Luckiest Day of My Life.

Nothing like getting lucky and snatching up a sweet deal is there? :P

Sometimes you do luck into deals at the independent, family owned type pet stores. That's how we acquired Brannagh and Orlah over a year ago. The pet store we went to often made us a deal, to take any bigger BP that was given to them as an unwanted pet, have it vet checked and confirm gende (at our cost of course). If it was a healthy female we could have it for the price of a baby BP. They didn't think these bigger BP's would "sell well" so were quite pleased to move them out quickly and free up cage space. Needless to say we were thrilled to find two bigger females in there and walk out with great snakes for a very sweet price.

Saweeeet!!! :rockon:

she's a pretty girl :wuv:

I wish I had run into someone like you 2 years ago. The snake that got me back into herps was a female ball that someone gave me in '92. After we decided to strictly keep emeralds, I was looking for a home for her. I was giving her away and got no takers. After another year, I ran into my old ecology teacher from high school. He and a partner were now breeding balls, so I gave her to him.

Craig

Incredible! What a stroke of fortune! I find it amazing that the larger snakes don't sell well--what are people thinking? Sheesh.

Around here, larger snakes are MUCH more expensive than babies, in my little experience. Alas! LOL

By the way, I notice how many people on this board like independent pet stores over the chains. And while my usual bias is for independent stores of other types, I've found our independents around here to be grossly inferior to the PetSmarts. Not that Petsmart is perfect by ANY means. But the *best* independent I've found in Charlotte knows almost nothing about their animals (while trying to sell us a ball python that was sitting placidly in my husband's hands, the guy told us that he was known to be a "nipper"), houses them in not-disgusting-but-not-great conditions, and sells puppies and kittens from mills. They also have a display of pond sliders, all of whose toe nails are ridiculously--and painfully--long. To their credit, they also do not sell the turtles, since it is illegal in NC, and the cages do seem to be clean most of the time. In contrast, the PetSmart near us does not sell puppies or kittens, and whenever I've had questions about an animal, they've gone out of their way to bring me the one or two people in the store who know something about the animal. And I've usually gotten knowledgeable replies. Of course, they almost never have snakes at all, but I wouldn't buy a snake from a pet store anyway.

And then, on the other end of the spectrum entirely there is an independent reptile 'exchange' around here that is absolutely abominable. Filthy habitats, moldy water, mite-infested animals, dead turtles floating, snakes with bad sheds still attached, and old feeder animals lying around covered in substrate. Revolting.

So I guess I don't quite understand the fascination with independent pet stores. But then, maybe we just don't have any good ones here and maybe I would understand if we *did*. LOL

As for me, I buy my supplies at the chain store because it's the best we have around here, and the prices are better to boot.

Heather

I agree with you, many independent pet stores can be far worse than a petsmart or petco. So its always a great joy to find one as nice as this!

I think if you find a good independent pet store that keeps their stock well and will do some deals with you, you've found a potential gold mine. However, we have a private pet store near us here in Toledo that is so disgusting I won't set foot in it (plus they sell puppies that I'm pretty darn sure are from puppy mills :mad: ). Just being a private store isn't a guarantee of quality but good ones do tend to be wonderful when you find them and not as rigid as the big chain stores.

I hear you. I refuse to shop at petstores that support puppymills. This one had mostly exotic mammals and reptiles, some fish and birds, and was nice.

BTW, I love your avatar! I've always wanted a crested, maybe someday!