Advice on getting my first BP?

Nah, I think I will go ahead and share my experiences.

You made an impulse decision to buy a dwarf retic because you knew an interstate transport ban would be set in place. You didn't get the animal you wanted (although the species is known to be tempermental and the breeder told you that it was a nippy snake) so you contacted the breeder AFTER the ban had been put in place and you're upset because things didn't go your way. Please tell me what exactly he was supposed to do? As far as I'm concerned it was 100% your responsibility.

I think Petco gets all of their ball pythons from Gourmet Rodent and I don't believe they are in terrible condition when they leave that facility. It all comes down to the care of the animals while in the store.

Please do not make factually inaccurate statements about my situation. It was not an impulse buy in any way.

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Originally Posted by tbowman

I think Petco gets all of their ball pythons from Gourmet Rodent and I don't believe they are in terrible condition when they leave that facility. It all comes down to the care of the animals while in the store.

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I believe it's Sun Pet LTD and they are pretty bad. There are plenty of videos of their facilities on YouTube.

Just like eveybody has been saying I will also agree that no matter who you get the snake from you are not guaranteed a healthy snake but there are alot of good breeders out there that have been around for years. The biggest difference in my opinion is customer service. A reputable breeder will help with questions long after your purchase. Be patient, contact different breeders and make a cool calm and collected decision you won't regret.

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Originally Posted by MidSouthMorphs

I believe it's Sun Pet LTD and they are pretty bad. There are plenty of videos of their facilities on YouTube.

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I know they get their frozen feeders from Gourmet Rodent and I know I've heard Brian Barczyk and others say that petco gets all of their BPs from Bill Brant at Gourmet Rodent.

Gourmet Rodent is under new ownership as of last year.

If the petsmart takes good care of them, then I don't see any issues there. I think with petsmart it really depends on the employees and how much they care for the animals. (I happen to work at a Petsmart and I know they care for the snakes as best they can). As for the snake not eating- sometimes they'll start eating if you give them live/pre-killed. I got my own bp from petsmart and she hadn't eaten for three weeks before I got her. I switched to prekilled and now she has a fantastic appetite and will eat anything and everything I give her. Some snakes just don't like frozen.
One thing you could try, depending on how long you're in the area- Petsmart has a 14 day guarantee. Get the snake, keep it for a week or so then try feeding it. If it still doesn't eat, return it.


Also: Petsmart is not Petco. I've had way too many animals die of disease from Petco. Petsmart tries really hard to treat sick animals, not sell them.

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Originally Posted by Timelugia

If the petsmart takes good care of them, then I don't see any issues there. I think with petsmart it really depends on the employees and how much they care for the animals. (I happen to work at a Petsmart and I know they care for the snakes as best they can). As for the snake not eating- sometimes they'll start eating if you give them live/pre-killed. I got my own bp from petsmart and she hadn't eaten for three weeks before I got her. I switched to prekilled and now she has a fantastic appetite and will eat anything and everything I give her. Some snakes just don't like frozen.
One thing you could try, depending on how long you're in the area- Petsmart has a 14 day guarantee. Get the snake, keep it for a week or so then try feeding it. If it still doesn't eat, return it.

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Now there is a nice logical response. Great idea.

Could be, I know a lot of their animals come from Sun Pet. Watch some of the undercover videos, I'll never shop there again.