Where do you buy your snakes?

Where are the majority of your snakes from?

Do you get a lot from shows where you can hand pick in person, or do you like to buy online because the local pickings aren't so diverse. Do you do a lot of dealing with just a few friends, or did you start with a couple snakes and everything else is holdbacks? Do you take advantage of casual facebook auctions and the like, or are you a pioneer buying wild caught animals?

I wonder if selling online or at shows is more fruitful. For me to even guess, I'd have to know if more people go to shows with real intent to buy new breeding stock, or use the convenience of the internet for more than just window-shopping.

I personally don't live close to any real good shows, so I imagine I will have to pick up more uncommon morphs online. However, once I have space and revenue ready to expand my collection, I plan to pick up things that are not ball pythons in person (perhaps take a couple grand to Tinley Park in 5 years, yeah?) so I can evaluate them myself.

I'll also eagerly take discussion on where you take most of your snake business? Where do you have the most success? Is your online or local reputation stronger? I know a lot of people starting out can sell stock with just craigslist and to friends, but beyond that?

I love to know the non-technical stuff too and compare experiences.

I buy predominantly online from hobbyists/hobby breeders. I like seeing the exact animal I'll be buying over some of the bigger sellers who sometimes use stock images for their animals and have "met" a lot of great people this way. Checking references on Fauna's BOI is key though too.

I have bought from larger expos (no local monthly ones here, I usually go the the Phoenix Reptile Expo in November) and have had 50/50 luck: I got two snakes from one vendor one year who both came down sick and that made it where I'm cautious about who I buy from at the shows. But the other snakes I've gotten have been fine: also met some great people this way and it's a plus to be able to see the snakes in person first before purchasing.

Also have bought from two local breeders with great success, it was really cool to see their set ups and their personal collection as they were nice enough to invite me over.

I buy from a local independent reptile shop. The owner is a good, honest guy who either breeds the animals himself or uses a small network of good local breeders.

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I buy mainly from reputable breeders online. I hardly ever see animals that catch my fancy at in person shows. I have specific animals, looks, and genetics that I'm interested in, so finding those specifications are easier online.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

I buy mainly from reputable breeders online. I hardly ever see animals that catch my fancy at in person shows. I have specific animals, looks, and genetics that I'm interested in, so finding those specifications are easier online.

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Agreed.

Of three dozen snakes in residence, 3 were shipped in and the rest were obtained locally*. A few of the local pick-ups were obtained unintentionally and at no cost.

* - Locally defined as driving up to 8 hours round trip to pick up.

I've gotten 4 of mine from local expos. The other two were from craigslist. I haven't tried buying online yet. I live in the middle of nowhere and I've had problems with Fedex finding my place in the past. So buying online makes me kind of nervous.

I bought Loki at a year old off of Craigslist. I am not sure where his past owner got him.

I try to buy locally but as someone already pointed out, sometimes you can't find what you're looking for so online reputable breeders or at shows is a good way to go as well.

Out of my five bps, three were bought locally, one was bought from a great online breeder and my recent one I bought at a reptile show.

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