Anything for a sale

[zeion97]

@whoohoo I would agree that after someone buys an animal it is up to them how to house that animal however without the proper information regarding husbandry of any species by the breeder/seller its all downhill from there. That buyer now might go on to possibly spread that useless information with others and back it up with "but i heard it from a breeder"

Thanks for the responses. I just couldn't get over the total lack of care for an animal over just getting a sale and needed to vent. For the animals sake I hope he takes my advice and comes here and joins up or at least stays in the shadows and just reads the care guide and advice we have here.

Sorry, I forgot this.. I agree with what you say here, a breeder should always tell a customer what is recommended, and what they themselves do. A friend of mine use to breed RTB's and told people they roam is house. So some people tried it sadly. What he forgot to.mention was that he owned a house with I think it was 7? Rooms and a guest house. Compared to the average house of 2-4 rooms. I agree, breeders need to be more informative, when I bought my Burmese (I played dumb to see if the seller cared) i had multiple sellers just say they are docile and get big. No how big, nothing. It may not be housing advice but it's still the same... some "breeders" only care about a quick Buck.

[HerpIsAhobby]

Just wanted to clear something up. I don't mind other people housing a collection or just a few snakes however they want IF they are making that decision having been informed of proper husbandry requirements. Putting a 2 year old female who may or may not be getting into the breeding frame of mind with a 300 gram male is a recipe for disaster for a pet owner. Unwanted clutches, a young female becoming gravid and having problems such as becoming egg bound the problems could all easily be solved by housing them in separate tubs/tanks or whatever might tickle your fancy.

This whole thread is about just giving the buyer a truthful answer instead of whatever you know they want to hear to make a sale. I would have respected the seller much more if he said "yea I don't think its a good idea to house the male and female together unless your looking to breed them". Sure he may have lost a sale or maybe not but the animal that he bred would go to a person hopefully who understood the needs of the animal.

[kitedemon]

It is a thorny issue for sure. I know cohabitation can be done but it takes experience to do so well. The usual I don't want to buy another tank, enclosure and gear for that is quite common idea. The truth is that permanently housed together snakes, need 3 or 4 times the space of a single animal, multiple hot spots, and cool areas, and hides ect. It is not a money saver, time saver, or expense saver. It really takes careful balance to do well. Not something for a beginner and not something to save money. I am afraid I personally take a dim view of the excuse I can't afford proper housing for my snake. If you can't afford to keep it you can't afford to buy it. Most breeders I have dealt with are more interested in placing the animal in a good home than making a sale. It is sad to hear of breeders whom seem more intent on the sale than the animal.

To the broken tank person, I get it, my comments are not directed your way, correct temps and conditions must be met better two together than one dying. Temporary measures are about doing the best you can with what you have.

[zeion97]

Just wanted to clear something up. I don't mind other people housing a collection or just a few snakes however they want IF they are making that decision having been informed of proper husbandry requirements. Putting a 2 year old female who may or may not be getting into the breeding frame of mind with a 300 gram male is a recipe for disaster for a pet owner. Unwanted clutches, a young female becoming gravid and having problems such as becoming egg bound the problems could all easily be solved by housing them in separate tubs/tanks or whatever might tickle your fancy.

This whole thread is about just giving the buyer a truthful answer instead of whatever you know they want to hear to make a sale. I would have respected the seller much more if he said "yea I don't think its a good idea to house the male and female together unless your looking to breed them". Sure he may have lost a sale or maybe not but the animal that he bred would go to a person hopefully who understood the needs of the animal.

You're right, and I apologize that I streamed the topic off a bit. But on my other comment I was also agreeing. The sad truth is So many new buyers make the mistake of learning from someone who only gives minimal care to there animals. (Sadly my story) or they learn from someone who wants a quick Buck, very few now learn from a dedicated breeder who wants there animals to have the best home. Again, I apologize, I tried to agree with you that it was wrong and also share my own experience with snakes housed together.

[HerpIsAhobby]

@zeion97 no worries at all I didn't take anything negatively and hope you don't think i was coming after you at all. I love snakes and for that matter all animals. I not only have a collection of snakes but a colony of rats, mice and a few dogs and over the years I've seen animals living in terrible conditions and its just a sore spot for me overall.

[m00kfu]

Just wanted to clear something up. I don't mind other people housing a collection or just a few snakes however they want IF they are making that decision having been informed of proper husbandry requirements. Putting a 2 year old female who may or may not be getting into the breeding frame of mind with a 300 gram male is a recipe for disaster for a pet owner. Unwanted clutches, a young female becoming gravid and having problems such as becoming egg bound the problems could all easily be solved by housing them in separate tubs/tanks or whatever might tickle your fancy.

This whole thread is about just giving the buyer a truthful answer instead of whatever you know they want to hear to make a sale. I would have respected the seller much more if he said "yea I don't think its a good idea to house the male and female together unless your looking to breed them". Sure he may have lost a sale or maybe not but the animal that he bred would go to a person hopefully who understood the needs of the animal.

The point I was trying to get at is that maybe to that breeder he WAS giving proper husbandry advice. Did you talk to the breeder himself and ask about it? I've come across plenty of people who have the opinion that a female won't produce eggs unless she's ready to breed and that there is no risk of becoming egg bound. Everyone has their own guidelines that they follow, to say that breeder told the customer that just to make a quick sale might be jumping the gun is all I'm saying.

[HerpIsAhobby]

@Chris I totally understood your point. I did not speak to the vendor and to be honest I didn't care too. If you were there to hear his responses you may have a different feeling just as I do. His advice wasn't coming from a genuine place and that was obvious to me listening to the conversation back and forth.

I have talked to many large scale breeders of ball pythons and not a single one that I spoke with would house animals together for anything other than to breed. It's true that I haven't had personal conversations with every breeder in the country but the larger operations that put out some of the most coveted variations in the hobby most definitely do not suggest having ball pythons housed together. Even with that said it is always up to the individual to house however they feel best suits the animal.

The breeder never once outlined a potential problem with having a male and female together in the same enclosure to this customer and that is plain wrong. That is not a statement of opinion but fact because I have seen these issues first hand and people lose females every year being egg bound so it can and does happen. If the breeder didn't know that then he shouldn't be breeding.