Buying online vs Show

[artgecko]

I have been to the ATL repticon several times and purchased 3 of my BPs, my carpet, and my rainbow boa there. I have also purchased several snakes and other animals online from breeders.

The best thing about the show is getting to see all of the different animals and meet the breeders. That said, the selection isn't always the best. There are usually a lot of BPs there, but there are also a lot of "flippers" (re-sellers) there selling them. I would go to repticon's website and find the vendor list then google them, search on the inquiries forum here, and search on the fauna classafied's BOI forum as well. Personally, I would buy from a breeder, not a flipper (not because they are inherently bad, but you get more info and customer care IMO from a breeder).

You have to weigh the cost of attending the show, the tickets, the gas, etc. vs. the cost of shipping. I was considering going to the ATL show for my most recent pickup, but when I weighed the costs, it was actually cheaper to pay shipping than it was to pay for the gas and tickets.

That said, if you've never been around reptiles in person, attending a show is a good experience.

The moprhs you listed are a little out of your price range IMO. male piebalds and leucys tend to go for 300+... I see most male pieds for $350 and up and most Leucys for around $400. Females are more expensive.

You could easily get a double co-dominant gene combo, especially a male, for your price range though. So something like a pastel enchi, pastave, etc. would easily be found. A male hypo would also be found in your range as well as a bumble bee or other simple spider combo. Male banannas would probably be an option too and possibly an albino.

I'd do a lot of scrolling around on morph market / WOBP before you attend the show. Have several morphs in mind that seem to hit in your price range online.. know what they look like, etc. Also be aware of signs of health / illness. If you see an animal with stuck shed, RI symptoms, thin, etc. keep walking...I've seen several sickly animals at repticon. Some flippers / vendors sell wild-caught animals too, so I'd avoid them as they often house captive-bred near wild caught and they could pick up illness, etc.

I'd also read up on mite treatment and plan on doing a treatment just in case while you BP is in quarantine. Mites are a common issue and it is best to nip them in the bud at first vs. deal with a set-in infestation.

I'd also recommend some local FB groups... Georgia Royal Python Kingdom is a good one to join and post to. You could ask there who is planning on vending at repticon or you may even be able to find a local breeder that way. There are several in our state near ATL or in north GA especially. Albey's Reptiles comes to mind as well as Bob Vu. I'm forgetting others, but you have options. I'm not sure if they will all be vending though. In the past, I've arranged to pick up an animal I already purchased at the show from a person vending there, so you could work something like that out if any of them had what you wanted and were vending.

Good luck and enjoy your first show!