Even if they have herpers as employers there is not much they can do. They cant ad hides or take them to good vets if they are sick. My friend who works at Petsmart said it took alot of work just to take the beardies off of calcisand.

Ben, how will you know the animal is sick? There is definitely no guarantee the snake will poop for you in order to get a fecal done in 14 days because of how poor their feeding records can be. Now your in even more trouble if the snake doesn't eat for a few months. Not to mention most of their snakes there are imports ( At least in my area, but im sure its the same for most.) And you really need to get those checked, so add on a $50 + any parasites they might have. Also do not forget that most do not wash hands between handling reptiles, so anything any other reptile at the store might have...just one... can easily be transferred to the ball pythons. you say the temps are alright? Those heat bulbs suck the humidity out of the tank which is the reason why you always see bps with horrible sheds... and also most of the time they measure with those crapy stick on thermometers that can be off by 20 degrees.

With a reputable breeder you do not have to worry about all of this, just make sure that the poop looks normal and that the snake has no physical problems. Id still take it to the vet but you have a much less chance of there being any parasites.


Just my 2c