bugging you.

Gale

I would have him pay for a vet visit and get a vet to look them over first before plunking any money down.
A good deal can quickly turn into you caring for a bunch of sick snakes and giving shots and you don't want that mess.
Our vet does group deals that aren't much more expensive than taking one snake in for a visit.
70 degrees is bad, I just got 4 snakes back to healthy again because their tubs dropped to 71-72 degrees for awhile and they got RI's.

Personally I like to hand pick my snakes one at a time, a collection is not something I'd ever buy, but that's just me.

Well, he says he doesn't have a rack so I'm assuming just tubs with lids that he keeps on a shelf. Thanks for the tip on heat tape. If there's a sticky on it I'm sure I'll figure it out. Thanks for offering advice if I should need it in the future. I sent you a request.

SnakesRkewl I would agree with you but how often do you ask your sellers to take their animals to the vet before you buy them? I guess what I mean is, if he's already giving me a good deal on them then I don't want to rock the boat too much. He obviously doesn't really want to keep these guys if he's offering me a really good price on them. I'd hate to see him "just hold onto them for now" and the snakes go even longer without heat and food. I'm definitely not buying if I see any problems, and I'll be looking extra close for sure.

financially its a very good deal. 2000 dollars for 17 BPs, many of them in breeding size, many of them with useable morphs, financially very good.

of course its a bit too good to be true, but if he now has success with rhodent breeding and that requires more and more time but also generates more revenue, i can see how it could be real. If he wants to sell to reduce his workload, selling the snakes individually followed by selling the equipment would be more money, but also MUCH more work and time.

if the health of the animals is adequate and the workload wont overwhelm you, i would say go for it. Of course look at all the snakes, you can maybe take some pictures and post them here, if you can inspect the snakes before making the deal, risk is low, and if the snakes are healthy it is a very good deal.

Make sure you get all documentation about the snakes that he has, knowing where he got which snakes, older pictures from when he got the snakes as babies, data on the genetics of the parent snakes, all that will help if you decide to re-sell individual snakes and when you start breeding yourself.

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Originally Posted by FroggyCrazy

Well, he says he doesn't have a rack so I'm assuming just tubs with lids that he keeps on a shelf. Thanks for the tip on heat tape. If there's a sticky on it I'm sure I'll figure it out. Thanks for offering advice if I should need it in the future. I sent you a request.

SnakesRkewl I would agree with you but how often do you ask your sellers to take their animals to the vet before you buy them?

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Never, but then I don't buy snakes that have been compromised as these snakes health obviously has been ;)

Any update on the snakes? Have you seen them in person yet?

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I know I kept snakes art cooler temps ( way before I had internet. ) I was given a pair of ball pythons. I kept hem with my rat snakes ( I was like 17-19 ) and they did great with me for the 3 years I had them. I gave one away and the other one died a month later in the middles of the summer. I never kept heat on them at the time.
But I agree great deal if your boyfriend/husband has any carpenter skill I can design a 14-18 tub rack ( made with plywood for you that you can set heat tape on ( it be a simple 7-8 tub double rack ( 2 tubs to a shelf) and can run on a one t-sat. with a power stripe on the end ( Iran 2 of these for 5+ years. I only need the tub sizes ( rough on quarts or depth/width) and assembly would be done in he room you want to keep them in.

I wish I had the funds and the chances at these deals that people are finding lol .

So here's my 2 cents, if in your opinion after careful research and inspection the snakes all appear healthy then make the purchase. You can always decide what kind of enclosure you want later as well and if you will or won't use heat.

Rather than take anyone's advice I always notice one's own "informed judgement" is best.

If you need unprejudiced advice, then simply, post some pics of the collection, most experienced members here can draw conclusion on health from a decent photo of an animal, top and belly shots would do nicely. any other assessment such as checking for IR, wheezing, mites etc. can be done on physical inspection.

As for the collection not eating, once you control the temps, they "will" eat for you.

On a final note, good lucky with them if you do decide to take the collection.

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Originally Posted by Kodieh

Any update on the snakes? Have you seen them in person yet?

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Nope, not yet. I have an appointment made for Friday at 1pm to go look at them. When I know something you guys will be the first to know :)

SnakesRkewl, I only knew about the heating issue because I asked him specifically how he was heating them. I'm not sure if that's a common question for others to ask but as I said before I'm pretty attentive about my animals so I ask everything I can think of. Still, I'm sure there have been animals that I bought where someone did something that I don't agree with, I just never knew about it. That being said, the seller doesn't know at this point that I'm questioning his husbandry but I will let him know if I think the snakes need vet care before I touch them. If they look good, I think it's in the snake's best interest for me to get them here and given the care they deserve as soon as possible.

Mechnut450, yes he's pretty talented if he knows what it is he's trying to build but he's never built racks of any kind before. Once I get there on Friday I'll know more about what exactly is going on with the enclosures. I'll send you a friend request and let you know when I know about the tub sizes.

You guys are always so helpful! I'm sure figuring this stuff out on my own would take a LOT more work and time and I'm very grateful to have an awesome community to help guide me some on this quest. :bow:

Friday??!!!!! We cant wait until Friday.........:P If the snakes are healthy, and you are willing and ready for the challenge, I say GO FOR IT! Please let us know asap with pics!