Selling Ball Pythons to friends

I am not so sure that gift and free are the words mean what some of you seem to think they do.

Free means at no expense, period.

A gift is no longer the givers, period.

A string of any kind makes any transaction neither free nor a gift.

Even something so well intended, in theory, a gesture as insuring that the giver has the snake returned in the event the givee can no longer keep it makes ownership of the snake by the givee impossible. If you can't do what you want with it, it's not yours, period. Wrap it up as pretty as you can, parfume it as you will, pretend it's anything you want, but if it's got any attachment, it's neither a gift nor free.

Period.

Proper terminology would no doubt save many a headache.

I am the type of person that enjoys doing things for my friends. For example, I go nuts every winter making hats and scarves for no other reason than to give them away. Sure, I could try to sell them and make some money. But that wasn't the point of making that particular item. I think what I'm getting at boils down to this: If you were depending on that money, or even looking forward to that money, then go ahead and sell the animals, or discount them for your friends. If not, do what your heart tells you. You could always say, in the future, that you are going to produce a clutch specifically for your friends. Whatever results from that pairing doesn't enter into your check book. I would go as far as making sure they have the correct set up wherever the babies are going.