Best place to buy ball python online

I'm a new user, and I'm considering on getting a ball python. I haven't thought about getting one just yet, but I want to know a good website where I could get one. I'm deciding to get one online, because I certainly don't want one from petsmart or petco. I was originally going to buy from backwater or lll reptiles, but after seeing bad reviews, I'm worried about buying from them.I know there are better websites out there, so I want suggestions from those who are experienced. I live in mid to northern california if that matters when it comes to shipping. I don't so want the snake to go though a long trip through different states. So, any suggestions?

Try Fauna Classifieds or KingSnake Classifieds :-)

There are a ton of great breeders, both large and small. In addition to our own sites/FB pages, many of us have animals available on a newer site called Morph Market. It's a great one-stop-shop where you can likely find exactly what you want without having to go to a million places.

Anything in particular that you're looking for?

I found mine from a breeder on Fauna. I love my guy and he came perfectly healthy and active. I'm getting my second BP from him as well since I know how well he takes care of them. PM me if you would like his info.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I did look at some breeders in fauna classifies, I love all the cool morphs they have, but I'm looking for a plain or a cheap morph for a start. I'll keep looking. :)

On morphmarket you can sort by price: low to high, or genes: least to most, so that might help you find what you're looking for faster

I really like MorphMarket, but be warned - many of the breeders that sell on there don't seem to clean up old posts or update. I've also used Kingsnake.com, but again, there are a lot of repeat and old posts that don't get cleaned up, which makes it really difficult to tell what's still available and what isn't. I... actually never joined Fauna Classifieds, so I'm going to go do that now. Heh.


Edit - now I remember why I didn't join Fauna Classifieds. I will not provide them with my full name and location.

I looked around morphmarket, and I like the idea of a search engine, but I only found an original ball python that was in Florida. Lots of them were in Florida, and I live on the opposite end of the country. The shipping is way too expensive, and I rather get one closer to home. I will check out kingsnake and fauna.

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Originally Posted by deja-vu

I looked around morphmarket, and I like the idea of a search engine, but I only found an original ball python that was in Florida. Lots of them were in Florida, and I live on the opposite end of the country. The shipping is way too expensive, and I rather get one closer to home. I will check out kingsnake and fauna.

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If you're looking for a normal, you're going to pay at least as much in shipping as most people will sell them for by themselves. I'd see if there is a local FB group in your area you can join and see what the folks around you have to offer.

I found Reptiles by Mack, and although the place is in Ohio, they do sell original ball pythons at a good price, and shipping price is good. I've heard good reviews about it, so I might consider on getting one there. I will still look around for other possibilities, because I won't get one for a while.

Look to see if there's a herp society in your area, and if they'll be having an expo anytime soon. You can get a normal for really cheap at an expo, or, if there isn't an expo soon, ask the members if anyone has a clutch now, or soon.

I'm looking closer into kingsnake classifieds, and I see lots of opportunities there as well. I will also keep an eye out for an expo.

kingsnake, morphmarket and facebook is what I've had luck on. Fauna just seems to either move slow or not have as much, worth checking out though, I just never found what I was specifically looking for there. No matter what you use though look them up, find reviews.

Where are you located?

I had a great experience finding a breeder via morph market, I discovered a morph that I had never even heard of before that I thought was beautiful just by browsing. Depending what you are looking for feel free to PM me and I will share with you whom I had a great transaction with.

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Originally Posted by deja-vu

I looked around morphmarket, and I like the idea of a search engine, but I only found an original ball python that was in Florida. Lots of them were in Florida, and I live on the opposite end of the country. The shipping is way too expensive, and I rather get one closer to home. I will check out kingsnake and fauna.

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Many breeders won't even take the time to post an ad for normals they might have. If you want to find some breeders closer to you, check out the MorphMap on MorphMarket. It's a Google-maps powered interface. Then you can directly approach them.

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Originally Posted by Caspian

I really like MorphMarket, but be warned - many of the breeders that sell on there don't seem to clean up old posts or update. I've also used Kingsnake.com, but again, there are a lot of repeat and old posts that don't get cleaned up, which makes it really difficult to tell what's still available and what isn't. I...

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This is a problem that we're aware of and are working to improve. We've tried to create a system where the searching and browsing is so good that you can find what you want without having to always be watching the stream of ads; or for sellers, a system where you don't have to constantly bump the ads to keep it in the view of buyers. But the downside is in the beginning we took no measures to address sellers not updating their ads.

Starting a couple months ago we began removing ads from sellers who weren't logging in after a couple months (after trying to notify them). We also receive feedback from users -- any inquiry gets you a chance to fill out a quick survey, so we get notified about stale ads. Currently we use that info mostly for alerting new inquirers about whether the breeder is responsive or not, but in time we will also use stale ad reports to factor into some kind of rating. We do now notify the inquirer if the seller hasn't logged in for more than a month.

This is a challenge for any classifieds type site, and most don't attempt to deal with it at all (e.g., you just *expect* old Craiglist ads to stale). But we have all the data to monitor the issue and a number of ways to incentivize sellers to update their ads more frequently, both positive and negative. Keeping both sides of the marketplace happy is a delicate balancing act.