What Do You Think of This Super Pastel

[BPGuy]

If you like the snake, then buy it. Regardless of what people are saying the colors are not bad. I'd estimate that she's somewhere at 600+ grams and is still fairly bright, taking into account her sex, age, size, color, temperament, willingness to feed. She's not a bad snake at all. Offer the owner $400.00 and see what they say.

According to her feed chart, she weighed 228 grams on 4/25/13 and last shed on 3/21/13. She also is a very good feeder and has consistently eaten about once a week. She's currently on weaned rats and will eat live or pre-killed.

[BPGuy]

First, I want to thank all of you who have responded to my initial (and subsequent questions) and especially those of you who have put up with my PMs. I very much appreciate your patience and input.

As the radio commentator Paul Harvey would say, "And now, the rest of the story . . . ."

I ended up buy the snake in question for $250. It's somewhat of a long story how we got to that price, and I won't bore you all with it. I will say that although I ended up paying a bit more than I had budgeted for a BP, I am very happy with my purchase and feel pretty comfortable that, at the end of the day, the price I paid was fair and reasonable for this particular snake. In the long run, I guess it doesn't matter whether she is or is not a super. What matters most is that she is my girl now.

So now, the next question I face is where I'm going to house her. I have two 40 gallon Critter Cages that aren't being used since I moved my kids' BPs into a T8. I realize that the 40 gallon is pretty large for such a small snake, but between the T8 and my new girl, I've dropped a lot of dough on snakes in the past month. Consequently, I'm looking at an economical option even if it is only for the short term. Right now, I've got her in a 34 quart Hefty tub on my desk in my office. However, because this particular snake managed to escape her tub in the store, my wife would much prefer that she be in a locked cage of some type (even though the escape occurred as a result of an employee not pushing the tub all the way into the rack rather than some Houdini-type trick). I was actually hoping to squeeze the tub between the top of the T8 and the cabinets that are about 5 1/2" above the T8 (the T8 sits on a hallway counter and some cabinets are above the counter), but I'm not sure how secure that will be or whether a 5 1/2" tub is high enough for a full grown BP (I would also need to slip some heat tape or a heat mat underneath the tub).

[BranceM]

I ended up buy the snake in question for $250. It's somewhat of a long story how we got to that price, and I won't bore you all with it.

You don't want to bore us but you're fine with leaving us hanging? I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to hear how you managed to talk the seller down $300!

[mike689]

You don't want to bore us but you're fine with leaving us hanging? I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to hear how you managed to talk the seller down $300!

PLEASE

[BPGuy]

PLEASE

I'm sorry I wasn't able to reply yesterday. I was tied up at work all day and exhausted by the time I got home (though not too exhausted to take out my new girl and hold her for a little bit ). In any event, here's the scoop (warning--it is a long story):

As I mentioned in an earlier post, as of nine months ago, I was scared of snakes. However, my oldest son needed to care for a reptile for 30 days for a Boy Scout project. He had his heart set on a ball python. Although my wife and I were very resistent to him bringing any type of snake in the house (I was far more resisten than my wife), we ultimately caved in (figuring he was more likely to care for animal he really wanted than one he didn't like). After stopping at a couple of Petcos and Petsmarts, we went to a small, local exotic pet store. We found out about the pet store through the father of one of the Scouts. The day we ended up at the exotic pet store, this dad just happened to be here. I don't know whether he has an ownership interest in the store or just knows the owner very well, but he helped pick out a normal ball python for my son. Although my wife and I (and our son) would have preferred to start out with a baby ball, they did not have any that day. They showed us what I believe was a two year-old male normal. Of course, my son (who has instant gratification issues ) wanted that particular normal (even though we had seen some babies at Petco and Petsmart) so we bought it for him.

Almost every week thereafter, I returned to the exotic pet store to buy a rat for my oldest son's BP. My youngest son, who happens to love all animals, was mildly jealous of his older brother so when the store advertised that it was raffling off a BP, I bought a ticket for my youngest son--every week for about four to five weeks (the tickets were only $1 each). As luck would have it, we won the raffle and ended up with BP #2 (another adult normal) after only about two months of buying the first BP.

