Craigslist

Has anyone on here gotten a snake from craigslist? Ever had any problems? Mites? Other health problems?

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Originally Posted by AmysAnimals

Has anyone on here gotten a snake from craigslist? Ever had any problems? Mites? Other health problems?

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my male axanthic was a craigslist find, only problem I had is they did not know his sex or what exactly he was. I did get him at 1,000+grs and his 20gal long tank, 2 lights and a bite for $100...lol... Not to shabby...lol

All three of my craigslist rescues were in bad shape. My first was a little hatchling who was dehydrated and starved, my second was a 4 year old who was also dehydrated and starved, but was also covered in scars and had a blood infection that went septic (currently treating, she's getting much better). And finally, the one I got last night is about 4 feet, as big around as my yearling female, weighs the same as her, has burns on his belly and sores on noes/chin from rubbing. I'm working on getting it up to par, hopefully it won't require vet treatment (not exactly rich at the moment). It also has red flecks on the chin and a spot on the neck. They look like blood spatter, and the snake was fed live, but the blood would have smeared. There are no mites that I can see, so if anyone has any idea what they could be, please PM me. (It's no the beginnings of scale-rot, as the flecks aren't blister-like.)

Anyway, if you're picking an animal up from craigslist, do NOT agree to make a final purchase until you've seen the animal yourself in person, and give it a thorough examination. If it's not healthy, PLEASE don't be afraid to speak up.

Be very careful when buying from CL. The snakes I usually see on there are normals, most undernourished and/or dehydrated and usually with a ridiculous rehoming fee. On the other hand, I know some reputable breeders who will occasionally list a few on Craigslist to move them quickly and/or locally. So ultimately it depends. Just make sure to be careful and you might get lucky...

I bought several snakes from Craigslist and have sold many. As with any sales transaction, sometimes there are good buyers/sellers and sometimes there are bad ones. The same can be said with breeders online or retail reptile/pet stores.

Ask a lot of questions and if you find something you like, meet the person in a public place. If you don't like the snake for any reason, feel free to walk away.

The only real thing I am afraid of bringing home is mites. I have tarantulas and I don't want them to get infested.

I may just get from a breeder but if I can find something on craigslist then I may go that route. May have to fix a few things but it's worth it.

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Originally Posted by Inknsteel

Be very careful when buying from CL. The snakes I usually see on there are normals, most undernourished and/or dehydrated and usually with a ridiculous rehoming fee. On the other hand, I know some reputable breeders who will occasionally list a few on Craigslist to move them quickly and/or locally. So ultimately it depends. Just make sure to be careful and you might get lucky...

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Yeah I have noticed the ridiculous rehoming fee. That is not a "rehoming fee" that is a sale price. People do not understand the difference I guess.

I would stick to breeders or reptile shows. The last thing you need is a sick ball python as your first.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

I would stick to breeders or reptile shows. The last thing you need is a sick ball python as your first.

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That is true. =)

I was kind of thinking that myself.

My first BP was a rescue/rehome from CL. She was starved, dehydrated, and left in a cold dark basement. I got her and her entire set up for $25. She's a stunning animal and I don't regret getting her in the least; she started my obsession and lead to a whole lot of good things happening in my life! I still check CL to see what's there.

It depends on the seller. Ask questions. If it's just some random person who really doesn't know anything about the animal, it's genetics, it's history, etc... Then it may not be a good idea to get it. It all depends.

I've only gotten 1 BP off of CL and I quarantined her for many months in a different room.

I only occasionally use CL to rehome normals and the odd morph if I don't want to ship but I am very adamant about giving everyone all the info required to make sure they know they are getting a healthy and clean animal. I also won't let just anyone who isn't prepared to care for one have one.

So when it comes to CL, just really ask a lot of questions and be sure you can look at the snake in person before you decide you definitely want it. Check the mouth, vent, nostrils, and eyes. These are the areas you are most likely to find problems or bugs.

Picked up a female normal off craigslist awhile ago.

Last June she gave me 5 female pinstripes, a normal male and female from a seven egg clutch.

Not bad for $50.00 for her and her setup. Made $35.00 on her setup so her end cost was $15.00.

