Well if you had a pic of 2 pieds and said they were the parents anyone who knows anything about genetics would know that pied to pied does not make hets it makes pieds. sorry just had to point that out. I give genetic guarantees with my hets it shows I am willing to put my name on paper saying that the snake pictured is in fact a het.
I print my certificates on 8.5x11" photo paper and hand-sign the original. I keep a PDF copy available on my web site so people can either A) get a copy if they lose their original or B) verify that the certificate being presented to them (when buying second-hand) is the same as the one presented by the original breeder.
In the end the certificates I give aren't worth anything more than my own credibility in the business. They have no known legal significance but they do help to hold me accountable for the things I sell. If I say the animal pictured is a het and it doesn't prove out it goes a long way toward forcing me to make it right on the back-end.
I think you are going to find that a lot of breeders are reluctant to provide paperwork. It's kind of a pain to do on a large scale. I produce A LOT of ball pythons that are 100% het for something and it is a truck load of work to make certificates for them all. I suspect it is difficult in both time and money for larger breeders to entertain the idea of providing paperwork for each het.
As the seller I'm just as interested in paperwork protection as the buyer. These discussions always focus on the buyer getting cheated but what about the seller? It is equally plausible that I sell someone a legitimate het and they come back to me three years from now and say it didn't prove out. If there is no photographic history of the animal how can I, the breeder, defend myself against the claim? These certificates have a dual purpose, they protect the buyer AND the seller.
Originally Posted by jason79
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