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Buying off of craigslist

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  • 07-25-2013, 07:59 PM
    Ronin
    Buying off of craigslist
    Hello all! I'm still very new to the BP world and I'm trying too learn the certain breeds and morphs as much as I can. However, I have been hovering over craigslist for the last couple of weeks looking for that sweet deal, or that diamond in the rough. I think I have found a few but I am not knowledgeable enough because they are saying the BP are hets. What is the best way to go about finding out if the snake they are selling is truly a het.? Is there certain questions to ask? Certain things to look for? Any help for a newby would be greatly appreciated!
    Thank you!
  • 07-25-2013, 08:06 PM
    The Serpent Merchant
    By definition a het cannot be distinguished from a normal. There are only 2 ways to know for sure:

    1. Know the parents

    2. Breed the snake to another snake that it heterozygous or homozygous for the same recessive gene and produce offspring that are homozygous for the gene.

    Personally I wouldn't but a het on craigslist.
  • 07-25-2013, 08:08 PM
    Stewart_Reptiles
    Quote:

    What is the best way to go about finding out if the snake they are selling is truly a het.?
    To buy from a reputable breeder that will guarantee the genetics and stand behind his animals.

    Ask yourself this, where will CL Joe Schmoe be if the animals do not prove or even in a month from now if you have questions?

    Yes you might spend a little more buying from a reputable breeder but in the end especially when it comes to hets, you will be happy that you did.
  • 07-25-2013, 08:09 PM
    BHReptiles
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ronin View Post
    Hello all! I'm still very new to the BP world and I'm trying too learn the certain breeds and morphs as much as I can. However, I have been hovering over craigslist for the last couple of weeks looking for that sweet deal, or that diamond in the rough. I think I have found a few but I am not knowledgeable enough because they are saying the BP are hets. What is the best way to go about finding out if the snake they are selling is truly a het.? Is there certain questions to ask? Certain things to look for? Any help for a newby would be greatly appreciated!
    Thank you!

    Honestly, don't buy hets unless it's from a reputable breeder. A lot of times on Craigslist you find animals that are "het pastel" or "het spider" which are both co-dominant morphs and do not have hets. My advice to you is try to find a local breeder, attend a reptile expo, or buy from a breeder and have the snake shipped to you. Going with one of these options gives you a better chance of buying a healthy, quality animal. However, make sure you check the seller out on the board of inquiry on fauna ( http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...splay.php?f=13 ) or the inquiry page on this forum to make sure they do not have a negative reputation.
  • 07-25-2013, 08:09 PM
    towelie4365
    A better place to find deals (especially with quality animals) is on kingsnake and fauna classifieds. If you browse those for long enough, I'll be surprised if you can control yourself enough to NOT buy a snake :P
  • 07-25-2013, 08:55 PM
    Ronin
    Thanks everyone for your reply. Looks like I might actually hold off on buying hets from craigslist. I'll ask if he scan prove that its a het though and see what he says. I did buy a male cinnamon %100 pied just the other day from a very reputable breeder. I can't wait to get that guy!! I just happen to come across a female cinnamon het. pied and didn'twant to miss the chance. I have been searching for a while to find a female so I got kinda excited, but I didn't want to fully commit before asking here.
  • 07-25-2013, 09:57 PM
    Ogre
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BHReptiles View Post
    Honestly, don't buy hets unless it's from a reputable breeder. A lot of times on Craigslist you find animals that are "het pastel" or "het spider" which are both co-dominant morphs and do not have hets. My advice to you is try to find a local breeder, attend a reptile expo, or buy from a breeder and have the snake shipped to you. Going with one of these options gives you a better chance of buying a healthy, quality animal. However, make sure you check the seller out on the board of inquiry on fauna ( http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...splay.php?f=13 ) or the inquiry page on this forum to make sure they do not have a negative reputation.

