So who keeps paperwork....

[Zombie]

I have never thought to ask for paperwork on visuals but now that you bring it up it may be handy to have documented from the breeder what the sex of the animal is. If that animal's sex turns out to be different then you have proof behind your story if action needed to be taken.

I agree, maybe they are just looking for a written sex guarantee
Genentics paperwork on visual animals seems a little redundant...

[WingedWolfPsion]

Lineage information is always useful, though. I've often wished for MUCH better lineage data for the animals I've acquired.

[Royal Hijinx]

Lineage is important for sure, especially on subtle morphs or multi gene animals. Like I have said before, it is whatever the customer wants, does not really matter if anyone thinks it is redundant. A piece of paper for what some of us pay for these animals is not too much to ask for. Other animals automatically come with this paperwork from reputable breeders, so no reason that reptile breeders cannot do the same.

With that said, I have not gotten paperwork on any of mine, but the breeders have been up front with any lineage, birthdate or feeding info that I have asked for. I then entered that info in to my tracking for my own knowledge.

If I breed and sell in the future, I will be happy to provide whatever paperwork the customer wants.

[Zombie]

Lineage is important for sure, especially on subtle morphs or multi gene animals. Like I have said before, it is whatever the customer wants, does not really matter if anyone thinks it is redundant. A piece of paper for what some of us pay for these animals is not too much to ask for. Other animals automatically come with this paperwork from reputable breeders, so no reason that reptile breeders cannot do the same.

With that said, I have not gotten paperwork on any of mine, but the breeders have been up front with any lineage, birthdate or feeding info that I have asked for. I then entered that info in to my tracking for my own knowledge.

If I breed and sell in the future, I will be happy to provide whatever paperwork the customer wants.

I do agree with that, if the customer wants it, give it to em. Shouldn't take more than few minutes for a little piece of mind. Especially for subtle morphs and multi gene animals. I meant it was rendundant for a single gene obvious morph, but like I said, if they wanted paperwork I'd give it to em

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[Serpent_Nirvana]

A piece of paper with photos of the sire and dam would also come in handy for those looking to select for top genetic specimens of a given morph. For example, a really nice looking pastel with photographic "proof" of really nice looking parents would be worth more to me than a really nice looking pastel from mystery parents.

... Though Foschi raises a good point -- anything can be forged. Without a DNA-verified registry, it's still all basically just an honor code on paper.

[buddha1200]

Just ordered a butter and when it arrived it have its original card in the bag,with birthdate,feeding schedule ,sex and parents.
I was surprised,but i thought it was a good thing saves me the trouble of wondering about a few things,and i can also input the info in my data and have a full record from birth.(a complete history on your snakes can only be a good thing)
Just that liitle extra effort will make me a return customer for sure(already put a deposit on a 2012 possibl;e hatchling already )

[HighVoltageRoyals]

I'm not huge on paperwork because all of my snakes came from well known breeders. I just kept a written record of where they came from and when I got them.

When it comes to recessives, I would only buy 100% hets from someone very reputable and I have done this. Therefore, not all of my hets came with paperwork but I don't think it's required when you're positive of what you're getting.

The truth is, anything can be forged. This is why you should buy from reputable people who are known. Not some schmo on Craigslist who can not give you any details whatsoever.

Although I agree that going with reputable breeders is always a safer bet, I don't agree with doing it all the time. I think it would kill the entrepreneurial spirit of this hobby and if we were all buying from the big breeders, what would be the point of breeding our own snakes and selling the offspring if no one is going to buy them?

I don't know about you but if my breeding plans take me where I really want to go and I wasn't able to sell one snake because I'm not known as a "reputable breeder" [because I haven't bred anything yet] then I would be in trouble with A LOT of mouths to feed and a lot of space taken up. And frankly, I don't have the space to house hundreds of snakes....

I guess what I'm trying to get at is, why not buy from a small breeder that has a good track record and shows actual enthusiasm and potential to become one of the big breeders one day? I would gladly buy from a small breeder with solid paperwork and a good start but hey, maybe I'm just a risk taker.

[SquamishSerpents]

I've had to do up paperwork once for a het. Albino we sold. Meh, small thing to do, the guy was happy with it.

But 100% of the time, all of our hatchlings come with a recipe/index card that states:

Parents: Male Albino x Female het. Albino (for example)
ID # of the individual hatchling, and for my own quick reference, I highlight the ID #'s with pink for female and blue for male.
-C01. 2012.16.M (Corn clutch #1 of the year 2012, baby #16 of that clutch, Male)
-BP02. 2009.04.F (Ball Python clutch #2 of the year 2009, baby #4 of that clutch, Female)
Date range of when the clutch hatched (because sometimes I don't separate them as soon as they're out of the egg, so perhaps they hatched over a few day period)
Weight at birth, periodic weights as they grow
Feeding records (I use a date stamp each day the eat)
Shedding Records (Also date-stamped)
And there will be little notes beside the feeding records of when the snake moved up. P for ate a pinkie, F for a fuzzie, H for hopper, etc.

The little cards go home with every baby we sell.

It's a ton of information about each snake on the record cards, it makes the buyers happy to know what's going on, and it makes my life easier to see patterns of whose eating really well, whose not eating, whose expected to shed in the next little while, etc.

[Wh00h0069]

I provide paperwork on every snake that I produce, even normals. The only exception is if I wholesale them.

[HighVoltageRoyals]

I provide paperwork on every snake that I produce, even normals. The only exception is if I wholesale them.

x2
I already have paperwork templates set aside for when I do start producing. It really just seems like an overall good business practice to me and should be a standard of the industry. But maybe I'm just being anal-retentive?