Considering Getting a RTB, some questions

Walk into a pet store (usually the nastier, privately owned ones), see a whole array of supposedly purebred, AKC registered puppies from about 20 different breeds (usually stuffed in small cages in a back room)....I'll guarantee you they are puppymilled pups. No good dog breeder dumps their babies into pet stores, let alone 20 seperate good breeders. It's a disgusting practise!

As far as getting a nice boa, this is a great time of year. There are lots being born and many good reputable boa breeders around. Check the breeders rep, ask folks you trust for their opinion and then buy with confidence. You'll get a baby that's eating and well established, you'll know it's gender, it's hatch date and it's feeding history. What you spend with the breeder and for shipping won't be much more than a pet store and you won't be as likely to end up with a sickly snake and the very high vet bills that come with that. With a good boa breeder, like with any reputable snake breeder, you'll also have the resource of that breeder before, during and well after the sale of the snake and that's something you just can't put a dollar figure on, in my opinion.

$60 for a normal boa is not overly cheap. Actually, it is around average. Pet stores typically buy them for $30 for people who are looking to dump snakes. If you are only going to pay $60, find a reptile show near you and get one from a reputable breeder or just pony up the $50 and have one shipped. I got mine from www.fantasyboas.com for $106 shipped.

In the long run if that $50 is going to make a difference than perhaps you shouldn't get a snake, because once it gets 6+ feet long and your buyin some large rats that $50 bucks goes by really fast. I understand you want to do it as "cost-effective" as possible, however buying a well started boa from a reputable breeder isn't much more once all the needed purchases are made (cage, heating, t-stat etc) and you'll probably feel better about it in the long run aswell.

That $50 will go fast when it comes to enclosures. If you can find someone to split shipping with you or can buy them locally from a breeder, $50 can feed a snake for a few months.

i guess that depends on where you get your rats. live jumbos for me are $12 so $50 doesnt last to long when you look at the snakes lifespan.

Sounds like you need to find a small rabbit breeder! Wow... $12? I pay $10 at the most for a 2lb bunny(usually $3-$5), and that lasts my boa 2 weeks, easy. When she eats rats, she might be hungry again in a week to a week and a half(even if I feed her 5-6 larges, LOL). Love 'dem bunnies.

yea... I have two places to get rats up here, Petco and some guy I know. Petco doesnt sell jumbos, and with large's at $8 that becomes a hefty bill quickly and my friend breeds them and sells me the jumbos for $12. The only place I can find bunnies is petco, but a $99.99 meal every two weeks doesn't intrigue me. I've been slowly switchin my boa to p/k (he's somewhat picky bein a rescue and all), and once he's consistent I'm gonna order me some f/t rats or bunnies.

all the jumbo's he sells me are 500g plus, so they are some huge mommas.

EXCUSE ME? $100 for a bunny? The pet stores around here sell them from 12-30 depending on color and that crap.

the petco by me only sells those fancy rabbits. I am positive the tag has four nine's on it.

Haha, no no, I didn't mean icky Petco. You can find a breeder easily by going to feed stores and looking at their bulletin board. 4H and FFA clubs may breed them and sell them. Most sell by the pound and usually already killed/frozen. Plus, they are usually the New Zealand Whites or one of the larger meat rabbits, so much healthier for the snake. I have a link of rabbit breeders in Texas at home, I'll try to find it.