Craigslist snakes?

I tried searching the forums, but couldn't find anything addressing my exact question (at least not without scanning thousands of threads!). I'm looking to get another BP, and will hopefully find something at the upcoming herp show in Daly City... but in the meantime I've been perusing the online classifieds, including Craigslist. I know sites like kingsnake have more "real" breeders, but I would prefer to deal locally - so I can meet the snake before committing to anything.

So my question is, can you actually get a good snake on CL? What should I ask, look for, offer, etc? I've seen a few really nice ones on there for very cheap, and would like to possibly check them out. I emailed one guy with a pastel and asked for pictures, what he was eating, if he had a tank, and that was it. I thought later that I should have also asked why he was selling the snake, where it originally came from, and what it currently weighs. Anything else I'm forgetting? And how can I be sure I'm not getting a snake with issues? As for dealing with CL people in general, I have a lot of experience with that... so don't worry, I'm not going to get scammed! :D Here are a few examples of ads I've seen locally, and I'd appreciate any advice/input from you all.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/pet/1156523123.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/pet/1154936993.html (here's the pastel I emailed about - is it really a pastel??)
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/pet/1153680118.html
http://fresno.craigslist.org/pet/1155166595.html
http://reno.craigslist.org/pet/1132543363.html

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

I tried searching the forums, but couldn't find anything addressing my exact question (at least not without scanning thousands of threads!). I'm looking to get another BP, and will hopefully find something at the upcoming herp show in Daly City... but in the meantime I've been perusing the online classifieds, including Craigslist. I know sites like kingsnake have more "real" breeders, but I would prefer to deal locally - so I can meet the snake before committing to anything.

So my question is, can you actually get a good snake on CL? What should I ask, look for, offer, etc? I've seen a few really nice ones on there for very cheap, and would like to possibly check them out. I emailed one guy with a pastel and asked for pictures, what he was eating, if he had a tank, and that was it. I thought later that I should have also asked why he was selling the snake, where it originally came from, and what it currently weighs. Anything else I'm forgetting? And how can I be sure I'm not getting a snake with issues? As for dealing with CL people in general, I have a lot of experience with that... so don't worry, I'm not going to get scammed! :D Here are a few examples of ads I've seen locally, and I'd appreciate any advice/input from you all.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/pet/1156523123.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/pet/1154936993.html (here's the pastel I emailed about - is it really a pastel??)
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/pet/1153680118.html
http://fresno.craigslist.org/pet/1155166595.html
http://reno.craigslist.org/pet/1132543363.html

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I'm from the Bay area and if your looking for another ball python. There is going to be a reptile show at the cow palace on the 16th and 17th. You should be able to find a good deal there.

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/pet/1154936993.html (here's the pastel I emailed about - is it really a pastel??)

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Bad pictures - but it looks like a normal ball to me. :)

-cough- stay away from the Fresno het pied. Look up Phil Hoerner's reputation. ALWAYS look up a seller's reputation.

Whoops!!! You already knew about the Daly City Show. I should have read the entire post :weirdface Anyways, I would wait for the show and skip the craigslist ads. I'm sure you'll be able to find whatever you are looking for at the show.

the East Bay Vivarium usually has a good number of balls you could always check there to see if they have any that catch your eye

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Originally Posted by JT20

the East Bay Vivarium usually has a good number of balls you could always check there to see if they have any that catch your eye

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That's where I got my current normal BP, Delilah... they are terrific, but have a limited (and expensive) stock on morphs. If I don't find anything at the show, though, I'll probably end up going through them again.

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Originally Posted by thefnshow66

Whoops!!! You already knew about the Daly City Show. I should have read the entire post :weirdface Anyways, I would wait for the show and skip the craigslist ads. I'm sure you'll be able to find whatever you are looking for at the show.

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Yeah, that was my original plan! :gj: Just thought I'd look around online too, so I have something to compare at the show... are the prices at reptile shows better than average?

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Originally Posted by Shadera

-cough- stay away from the Fresno het pied. Look up Phil Hoerner's reputation. ALWAYS look up a seller's reputation.

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I hadn't researched anyone yet, but thanks for the heads-up!

you may want to just do research now and wait a couple months till more 09 babies are hatched and feeding, you will have a better selection of morphs then.

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

Yeah, that was my original plan! :gj: Just thought I'd look around online too, so I have something to compare at the show... are the prices at reptile shows better than average?

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Well from my experience. The prices at the shows are fair but if you WERE going to buy a snake at the show. Your best bet is to wait on the last day so you can possibly get a better price. I understand how you feel about wanting to hold and meet the snake before you buy it. That was one of my concerns when i started buying my collection but there aren't a lot of breeders around here. I've been fortunate enough that all the snakes I bought online have been great and the breeders have been wonderful to me. As someone said, as long as you do a bit of research on the breeder you might be buying from, you'll be okay on purchasing online if the Herp Show doesn't work out for you.

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Originally Posted by Nate

Bad pictures - but it looks like a normal ball to me. :)

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I thought so....... :rolleyes:

I've gotten a few very nice animals from Craigslist, but it's few and far between. I happen to be picking one up tomorrow that's very nice.

Looks like you got a ton of great advice already! :)

I bought a small collection off craigslist and it was an awesome deal. Got a .1 mojave, 1. spider, 1. pastel and .4 normals - all adult. And he threw in the rack...

There are deals out there, just be picky. You can always walk away from the deal if it doesn't feel right...

Good luck!