    Spider is dominant not Co-dominant.
  • 07-25-2013, 10:22 PM
    CaitJaye
    definitely check out some genetics to get a better understanding of heterozygous and homozygous traits. If you intend on breeding a pair its pretty important to grasp at least the basic concepts of genetics. Like punnet squares ect. So if you have 2 proven het parents and breed them, you'll know the probability of getting that recessive trait. Which, generally in basic genetics, is only 25%.
  • 07-26-2013, 02:19 AM
    Inarikins
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ogre View Post
    Spider is dominant not Co-dominant.

    Debatable. (and by debatable I mean there's been some contention in the industry on that, not that I personally want to debate it)
  • 07-26-2013, 02:31 AM
    BHReptiles
    Buying off of craigslist
    Sorry, I originally typed co-dominant/dominant (specifically to just say they aren't recessive...but looking back I suppose it could have been read in a way which claimed they were both either/or. Didn't realize people were going to be super technical while I was merely making a point) but my autocorrect corrected it incorrectly lol. By the time I realized the typo, I couldn't edit my post. However, I didn't think it would be -that- big a deal since I was just using the example to prove a point. However, the typo police are out to get me again.
  • 07-26-2013, 02:35 AM
    Marrissa
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by towelie4365 View Post
    A better place to find deals (especially with quality animals) is on kingsnake and fauna classifieds. If you browse those for long enough, I'll be surprised if you can control yourself enough to NOT buy a snake :P

    I've been on fauna before but never to look through the sales. I don't even know how to handle myself right now. lol I've got room for one female and that's it until I'm a nurse. This is torture.
  • 07-26-2013, 02:42 AM
    BHReptiles
    Buying off of craigslist
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Marrissa View Post
    I've been on fauna before but never to look through the sales. I don't even know how to handle myself right now. lol I've got room for one female and that's it until I'm a nurse. This is torture.

    Or you can do like me and go to nursing school and make room for more snakes :P they are my stress relief from school!
  • 07-26-2013, 03:03 AM
    treeboa
    Another thing I've noticed about Craigslist is that most BPs are listed as females. I really doubt most of these people have any clue what sex their snake is. I think many have noticed females are worth more and are easier to sell. To me CL is just a place for scammers and people who don't want to take the time to care for their animals and want to dump their animals.
  • 07-26-2013, 08:49 AM
    bcr229
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    I've found some gems on CL - my Spinner is one such - but you have to look hard to find them and be very patient. The vast majority are normals being sold at big box prices along with all their equipment. I wouldn't buy a het from CL either, just visuals... and take the Reptile Relief with me in the car just in case...
  • 07-26-2013, 09:30 AM
    4theSNAKElady
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    ^^^^^ i agree with this. You gotta sort through a lot of "junk" on CL to find the gold. Weve found a few on there. Imo, CL is like a double-edged sword....albeit one side is quite a bit rougher ;). In addition, it really pays to know what you are looking at/for. You know how the old saying goes, "knowing is half the battle"....this will def help you and anyone else be a smart shopper when it comes to finding balls on CL. ;)

    sent from my incubator
  • 07-26-2013, 10:14 AM
    Darkbird
    Just my opinion here, but never buy hets unless you trust the breeder, and never buy off craigslist unless you really know what you are doing. Just too many variables.
  • 07-26-2013, 10:32 AM
    Ogre
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BHReptiles View Post
    Sorry, I originally typed co-dominant/dominant (specifically to just say they aren't recessive...but looking back I suppose it could have been read in a way which claimed they were both either/or. Didn't realize people were going to be super technical while I was merely making a point) but my autocorrect corrected it incorrectly lol. By the time I realized the typo, I couldn't edit my post. However, I didn't think it would be -that- big a deal since I was just using the example to prove a point. However, the typo police are out to get me again.

