Guy Buys a Piebald

[captainjack0000]

It might sound like the start of a bad joke, but its not. I'm at the local reptile shop today and this guy comes in. He gives away a bumblebee or something like it. I am not to keen on my morphs, but it had plenty of yellow and very narrow black stripes. Either way, it was at least a couple of hundred dollar morph. Apprently it had been bit by a rat now was shy of larger prey items, and the guy didn't want to mess with it. The guy said to the clerk that the snake had not been eating recently, but to me (and the clerk after the guy had left) the snake looked fine, maybe a tiny bit on the thin side. There were a few damaged scales from rat bite, but the snake looked healthy. And then, he asks if they have any rare animals in the back, so the clerk comes forward with a piebald. The guy buys it, pays something close to $900 for it in cash. At this point, my curiousity has gotten the better of me so I ask the guy if he plans on breeding the piebald. He says something about never feed live to your snakes and that no, he has no breeding plans for the piebald. After the guy left I asked the clerk about it and their response was that maybe the snake the guy gave away has something seriously wrong with it.

But who the heck buys a $900 piebald, just because? I mean good for him if he can afford that, but I am a little surprised.

[Punkymom]

What did the Pastel say to the Spider? Don't you want to Bee with me? (har dee har har)

I cannot justify spending nearly 1k on an animal just because. However, people do it all the time with purebred dogs, so why not? The Bee thing is kind of weird. I would be very wary of anyone giving away an animal unless it was a really close friend or something.

[captainjack0000]

I would be wary of it too, but from the store's perspective, a $900 sale is a $900 sale. I figured they would have knocked something off because of the trade-in, but the store didn't offer and the guy didn't ask.

The real danger is going to be if the trade-in is contagious with something. The profit from that sale can evaporate very quickly if all of the remaining animals become ill.

[wolfy-hound]

How much do people pay for a set of speakers for their car? How much do some people pay for a set of sort fancy shoe?

If you have enough money, $900 for a pet that can live 30 years isn't bad at all.

Myself, $900 is a LOT of money to spend on anything.

[satomi325]

I think that is really shady and strange.
1) Honestly, if he has issues feeding live, then he isn't doing it right. There are responsible methods to avoid bites.
2) If the snake isn't eating, his set up is probably not correct.
3) He overpaid for his Pied. The market price is about $500-700 these days.

Either way, the poor bee and pied.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

$900 is far from being unheard from, (probably better if I didn't tell you how much I spent on snakes last year ), yes it is overpriced but it is a pet store so the pricing will be higher than buying directly from a breeder.

You would be surprised the amount of people spend for a pet, and while most would not question spending $1000 for a dog they always seem shock if you tell them you pay that much or more for a snake.

[loonunit]

$900 is pretty typical for a pet store. They have to make a profit over the original price, and the snake takes up display they could use for another animal. So they usually mark up.

EDIT: I'm not saying I would pay that much, unless maybe it was some kind of magical unicorn pied that pooped rainbows. And I give the price tags in my local pet store the stink-eye every time I walk by them. But that is about what they are selling pieds for right now.

[cowbully]

I think that is really shady and strange.
1) Honestly, if he has issues feeding live, then he isn't doing it right. There are responsible methods to avoid bites.
2) If the snake isn't eating, his set up is probably not correct.
3) He overpaid for his Pied. The market price is about $500-700 these days.

Either way, the poor bee and pied.

Where can you find pieds for that price? Everywhere i look they are 1000 and up

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[Quantum Constrictors]

thats how much they are in canada right now. I bought mine for $450.

[satomi325]

Where can you find pieds for that price? Everywhere i look they are 1000 and up

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Check the online reptile classifieds. (Fauna or Kingsnake)
I haven't seen hatchlings go for $1000 in over a year.