How Do You Find A Good Reptile Breeder?

[royalreilly]

Hello, all! I'm curious as to how you guys find good breeders to buy your snakes from. I currently have one ball python, who I bought from a chain pet store when I was in middle school. I'm interested in eventually getting more snakes, including different kinds of snakes. But now I know a lot more about chain pet stores and how bad they can be.

The problem is, I live in a very rural area. There are never any reptile shows within reasonable distance from me, and I've never heard about any local breeders, though I'm sure they must exist. When I use Google to search for snakes I only find the very very large breeders or websites like Morph Market, which I'm not really sure I trust completely. I'd really like a slightly more personal interaction than I could get from the big name breeders, but I just don't know how to find them.

So how do you find reputable breeders? Do you trust things like Morph Market? Do you just use big name breeders? Thank you!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Morph Market has very few large breeders most breeders on there are actually small scale breeders that are hands on with their collection. Of course you still need to do your research and investigate their reputations here https://www.facebook.com/groups/Rept...kandInquiries/ or here if you are a contributor http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...splay.php?f=13

And of course asking here is also a good idea.

Personally I prefer small scale breeders.

[AbsoluteApril]

In addition, you can check if there are any reptile/herp societies in any large city areas near you, there may be local breeders you can get in contact with that way. Also, in addition to web sources Deborah mentioned, when you do start to find sellers you might want to buy from, ask them for references (and follow up with the references).

I also prefer to support small scale breeders as much as possible.

Good luck in your search!

[mandymg86]

In addition, you can check if there are any reptile/herp societies in any large city areas near you, there may be local breeders you can get in contact with that way. Also, in addition to web sources Deborah mentioned, when you do start to find sellers you might want to buy from, ask them for references (and follow up with the references).

I also prefer to support small scale breeders as much as possible.

Good luck in your search!

This is what I did. I have some friends who have been in the herp community in the St. Louis area for quite some time (and also breed themselves from time to time) so I reached out to them and asked for recommendations. So far, they've come through with an amazing breeder and an amazing veterinarian!

[Lord Sorril]

In addition to Research online:
I compare hatch date to snake size. While genetics are always a factor: assuming the snake is 'happy', healthy, and eating properly (not maintenance fed) it should have a fairly predictable growth rate respective to its gender. This assumes that the reputable breeder (you are looking at) is not lying about the age.

[Godzilla78]

I’ve bought nearly all of my snakes through MorphMarket and had them overnight shipped. So far, every single breeder delivered quality service, even without netting in person.
I did have one large scale breeder that was not very communicative,but still had a quality animal.
MorphMarket sellers are all vetted and require photo ID, and any scammers are usually weeded out. Though do you your research first.


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[bcr229]

I wrote this up a while ago:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...g-Herps-Online

[Samurai]

I don't go to their website because it's their website. They can go in and change reviews to what they want them to say. I alwayss Google them and look them up on a neutral site that they can't rig the reviews. Like backwater reptiles for example. All those bad reviews I will never order from them. Dynasty reptiles I have seen nothing but good reviews on them. But I always thought they were high till I read on the site that the shipping was included on the price. So that made sense. Now I think he is one of the most reasonably priced out there. I use CV Exotics. He has a lot of good reviews. Haven't seen a bad one. Then there's the ones that I think are over-priced. Won't mention any names but it's like you're paying for more than a snake + shipping. But I mostly go by the unbiased reviews.