2nd Petco BP Visit

Thanks for the support all! As far as Petco, it is hit or miss on what you will get there. When I was much younger I ran a Petco store. Lets just say that you saw more dead animals in a week than you would want to see in your lifetime. This included those that came in dead (birds, rodents, reptiles and of course fish) and those that died at the store due to previous disease/stress or lack of care. Unfortunately Petco does not pay their employees enough to find the right people to take care of the animals, nor do they provide the proper tools/supplies to make sure they are healthy as possible. You will always be better of going to a breeder or show and getting a CB baby. As far as Petco selling CB reptiles, for the most part they don't (and possibly not at all). They get the bulk of their reptiles (at least as far back as I can recall) from Gourmet Rodent who does a lot of importing. Support the breeders selling quality CB babies. Ill get down off the soapbox now. :)

Not all chain pet stores are evil, I got my Bauhamat at Petco for $65, when I first held her she slithered up my arm and right to my face, lol. I asked if she was cb or wc or ch, and the girl in the reptile section was completely honest with me, she was ch. I asked for a feeding demo, and they gladly warmed a fuzzy and fed her. Digital thermometer's and hydrometers in all reptile tanks, not an unhealthy looking one in the bunch. This was probably due to the fact that when I bought Bauhamat, the three employees that I spoke with were reminiscing about when their snakes were babies, and showing me wallet sized pictures of their scale kids. :P I understand that some stores take horrible care of their animals *Cough* PETLAND *Cough*, but sometimes (rarely) the people who work there really care about the animals, and not selling stuff.

Tracon, I have been on "both sides of the glass" so to speak, as I have been to several shows myself, as well as working at a Petco for six years....I think I can help you with this. befoe reading this, understand that I am not trying to defnd or ridicule Petco or show any bias toward breeders.....just stating from my own personal experiences. Yes, I do beleive $79.99 is ridiculous for a baby BP, considering I have gotten them at shows for $10-$50. As far as the location goes, I personally beleive that almost all their BP's are WC or CH. The vendor used always changed, because the company always went with the cheaper deals when they were offered. The store I worked in was no exception. The quality of the animals from these different vendors would go up and down....shipments were extremely variable as far as the colors weight and temperaments of these snakes. However, on vendor we had for awhile was Calzoo. I though they had the best of all the vendors we had.We wanted to continue with this one, but Upper management doesn't listen to low-life employees...we apparently had no control over it. i have never personally purchased a BP from that store, but I do own one, and from time to time I saw a few stand out from the hundreds i seen throughout the six years there. And I have pics to show it to!! My Hemlock is pfroof that not all Petco snakes are bad. But, as I had recommended to customers many a time before, and will stand by it, go to a reptile show. Much better price, quality, and selection. And most breeders there will be happy to answer any questions you have. Tracon, if you wanted to ask me directly, as I have already made this post too long, just PM me. ;)

We have just recently bought a ball python from petco.I do have to agree about not knowing the gender I did not like that either,but we could not complain about anything else.The snake has been extremely well mannered,it loves attention.It is eating good,and growing fast!

Im going to dip on into this kool aid....

I bought my bp from Petco.
The young lady told me it was a female and they were eating pinkies.
Well after talking with another gentleman at a petstore who happened to be a flippen snake-ologist (yes i know thats not a real word) he assured me Khan was most likely CH and was NOT feeding on F/T like she said and was used to live.


Well she actually was a he when we took him to the vet. We bought him right before he was about to shed so we were not to sure on his temperment. The vet said try live...his alertness was a sign he might be hungary. We tried a live weaning (obvioulsy much larger than a dinky pinky) and he ate it up no problem.

Each weak he eats great....although its live it still eating and thats whats important.

I was upset that she was a he, but hey poop happens. I will no longer buy from a petco but there is a lesson there that i learned, and although Hoffers is a great pet store in my town and I like there selection, I think I'll be buying from a breeder this time round.;)

As far as the price of snakes go, I think it's pretty moot. If I buy from Petco, I'm out $80. If I buy from an online breeder, I'm out $30 for the BP, and $50 for the shipping, so the price is ultimately the same. I did E-mail a breeder in Canon City, CO, wich is within driving distance, but he seems to be dodging my inquiries as to whether or not I can drive down and pick one up as opposed to having it shipped. (home operation w/ no brick and mortar storefront)


Since the cost is the same, I might as well go with buying online and having it shipped. It's either that or wait 6 months for the reptile show to finally find it's way into Colorado.

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Originally Posted by TraconSnake

As far as the price of snakes go, I think it's pretty moot. If I buy from Petco, I'm out $80. If I buy from an online breeder, I'm out $30 for the BP, and $50 for the shipping, so the price is ultimately the same.

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But if you are dealing with a reputable breeder, you are getting a well established cb baby. With Petco you are getting ch, which may or maynot have parasites, unknown sex, and usure feeding records. No contest in my book. ;)

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Originally Posted by hornsrule

talk to jamie glass. he has one normal male left according to his site. it will cost you about 85 with shipping. he posts on this site a lot. i bought my male bp from him and he is great. his website is www.glassreptiles. i believe another person on the forum bought one of his others.

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disclaimer : in no way shape or form am I accusing anyone on this website of anything...it just so happened that this is a subject that ticks me off and I had to speak up. so please dont take offense...I meant none, all I wanted was to warn anyone considering on buying one from Nathan Rice in Baton Rouge, LA.

I have to chime in on this one. Talking about mailing and breeders and such....

Some of you know how I got my Nag, but I'll make a long story short, simply because I want to get the word out...

I bought Nag and his brother from a guy named Nathan Rice in Baton Rouge, LA. It took a long time after I sent him the money to get the snakes in the mail for me. I also explained to him how he needed to ship my snakes ...using OVERNIGHT service with something like a Therma-care heat wrap for the trip. I told this guy that when I bought the snakes that we had 10 to 20 degree highs and if he didnt package the snakes right they would die.

He didnt pack the snakes well, and I lost Nag's brother, and Nag was a hair away from being dead himself. Luckily, with a warm chest and some time, Nag finally started showing signs of life.

Luckily I was able to save Nag, but his brother wasnt so lucky.

So, at the risk of being rude and possibly offending someone, PLEASE do not do business with this guy...he simply cant be trusted. One last time...dont trust Nathan Rice from Baton Rouge, LA.

Gurgie.....what does your bad experience have to do with with Jamie? You quoted a comment concerning him.....but then go into a spill about some other guy....what does it have to do with your quote?......you talk about a 'subject' that makes you angry...what subject?....am I missing something?

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

Gurgie.....what does your bad experience have to do with with Jamie? You quoted a comment concerning him.....but then go into a spill about some other guy....what does it have to do with your quote?......you talk about a 'subject' that makes you angry...what subject?....am I missing something?

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it has nothing to do with jamie...see disclaimer at the front of my post.

basically the reason I put it where I did was because folks were talking buying snakes and such off the internet, and I just wanted to put the word out that this breeder where I got my Nag is no good to deal with because of reasons specified in my first post...

again, it has NOTHING to do with anyone on this web site at all. its simply a warning from me to try and protect someone who might come across him in the search for a BP that he isnt reputable.

I apologize for any confusions I may have caused with this post. I meant no harm to anyone else in the group

sorry