I continued to return to the exotic pet store almost weekly to buy rats for the two BPs. It is a small mom-and-pop shop, with a handful of employees. Because I was going there almost every week, I ended up getting to know them all and, as I became more and more fascinated with my sons' BPs, I would ask them what they had in stock during my weekly trips to the store (I was fascinated to see the different types of BPs). When my oldest son's BP went on a hunger strike during breeding season, I would bring him into the store every few weeks, and the folks their checked him out to make sure he was okay and sometimes to see whether he would take a live rat or mouse (he didn't). When he had a bad shed, they also helped me with a piece of shed stuck to his eyecap.

Periodically, a couple of the guys at the store would tease/encourage me about getting my own BP. About three weeks ago, I went to the store to pick up rats, and one of the employees brought out the BP that I ultimately bought, as well as calico pastel, which I later learned is a sibling of the one that I purchased (the one I purchased came from a pastel bred with a calico pastel). Here's a photo of the sibling:



I think he told me the calico pastel was originally priced at $1,200 but was now $900 or $800 (I can't recall which), and he told me that the super pastel (the one I ultimately bought) was $550. At the time, I figured there was no way my wife would let me bring another snake into the house, and I definitely didn't want to spend that much on a snake after all the money I've dropped in the last nine months on various accessories for the two that we already have (invested a ton of money in two 40 gallon Critter Cages, CHEs, UTHs, incandescent bulbs, and crummy thermostats to then move to a single T8 with divider and Herpstat last month). Consequently, although I really liked what I told was a super pastel, I figured I would never end up with her. (The photo of calico pastel posted above and the original photo of the super pastel were both taken on that trip to the store).

Well, last Saturday when I went to the store to get rats, one of the employees told me that they were closing the store and selling everything for 30% off, 40% if paid with cash. (They are selling tanks, racks, substrate, animals, you name it.) Consequently, I asked to look at the BPs that they had in stock. Nothing caught my fancy quite like the super pastel (although there has been some debate here as to whether she truly is a super pastel, I going to refer to her as a super simply for eash of reference). Again, though, the price was too high for my budget, not to mention I couldn't bring it into the house without my wife's approval. When I went home that evening, I told my wife and kids that the store was closing and probably would be open for another week. My sons and I were sad because we had very much enjoyed going there for our weekly trip to see what new exotic critters they had (everything from sugar gliders to bearded dragons to scorpions to tarantulas to--at one time--New World kangaroos). My boys asked me if we could go to the store one last time so we went back the next day (last Sunday).

When we went to the store last Sunday, I asked if my boys and I could see the BPs they had remaining one last time. Of course, they showed me the super pastel and let us all hold her. We spent more than an hour at the store and spent more than half that time holding the super pastel. Ultimately, my sons insisted on showing her to my wife, who indicated that she was not going to tell me not to get another snake (though she did have her concerns about me bringing another snake into the house).

When I inquired into the price of the super pastel (I couldn't recall the price I was quoted the week before), I was told she was $400 cash (they had reduced the price for the going out of business sale). Again, as much as I liked her, I had a hard time reconciling to paying that much for a snake. They then showed me some regular pastels, which were $75 cash. Here are two photos of one of the pastels (they are not the best photos):





Ironically, I think this pastel was less bright in person than what the photos show. In any event, for whatever reason, I was not nearly as attracted to the regular pastels as I was to the super. Thus, although I much preferred the price of the regular, I much preferred the look of the super. I told the folks at the store (including the owner) that I really needed to think about whether I was going to "settle" for the $75 pastel and that I probably would be back later in the week. When I got home that evening, I started this thread because I so much wanted the super but was having such a difficult time with the concept of paying $400.

On Tuesday night, I went back to the store to have another look at the super and the regular pastels. That's when I took all the photos that I posted Tuesday night. Once again, I had a hard time putting her down. I asked one of the key employees if there was anything they could do to lower the price. Initially, he said no. I don't remember the order in which our discussion went from there, but I know at one point I asked if if there was anyway he could go to $175 and at another point I asked about $200. At various points during the next hour, I kept mentioning how I did not budget for more than $200 and really couldn't do more than that. At some point, one of the key employees went down to $350 and at another point he went down to $300. The discussions were not ongoing. Instead, most of the time I was in the back room holding the pastel and looking at the other BPs they had left (most of their pastels were in shed and the only one that was showing any colors was the one shown above; I had no interest in their other morphs, including a lemon blast and pinstripe, and a granite pinstripe) while the employee who quoted me prices was in another room.