This was the exception as most normals in my area are waaaaay over priced on craigslist.

ive picked up several adult females of CL most where dehydrated and underfed or RI or mites but all are doing good now. i did go to look at one that was being given away because it was "sick" when i got there it had very bad scale rot and you could tell it had lost a ton of weight i ended up talking them into putting it down. the main thing is to quarantine new snakes

Wait, has anyone ever picked up a male ball from CL? Every one of my rescues are female, so far including my newest one. Is it just me, or do chain pet stores only carry females?

i've gone where they didnt know the sex and it was a male

The female I got was actually sold to me as a male. I didn't want a male but I got it anyway because I had a hunch about "him". He turned out to be a she so it worked out in my favor.

I got my new pastel yesterday from CL. He was very dehydrated and had mites. But both are easy fixes and he is looking 10 times better already.

I bought my female pastel off of CL. She was extremely healthy, if a tad bit underfed for her age. She was a little boy's pet, and other than living on mice, and a little bit of stuck shed, she was as right as rain. Breeding for me even as we speak. :D

I also bought a pair of het albinos a few weeks ago. They were underfed and possibly have mites, (PAM on it's way...I have only seen 2, and am still not convinced they're snake mites, but not taking chances.) but I'm still perfectly happy with my purchase. The guy was a well meaning college student, and going into it I'm already 100% okay, even if they are a pair of male normals. :P

Use common sense, ask questions. For a first snake, I really recommend buying from a trusted source. Having a snake with any sort of health issues is ridiculously stressful, and probably not something you want to embark on so new in the hobby. (That said, I'm still a noob myself....just a well-educated one. :P )

OP: I've gotten a few snakes from craigslist. All from large scale high end morph breeders, who also attend shows. I had a good transaction with 3 out of 4 breeders. They were very knowledgeable and told me to contact them for any future questions. They had very healthy, beautiful snakes. One breeder was so enthusiastic that he showed me his entire set up, process, and collection. The last out of the 4 breeders wasn't such a great experience for me. His snakes were beautiful, but came with mites. When I confronted him about he, he denied it. None of my other snakes have mites, so it was clearly from his snake. After trying to contact him various times, he just kept denying my calls. I believe he was just running away from dealing with his problems. I won't be going back to him anymore.... But I definitely would on the other 3.

Like the others have said, make sure the seller is knowledgeable, has healthy animals, and a good set up.

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Originally Posted by ShamelessAardvark

Wait, has anyone ever picked up a male ball from CL? Every one of my rescues are female, so far including my newest one. Is it just me, or do chain pet stores only carry females?

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My area tends to rehome only males. Currently, my craigslist has around 20 males up for adoption. I have gotten some females, but they were all large scale breeders who wanted to sell locally before posting on kingsnake/fauna.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I almost positive that tarantulas can't get snake mites... if I'm wrong let me know...

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Originally Posted by Zombie

Correct me if I am wrong, but I almost positive that tarantulas can't get snake mites... if I'm wrong let me know...

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I thought snake mites were species specific. So they only affect snakes/reptiles.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

I thought snake mites were species specific. So they only affect snakes/reptiles.

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Yea that's what I thought as well. I think you will be OK on that part OP. However if you get a snake with mites remove the spiders from the area before using PAM or other mite treatments because it could do them harm...

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I have bought 3 snakes from two different ppl the only problem I have had is a under feed snake. But I won't be surprised if you found snakes with mites RI or weird diseases. You need to be extremely care when buying one check it head to tail completely. You can find good snakes at good deal but most snakes on there tend to be impulse buys and ppl trying to get rid of there purchase

I just got a female normal from craigslist. She had stcuk shed and has retained eye caps. She was in a filthy 30 gallon tall tank. I now have her in a tub and she is feeding consistently on f/t small rats.

I got my little punkin from CL.. for only 30$ >< shes perfect in everyway.
Although when she strikes for the FT mice.. she kinda misses her target.
But shes a cutey. I guess its who you find on CL. ....(i also got a GSD from CL)

:rolleyes:

Butttttt... i have herd some pretty bad horror stories of CL. So yeah.. id be careful :gj:

Thanks and thanks for the info on mites. Good to know! I am not going to get a snake from CL as my first BP in case of issues. I will go the breeder way. =)

I've gotten all of my reptiles from craigslist. Only problem I had is the snake not wanting to eat after I got it from the breeder.