Scars

Would you or do you have any issues with purchasing or owning a ball python with scars?

Why?

I wouldn't worry about it, especially if they are old scars sometimes found on adults. Feeding accidents can happen. I guess I would maybe want to know how they came to have them and when. They aren't genetic or anything so as long as the snake is healthy it's all good.

Doesn't worry me, so long as the snake is in good healthy. Injuries can happen for a wide variety of reasons.

I have a huge male that has a huge scar all the way down his spine. He was a rescue, and it is still unsure what caused it. He is a great snake though.
As has been mentioned, as long as the snake is healthy, no problem. It DOES however, depending on the severity, beg one to wonder what kind of keeper owned this snake previously, and what else was amiss in the husbandry.

I wouldn't be too concerned with scars. If I could find out how they happened that would be nice. But if not, and I liked the animal... I wouldn't see why not.

Another question then...

Would you demand a cheaper price for the animal because it is not perfect?

I think it would depend on the severity. I don't think anyone would want to pay as much for a Pied with a full body scar as one without. If it's a small scar from a feeding incident or something I personally wouldn't expect to get it cheaper because of it.

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

Would you or do you have any issues with purchasing or owning a ball python with scars?

Why?

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Depends what kind of scars.

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

Another question then...

Would you demand a cheaper price for the animal because it is not perfect?

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Of course BG would, but he's a very "demanding" individual.:D

You probably can't charge as much for an imperfect animal to answer your question.

I would say YES it would be worth less

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Originally Posted by spk329

I would say YES it would be worth less

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Why?

The animal is just less attractive, but can breed just as well as any other (assuming the damage is not in the vent area)

Assuming the buyer has plans to breed.

I agree, it would depend on the severity of the scars, but since I only keep them as pets and not as display or show animals, I would be less likely to ask for a lower price for a few little scars. I mean, I have my own collection of battle scars and, unless I was some type of male model, I don't think they make me worth any less... :gj:

Apples to oranges...but...

Take two cars that are identical...except for one has a few scratches and a couple 'dings' in the door...why is the scratched up one cheaper? They both run the same.

I have no problem with scars...but if I know I can find the same animal for the same price without any scars...I'll likely buy the 'scar-free' animal. IMO

I agree with Heather. Case in point. I own the most beautiful (IMO) cinnamon male I have ever seen . He has a complete back stripe. He also has some strange split and overlapping belly scales in a few places. This guy pipped his own egg and tried to come out too soon from a small, jagged opening. He tore his belly in a few places. It healed up but left the battle wounds. I paid just as much for him as I would have had he been cosmetically perfect. Knowing that a stripe is often passed on to offspring, he is a beautiful and valuble breeder. If I were to sell him I would disclose his belly scale deformities but in this case I dont think it should affect price and value.

I think if a breeder wants to sell the most attractive babies then they should take the extra precaution in feeding and husbandry to prevent injuries. Most scars unless caused by scale rot or burning, will go away after so many sheds anyway.

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

Would you or do you have any issues with purchasing or owning a ball python with scars?

Why?

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Not at all. Have no problems with owning a snake or reptile with scars. Its not a fashion contest to me. That animal is just as important as un scared ones. One of my normal girls i got off from a local has around 5 or 6 scars on her side. Not sure what its from. Most likely a burn from the uth that was being used with no thermostat. Since he fed her only frozen thawed it deff wasnt from a rat. She happens to be one of my sweetest girls as well as one of my best eaters. She came in very under weight and had the beginning stages of R.I. She has been in my care since late December an has been off meds for a while now and the R.I is gone now. She was around 700 grams when she came in and now she is topping out at almost 1200 grams. Last time i weighed her she was 1130 and she has eaten quite a few meals since then. She is one snake i will never give up or sell.

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

Why?

The animal is just less attractive, but can breed just as well as any other (assuming the damage is not in the vent area)

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Come on OH. Forget the car analogy. Let's use what they are...snakes. You or anyone is at a snake show and there are two identical sibling albino Balls for sale on a table...one has scars.....one doesn't.... for the exact same price. Which one are you buying? Just because it has scars doesn't mean you have to sell if for less, but it also doesn't mean someone needs to pay you the same price as one without scars. They will want a better price for one with scars if given a choice. If they're identical nobody will pick the one with scars....nobody. Notice the word "identical". If one has a cool stripe or is larger maybe they will pay the same price.

You still have not yet revealed what kind of scars. This makes a difference to BG. Tick scars....mouse left in cage scars...etc...

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Originally Posted by Dabonus

Assuming the buyer has plans to breed.