Ultimately, I reached the point where I just didn't think I was ever going to be able to able to purchase the super (because the employee was holding firm at $300) so I put her back. As I started to leave, I saw the owner and started to wish her well in the future (I am sad to see the store closing). I explained to her how much I really liked this snake, but simply could not afford the $300 they were asking. I told her that my limit had been $200 and that I only had $250 on me. I asked when they expected to close the store (she told me they would be closed by this Sunday) and told her I might be back again. She offered to hold the super for me. I told her that she didn't need to do that and I truly would be happy for her if she could get the original $400 asking price from someone else (which genuinely was my feeling because I like the owner). I don't remember how it came about, but somehow I indicated that all I had was $250. She said she did not want to lose a sale over $250 and that she would sell me the snake for that amount. That put me in a real dilemma. After a few texts to/from my wife, I pulled the trigger and bought the snake for $250.

Even though the store is closing, the owner is going to start a warehouse/mail-order business and told me that I can still buy rats from her. She also said that if I ever would like to breed my girl, she will take care of finding a male and doing all the breeding and egg incubation and then would give me first choice of the clutch. I don't know whether I will ever take her up on that offer, but I thought it was a nice gesture. The bottom line is that, in all my dealings with the owner of the store, I believe she genuinely cares about these animals and her customers. Although I stretched a little beyond my budget, it was not to such a level that I can't sleep at night. For these reasons, I'm very pleased we were able to reach a deal, and I'll continue to feel that way unless someone tells me that there is no way on Earth that my new girl is worth $250 and that I was ripped off in a major way (if I overpaid by $25-50, I really don't care; I'm talking about overing paying by more than $50). Judging by all the comments here, though, (specifically, the ones that say she is either a high quality regular pastel or low quality super), I don't think that will be the case.

So, that's my story. I apologize if it was a little long-winded. Once again, I want to thank everyone who has participated in this thread. What great a community you all are!

BTW, my family and I are still considering names. Ones up for contention are Iris (my wife's personal favorite because you can see the snake's iris), Athena, and Xena. Thoughts? I'm also still curious as to suggestions for housing her (though at this point I am leaning toward a tub with heat tape and putting the tub on top of the T8 that houses my sons' snakes).

[Annarose15]

Congratulations on your new girl! I sold my pastel females last year for $175-200, so you didn't overpay terribly if she turns out to be "just" a pastel. If she's a super, then you got a stellar deal. What matters is that you got the one you really wanted, and didn't settle.

[BPGuy]

Congratulations on your new girl! I sold my pastel females last year for $175-200, so you didn't overpay terribly if she turns out to be "just" a pastel. If she's a super, then you got a stellar deal. What matters is that you got the one you really wanted, and didn't settle.

Thanks! I forgot to mention the best part: Yesterday was my birthday so she was my birthday present to myself.

[valhalha30]

If you're happy with what you bought, then that's what matters most!
Congrats on your new baby girl
You should post some pictures on this thread as she grows! It'd be neat to watch her mature!

[BPGuy]

If you're happy with what you bought, then that's what matters most!
Congrats on your new baby girl
You should post some pictures on this thread as she grows! It'd be neat to watch her mature!

I'll try to do that. Several years ago, I really got into photography, and that was my primary hobby. However, about a year and a half ago, I started a new job and have a lot less time on my hands than I used to. As a result, I haven't had much time to pursue my photography. However, having hung out around this forum for the past couple of months, I realize that herpetology opens up a whole new world for photographers. I'm very much looking foward to melding my new hobby with my old one.

[valhalha30]

That's so cool! I've always wanted to get into photography, but I got into snakes and mechanics instead...
This site would be a great outlet for you to explore your new hobby and your previous one
(btw, the members on here LOVE photos of herps, especially when they can pretty much watch a snake grow)