    Not trying to be picky, I didn't mean for it to come off that way. I was on break at work and didn't have tons of time. I can understand the auto correct issue.
  • 07-26-2013, 12:15 PM
    Forrester86
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    I wouldn't buy anything from Craigs list. You never know who your dealing with. The only thing for sale on Craigslist in my area are spider morphs and normals. The only exotic pet store in my area has became a foster home for a lot of snakes.. Half their inventory are animals the owners dump at the store and leave. They don't sell no reptiles there because they all marked not for sale. I mean who wants to pay $85± for a boring everyday normal or 300 for a spider


    Stick with online breeders and expos.

    Sent from my N861 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
  • 07-26-2013, 12:26 PM
    smalltimeballz
    Craigslist can be a good place...if you know your stuff. I saw an ad for a "rare" albino ball for $200. I called them up to see if they knew the gender
    ..they didn't. So I go over there and probe it & its a girl. I bought her. You can't beat $200 for a 500g female albino.
  • 07-27-2013, 12:04 AM
    Ronin
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by towelie4365 View Post
    A better place to find especially with quality animal is on kingsnake and fauna classifieds. If you browse those for long enough, I'll be surprised if you can control yourself enough to NOT buy a snake :P

    So does just about everyone here feel comfortable buying a het off of kingsnake?
  • 07-27-2013, 12:09 AM
    The Serpent Merchant
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ronin View Post
    So does just about everyone here feel comfortable buying a het off of kingsnake?

    I would rather buy a het from kingsnake than craigslist, but I still prefer to go through a reputable breeder (some of which have accounts on king snake). The key is finding somebody with a good track record (you can check that on the BOI (Board Of Inquiry) on the Fauna Classifieds site)
  • 07-27-2013, 03:21 AM
    AlexiTLO
    I bought my ball off of craigslist. There are some members on this forum and local breeders on FB I had contacted to make sure it was indeed the morph the seller claimed it was. Personally, I wouldn't get anything het off of CL. I'm happy with my ball, hes been wonderful :P
  • 07-29-2013, 04:12 AM
    Ronin
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by towelie4365 View Post
    A better place to find deals (especially with quality animals) is on kingsnake and fauna classifieds. If you browse those for long enough, I'll be surprised if you can control yourself enough to NOT buy a snake :P

    So does everyone feel confident buying a het from kingsnake classifieds?
  • 07-29-2013, 10:03 AM
    Stewart_Reptiles
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ronin View Post
    So does everyone feel confident buying a het from kingsnake classifieds?

    So long you research the breeder first and buy from someone REPUTABLE you will be fine.
  • 07-29-2013, 10:35 AM
    valhalha30
    what if the craigslist or kingsnake classifieds seller claims he has 100% het (enter morph here) bp babies for sale and he has paperwork to go with it?
    what would the paperwork say? and is that at all trustworthy? or is it a trick/scam?
    can you really gamble like that? I can't, lol.
    People lie, especially when money is involved, so honestly, no matter where you go, there is always the possibily of being ripped off
    Even from kingsnake or fauna or craigslist... even by vendors at a reptile show.


    I would say, imho, it's probably more trustworthy if you saw the parents of the offspring in person, rather than relying on pictures and papers... in which case, buying from a reptile show is better, but buying from a reputable breeder, local or worldwide, (in person) overall is best.

    I personally don't buy a snake unless I've handled it in person and could make a connection to the snake and inspect it for anything out of the ordinary or health issues. To each thier own though :)
  • 07-29-2013, 10:57 AM
    Annarose15
    Re: Buying off of craigslist
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by valhalha30 View Post
    I would say, imho, it's probably more trustworthy if you saw the parents of the offspring in person, rather than relying on pictures and papers... in which case, buying from a reptile show is better, but buying from a reputable breeder, local or worldwide, (in person) overall is best.

    I personally don't buy a snake unless I've handled it in person and could make a connection to the snake and inspect it for anything out of the ordinary or health issues. To each thier own though :)

    People can also lie by showing you parents that aren't. Although laying hands on the snake before buying is ideal in theory, you severely limit yourself to the quality and selection available to you if you are always waiting for what someone has left at a show or locally.
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