Deal or No Deal?

[BigBlue56]

Deal at $200.

Thats what i would say.

Tell him after doing research you know alot of work is required to get them healthy again.

Tell him 175.. if he says no, say 200 and make it a final offer.

If he says no, keep your money.

The only big concern is that you already have a collection (right?). I am very new to the BP world but mites dont exactly sound like a good time.

Bartering was invented for such situations as this.

[DLoc]

I've never had mites on mine. But I've heard enough stories of people visiting a new reptile store which had mites, then from there they washed their hands after leaving the shop (before home) then handled their snakes and then had a mite infestation.

One of the biggest fears beyond the actual mites is causing ball pythons to stop feeding is that mites can cause severe anemia which can kill the python by hypoxia. (depriving him of oxygen on a cellular level in the blood that literally is suffocating them to death even though they can breath just fine.)

I've read if you ever discover you've been around mite infested reptiles (no matter the degree) you should change cloths before entering your home to avoid cross contamination of other cloths/items. Then unwittingly give your reptiles mites. Mites will find any way to migrate to other reptiles, even hitching a ride on feeder mice. Basic info on mites about half way down.
Why Mites are So Hard To Kill

[bsash]

If you have the means to provide, and treat them IF things get worse, then yes. I would take them if I were you.

[joepythons]

I would NOT pay a dime for them IF i chose to take them in.Why should the person be rewarded for being to lazy to PROPERLY care for them .Yes some have had mites pop up BUT we did not just dump them.We did the responsible thing TREAT THEM! So i would tell this person i will take them but i will not pay you for your lazyness .

[raighe]

Update: I purchased PAM two days ago and treated my setups. This was done just to prevent any possible contamination, not only from the infected snakes but from different reptile shops I go to . Better safe than sorry. After I was done I went to the person's house and treated his enclosures, he couldn't afford to buy PAM. This was almost three days ago. Today I went by to see how things were going and I couldn't find one mite. All of his snakes not just the two I was going to purchase are acting and looking one hundred percent better. Many of them went into shed right after the mites were eliminated, including the female mojave. The better news was that I got the mojave to feed while I was there. I did this by asking my local shop for some soiled gerbil bedding. She didn't hesitate to take it.
I haven't officially bought them from him but I'm starting to feel like I might as well lol. Especially now that I've seemed to correct the issues. Although the guy seemed like he wanted to back out of the price he had asked before. So the possibility exists that he'll back out, since he now sees no mites and a snake without a feeding problem. All of which I corrected.

[bsash]

Update: I purchased PAM two days ago and treated my setups. This was done just to prevent any possible contamination, not only from the infected snakes but from different reptile shops I go to . Better safe than sorry. After I was done I went to the person's house and treated his enclosures, he couldn't afford to buy PAM. This was almost three days ago. Today I went by to see how things were going and I couldn't find one mite. All of his snakes not just the two I was going to purchase are acting and looking one hundred percent better. Many of them went into shed right after the mites were eliminated, including the female mojave. The better news was that I got the mojave to feed while I was there. I did this by asking my local shop for some soiled gerbil bedding. She didn't hesitate to take it.
I haven't officially bought them from him but I'm starting to feel like I might as well lol. Especially now that I've seemed to correct the issues. Although the guy seemed like he wanted to back out of the price he had asked before. So the possibility exists that he'll back out, since he now sees no mites and a snake without a feeding problem. All of which I corrected.

Well, I hope he does not back out on you and you can add to your collection. Good luck! I hope everything goes your way.

[Jay_Bunny]

Personally, I would not support (financially) a breeder that does not care for him animals properly. He may be your friend, but if he is willing to sell you mite infested animals and his only excuse is "I can't afford to treat them", then in my eyes, they are not a responsible breeder or keeper (I'm sorry but I'd sell my possessions to pay for treatment for one of my animals before I'd come to the conclusion that I couldn't afford to treat them). Especially if they seem like they are going to go back on their initial price quote because now their animals are recovering due to YOUR CARE. (you going over and treating his enclosures). I would sit down with your friend and have a nice long talk about good husbandry and QT practices.

I would not purchase ANY animal that I even SUSPECT to be ill or parasite infested. I will only purchase animals I believe to be healthy (no mites or other external parasites, no signs of respiratory infections, no stuck shed/retained eye caps, etc), no matter how "good" the deal.

[raighe]

Couldn't agree more Jay. This person is more of an acquaintance than a real friend of mine. Him insinuating he might back off the original price really did leave a sour taste in my mouth. I've decided to hold out until Daytona or until a good deal from someone that actually knows how to care for their animals comes around. I want to give thanks to everyone at the boards you've all been very helpful.

[bsash]

Couldn't agree more Jay. This person is more of an acquaintance than a real friend of mine. Him insinuating he might back off the original price really did leave a sour taste in my mouth. I've decided to hold out until Daytona or until a good deal from someone that actually knows how to care for their animals comes around. I want to give thanks to everyone at the boards you've all been very helpful.

You're welcome, sorry it did not work out as planned. Good luck in finding something you want at the show.

[don15681]

you should tell him if he backs out of the deal. you want 10 for treating his snakes. a can of pam will go along ways and is good to have on hand if you have a collection. anyways you can find a female mojave for around 250 and a male ghost doesn't pull in any type of money now. so it wasn't the "great deal of the year". now at least you can see how the snakes are doing and if he can't afford a can of PAM they will be for sale again when he needs money.