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:gj:

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

I agree with Heather. Case in point. I own the most beautiful (IMO) cinnamon male I have ever seen . He has a complete back stripe. He also has some strange split and overlapping belly scales in a few places. This guy pipped his own egg and tried to come out too soon from a small, jagged opening. He tore his belly in a few places. It healed up but left the battle wounds. I paid just as much for him as I would have had he been cosmetically perfect. Knowing that a stripe is often passed on to offspring, he is a beautiful and valuble breeder. If I were to sell him I would disclose his belly scale deformities but in this case I dont think it should affect price and value.

I think if a breeder wants to sell the most attractive babies then they should take the extra precaution in feeding and husbandry to prevent injuries. Most scars unless caused by scale rot or burning, will go away after so many sheds anyway.

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You place more of a value on your because of the stripe....just like someone might place less of a value because of a scar.

It's worth less, but that doesn't mean you can't hold out to get more. It just may take longer.

I agree with what most have said about scars - they don't matter much, but it'd be nice to know how the animal got the scars. As far as asking for a lower price, I wouldn't. I'd pay asking price just to get the animal out of the situation it was in, if it was a bad one. Or, I'd just break in at night and steal it... just saying;)

I don't know much about breeding, but I don't think it matters if the animal has scars if it breeds. I mean, scars aren't hereditary, so it's not like the babies are going to have them. But I do know people pay a lot of money for rare morphs, so if it was a rare morph with a scar, then yeah, I'd probably ask to buy the animal cheaper than asking price.

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Originally Posted by Jerhart

I have no problem with scars...but if I know I can find the same animal for the same price without any scars...I'll likely buy the 'scar-free' animal. IMO

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Originally Posted by Big Gunns

Come on OH. Forget the car analogy. Let's use what they are...snakes. You or anyone is at a snake show and there are two identical sibling albino Balls for sale on a table...one has scars.....one doesn't.... for the exact same price. Which one are you buying?

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Echo...?

Lots of people want to be like Josh...

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Originally Posted by Jerhart

Echo...?

Lots of people want to be like Josh...

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Yes they do, because he tries so hard to be like Big Gunns.:P:D

I generally like to pick out pristine condition items/animals. I take excellent care of my property, so my stuff tends to look almost the same on day 1,000as it looked on day 1.

In regards to a snake with a scar, if it were a snake I really wanted, and the price was right [for me] to begin with, I could look past the scar and buy the snake. However, if there were other snakes quite like it and quite similarly priced, I'd probably ask to buy the snake at a lesser cost, and if the seller didn't budge, I'd respect it and probably move on. If I ordered a snake off the internet, I would be quite unhappy if a scar wasn't disclosed prior to paying for it.

Well, my newest BP, a big pastel male, has a few small scars, most likely caused from feeding accidents. I didn't ask where he got them, because they don't matter to me.

He is a big, sweet, lovely snake. I wouldn't love him any more if he didn't have scars, and I don't love him less because he does. I love him for being him.

As to the price thing: If I saw a really nice morph I had been wanting for some time, and it's an excellent example of the morph, but it has a large, noticable scar, maybe from an escape attempt, I might ask the seller if he/she would take a little less. If they say no I won't be offended or try to convince them the snake is worth less. But like my mom always said,"It never hurts to ask."

Gale

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

Why?

The animal is just less attractive, but can breed just as well as any other (assuming the damage is not in the vent area)

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Why is a high white Pied worth more than a low white Pied? Why is a striped mojave worth more than an average looking Mojave?

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Originally Posted by spk329

Why is a high white Pied worth more than a low white Pied? Why is a striped mojave worth more than an average looking Mojave?

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"Why" didn't BG think of this analogy? He's slippin:D Perfect.:gj:

Case closed.:P

A LOT of scarring can be a pain in the behind. I have a normal male BP who was a rescue taken in by NERD some years ago...huge, gorgeous male...but quite a bit of scarring on his belly and sides. He sheds in pieces...every single time...and almost always needs quite a bit of help getting it off. Even though he's in a perfect rack set-up where the other two snakes shed perfectly.

And the burm I work with at the zoo is covered in scars...it's really very, very sad, the amount of scars she has and the severity of them. She also sheds in millions of little pieces. And it's a massive pain in the butt when she needs help getting it off. :( Even after a long soak, there are patches of old shed that just don't want to come off, I guess because of the ways the scales healed all twisted and overlapped the wrong ways.

I do not breed. So when looking at different snakes I want to buy, it would make a difference if one would be scarred.

I have one that was given to me that has a scar, and I have no issues with it. However if it came to paying for him there would be no way I would pay the same price for an animal that has been damaged vs. one that has no scarring.

I do not see how the two could be compared. A perfect animal with no damage vs. an animal that has been damaged (no matter how much damage) can not be worth the same.

Do not get me wrong the animal that is damaged deserves as much love, care, and as attention as any other animal. As far as a monetary value is concerned, it is worth less if you are comparing apples to apples.