Every Petsmart is different but I would not hesitate to purchase a ball python from the store I work in. Our Petsmart is very clean and we have knowledgeable people (for the most part. I'm educating them). The snakes are fed f/t and handled on a semi-regular basis (not after meals of course) and our snakes are always healthy. They are just really expensive in comparison to a normal from a breeder.