Petsmart - that bad?

I got my first bp on Thursday and have totally fallen in love with them. He's gorgeous and sweet... but I can't stop thinking about the first little ball I held at Petsmart a few weeks ago that made me decide that I wanted a ball python in the first place...

I know Petsmart isn't well known for their animals and they are overpriced, but it was just such a sweet snake... :(

This is it...

http://i61.tinypic.com/35cq2va.jpg

There is nothing inherently wrong with getting an animal at PetSmart. The company itself is like any other company (big or small) - as good as the people working there.

Nice little BP! :gj:

I may have to go get him or her tomorrow... lol.

I assume I just need to quarantine the new one?

Since you only have two BPs (and they're your first, correct?), they're both technically in quarantine and can be in the same room together. They do need to be housed in separate enclosures though - no BP cohabitation.

That's correct! And that makes it way easier. I was stressing about finding a place to keep the second snake for a quarantine but if they can be in the same space (different enclosures), yay! Thanks!

Congrats!

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Originally Posted by Eric Alan

There is nothing inherently wrong with getting an animal at PetSmart. The company itself is like any other company (big or small) - as good as the people working there.

Nice little BP! :gj:

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Agreed, the guys at my local pet store (Petco in this case) are pretty good, their snakes seem adequately fed and I've never seen one in a bad shed before but that may be the luck of my timing. I will say that if you can attend a local reptile show or find a local breeder as it will save you some money. The normals here sell for $80 to $90 regular price and are seen on sale occasionally for $40. To put it into perspective I could have bought a lot of 5 normals from a breeder recently at a Repticon show for $100 cash.

I really wish I could. I would love to go to a show... but the next one is in Toronto and that's 4 hours away... I unfortunately don't drive and taking a train there is super expensive.

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Originally Posted by hazzaram

I really wish I could. I would love to go to a show... but the next one is in Toronto and that's 4 hours away... I unfortunately don't drive and taking a train there is super expensive.

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Bummer, I would look into Canadian breeders then that could ship to you.

Imo, Petsmart has a better quality control than Petco but I have purchased bp's from both. I bought a pastel 0.1 from Petco and she was healthy, bought a 0.1 normal from Petsmart also healthy. I have had them both about a year now and they are great feeders. Both purchased as approx. 3 mos. old young babies. Absolutely no health issues so far. I did overpay for the pastel, but made up for it with the normal. Actually they both are pushing the 600 gm weight now and will be 1 year old in June. :gj:

Awesome! I'm glad to hear a good story before I go get him or her.

Question... I keep seeing these numbers like 0.1 and 1.0 with regards to snakes... I have no idea what that means!!

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Originally Posted by hazzaram

Awesome! I'm glad to hear a good story before I go get him or her.

Question... I keep seeing these numbers like 0.1 and 1.0 with regards to snakes... I have no idea what that means!!

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It denotes gender. 1.0 means male, 0.1 means female, and 0.0.1 means unsexed (unsexed is usually left off). If I were to say I have 3.2 normals, it means I have 3 male normals and 2 female normals.

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Originally Posted by hazzaram

Awesome! I'm glad to hear a good story before I go get him or her.

Question... I keep seeing these numbers like 0.1 and 1.0 with regards to snakes... I have no idea what that means!!

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Reptile enthusiasts usually refer to males as 1.0 , and females as 0.1, and any undetermined sex as 0.0.0 Hope this helped. Also be observant to the bp's enclosure at both Petco and Petsmart. Observe the bps head, eyes, body and skin. Make sure you don't see any mites crawling on the bp or in the enclosure. Make sure the bp is not injured and moves normally around the enclosure. Just a heads up. Examine him closely when you have him in your hands. Sometimes their animals suffer with dehydration and poor shedding issues. Maybe think about taking someone with you who knows really how to determine if the bp is really healthy. Good luck.:gj:

I got mine from Petsmart as an adoption, because she was too 'aggressive'. Other than dealing with a retained shed she hasn't had any major health issues or anything. I'd still quarantine the new one for three months though. At least making sure you don't use the same equipment or handle your other snakes after handling the new one if you don't have a separate room or something.

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Originally Posted by DVirginiana

I'd still quarantine the new one for three months though. At least making sure you don't use the same equipment or handle your other snakes after handling the new one if you don't have a separate room or something.

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I believe the other snakes we're talking about here were purchased less than a week ago. If I'm correct, I don't see the need to go through a separate QT for two snakes purchased a week apart. :)

It's true. I just got my first one on Thursday so they're both new, and no other snakes in the house.

Ah, I didn't realize they were purchased so close together. Agreed, not much reason to do a separate QT.

Well, I got 'her'! They weren't sure of the gender but she told me a customer that had a lot of snakes had told them it was a female. Either way, she's beautiful.

I assume she's just a really pretty normal?

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...4fc19caa84.jpg

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...9c3dda14ae.jpg

She's beautiful! I'm glad you went back and got her [emoji4]


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My first snake ever was a normal ball python at Petco. She is the sweetest most docile little snake ever. You can get lucky at major pet chains.

I also got my Snake at Petsmart. It will be 1 year next week. He was sale-priced at around $40 because he would strike at people in the store who asked to handle him. He's doing great.

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Originally Posted by hazzaram

Well, I got 'her'! They weren't sure of the gender but she told me a customer that had a lot of snakes had told them it was a female. Either way, she's beautiful.

I assume she's just a really pretty normal?

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...4fc19caa84.jpg

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...9c3dda14ae.jpg

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That is a Pastel if im not mistaken. You got a great deal on a designer snake.

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Originally Posted by MikeBPython

That is a Pastel if im not mistaken. You got a great deal on a designer snake.

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It is certainly a pretty snake, but don't pastels have a faded head?


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I posted a separate thread to identify this girl with more pictures and was told by many members here that she is in fact a yellowbelly! :)

My only concern with her is their feeding schedule. They gave me her feeding schedule and it seems a little off...

This is the chart they gave me...

Intake date, Feb 15, 2015

Feb 18 - 1 fuzzy

Feb 25 - 1 fuzzy

March 4 - 1 hopper

March 11 - 1 hopper

March 18 - 2 hoppers

So, were they feeding her mice?? I weighed her today and she's 146g. If I switch her to rats, I'd feed her one small pup?

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Originally Posted by hazzaram

I posted a separate thread to identify this girl with more pictures and was told by many members here that she is in fact a yellowbelly! :)

My only concern with her is their feeding schedule. They gave me her feeding schedule and it seems a little off...

This is the chart they gave me...

Intake date, Feb 15, 2015

Feb 18 - 1 fuzzy

Feb 25 - 1 fuzzy

March 4 - 1 hopper

March 11 - 1 hopper

March 18 - 2 hoppers

So, were they feeding her mice?? I weighed her today and she's 146g. If I switch her to rats, I'd feed her one small pup?

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Yes they were feeding mice. I think one small pup sounds about right, but I'm a newb at this as well...


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