Rescuing a ball python from a chain store?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I heard they buy them from overseas

There are two main US importers/wholesalers selling to large pet stores Co Reptiles By Mack and Gourmet Rodents both located in the US.

They import captive hatched set them up and re-sell them.

Both those companies also breed their own animals selling high end BP.

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[StillBP]

To be fair, there are plenty of crummy breeders out there, just like there are plenty of quality animals that can be found in chain stores. Due diligence on behalf of the buyer is a must regardless of where a potential purchase comes from.

here i must agree what i meant to say was you can usaly find a better animal from a reputable breeder than at a box store

[StillBP]

Where do you think petsmart buys their ball pythons from?

even if they are buying local from breeders they are buying the castoffs that the breeder cant sell for more money his/herself so most snakes at a box pet store will not have the quality that you can find from a reputable breeder
I know this as I sell all my normals to a local pet store. I give him a great price on them and he can put a good price on them for his customers them. I dont have to worry about what to do with the 20 normals I hatched out. And I know where he gets his morph snakes from which is local breeders that sell him stock that they cant move because it is lesser quality. Now I am not saying this is always the case but it happens alot. As a breeder why would you sell a snake to a box store for say $50 when you can sell it via morph market or kingsnake for more if it was a nice animal? You wouldnt
and as eric said to be fair there are sometimes nice animals in box stores, wile I can not rebute this I still would not buy from one

[Jeanne]

I would be worried for the fact I see normals in my local petsmart for $100.00...yes $100.00! Why are they selling it so cheap?

[Andylee11]

My fiancée works at a local chain store . The " animal manger " at this specific store has complete and total say so over what's ordered and what's on the floor for sale. I've seen so many Red Tails sold to only be returned later when the wow factor wears off . It's sad but it seems like a never ending cycle . When they sell out of what they have they just order more . All of there snakes ( at least most come from the same breeder) . The same company that sells there frozen feeder mice . I would get him out of that hell hole . They have certain precedues they must follow and the majority of the time from what I've seen a sick snake only gets sicker from those kind of places .

[Slim]

When they sell out of what they have they just order more

This is the stone cold truth of big box pet stores...

You'll never be rescuing an animal from a chain store, you'll just be increasing the demand for their supply.

There are two main US importers/wholesalers selling to large pet stores Co Reptiles By Mack and Gourmet Rodents

And TGR gets a lot of their stock from a guy named Bill (seriously), who's operation is located about 7 miles from where I'm standing right now.

Trust me when I say that the Big Box doesn't care where they come from, and will always be happy to tell you their animals are high quality and locally produced.

[Scottywelsh]

It's probably different in the us but in the UK all the shops that sell ball pythons buy from local breeders in the UK.
One of the shops by me buys normals in for £40 and sell them for £50 which is not bad at all really. Altho I totally disagree with buying "Bulk Bought" animals that live in crappy conditions and you should always go to a good breeder that you can visit and see the living conditions and everything.
Best breeder I have ever come across is Dave from New Venture Ball Pythons . You can go there and just talk BPs for hours with him with no intention of buying one. You can see how passionate he is about it and that's what I look for.

[Willowy]

I would be worried for the fact I see normals in my local petsmart for $100.00...yes $100.00! Why are they selling it so cheap?

. . .that's not cheap. . .at the last expo everyone was selling normals for $15-$20. . .

[ReptiMoto]

They sell these ball pythons at my local Petsmart FAST. I go there usually once a week, and there will be 2 in the tank. Last week there were 2 normals that looked healthy so I didn't feel any concern. But this poor pastel. I guess I'll check back at the store in a few days when I return from Michigan to see the fam. Hopefully it's condition has gotten better, if not I will definitely be taking pictures.

[Eric Alan]

And TGR gets a lot of their stock from a guy named Bill (seriously), who's operation is located about 7 miles from where I'm standing right now.

Please tell me you didn't just yada yada Bill Brant. That's like saying you live in Redmond, WA and there's a guy named Bill whose computer store is just down the road from you.

Trust me when I say that the Big Box doesn't care where they come from, and will always be happy to tell you their animals are high quality and locally produced.

When someone starts a sentence with, "Trust me when I say...", it usually means, "I am not about to change my opinion, so you should blindly get on board with it too." If you, as a business owner, or the people working for you, don't care about having quality product, you don't get to the point of having a successful business in the first place. This is especially true in the pet industry when that product more often than not becomes a member of your customer's family.