Should I take this deal?

[BlueMoonExotics]

The person that supplies me with rats for my ball python is wanting to get out of balls since he doesn't have the time for them anymore and asked me if I would be interested in taking them. He knows that I have a lot of crested geckos and frogs and am looking to get into ball pythons more. I just wasn't expecting a deal to fall into my lap I guess. He would be willing to do $2000 for the group plus all the tubs, water dishes, a "feeding hook" (not sure what that is), an unused bag of aspen and even include a large amount of frozen rats for them. Right now the only thing that is slightly concerning to me is that he said he doesn't use anything for heat and that they were feeding great before winter and they stopped when the cold weather started but that they would resume feeding again as it warmed up. He said as long as they are inside and it doesn't drop below 70 degrees then they don't need a heating pad. From my readings in various places my own ball has an UTH and a heat emitter for a warm side, coolside and belly heat to digest food. As well as various items for controlling the temperature. Then again I am new to this so he may very well know better than I about their care. I'm still new to prices on ball pythons though and I was hoping I could get your opinion on the matter. What do you guys think about this deal? The list of morphs is:

Females:

1Albino 1500+ g
3Normals 1500+ g
1Pastel 1000+ g
1Normal 1000+ g
1spider baby
1Cinnamon around 280g
1Normal around 250g
1Yellow Belly close to 300g

MALES:

1Pastel 500+ g
1Butter 500+ g
1Pinstripe close to 400g
1Spider close to 400g
1 Gstripe 250g
1Pastel baby
1 Yellow Belly baby

[TJ_Burton]

The price isn't bad at all if they are all healthy.

[Annarose15]

The females are worth ~$2K alone, so not a bad price if they are good examples (and healthy, like TJ said).

[zeion97]

The truth of "togood to be true" may be present here.. From what I can that is a good deal.. But I'd check the animals Out first.... He may have a RI outbreak or a mite outbreak and just trying to cut his looses. I would not buy animals from someone who doesn't use heat unless it's like a larger breeder wo heats the ENTIRE room. I'd say the check the snakes first and be safer than sorry, you don't want to spend $2,000 than another $2'000 in vet bills and hate yourself.. I learned first hand not to jump on deals to good to be true...

[BlueMoonExotics]

He lives in the same town as me so I'll be going over there to look at them before I fork over any cash for sure. I'll check for mites and listen for any wheezing/bubbles. I would think that although I've never personally had any experience with illness in my own ball, mites and wheezing should be easy to spot if I'm looking for it right?

[SlitherinSisters]

Yikes, no heat definitely worries me. I heat my snake room to 75 because I don't trust my COOL side dropping below 75, I can't imagine not supplying them with any heat.

If they are healthy it's a good deal, but that is a big concern. Plus I would think they would be on the thin side if they don't eat every winter.

[BlueMoonExotics]

We live in southwest Florida so I guess I could understand the "no heat" idea better here than I could if we were up north but it does still concern me since I'm a little OCD when it comes to my own animals. I guess I'll have to come back to the forums to ask about how to get these guys back into shape and get them what they need if I do follow through with this deal.

[angllady2]

Be aware that taking in a large number of snakes suddenly is a HUGE responsibility. I did it last summer as a rescue. They will need quarantine away from all of your other animals for a minimum of 6 months. Be prepared for things to go wrong, and be prepared for vet bills even if the animals seem healthy at first, the stress of a big move can easily make ugly things rear their head. Be prepared for feeding troubles, regardless of what he says.

I do not agree with him not using heat. Even in the climate of Florida, heat is something most breeders use and recommend. Do you have the means to provide heat for them? Are you prepared to spend the amount you will need to spend if you have to buy heat for them all?

You will be taking a huge leap if you do this. BUT, if you are willing to work hard and see it though, there can be a big reward at the end.

Gale

[SquamishSerpents]

My ball room is 80-81 degrees with heat tape set at 93. This gives me a hot spot in the bin between 90 and 92.

No heat worries me.

I'm not sure if you've seen my thread outlining my battle with a snake with RI. But no heat and keeping them in the 70s for months may not be good. In my experience, and from what I've read, snakes can take quite awhile to show their symptoms. I wouldn't be surprised if you took in a whole collection and then months down the line they started displaying symptoms.

I still can't say for 100% sure, but my snake who is sick I *suspect* was kept in less than optimal conditions, according to what other people have said about the sellers husbandry practices in the past.

No heat on any of the ball pythons is less than optimal conditions, in my eyes. It's a good price they are offering you, but vet bills and medications add up fast. So I would be very hesitant to jump on that offer.

Of course I'm not saying this is what is going to happen, of course they could all be perfectly fine. But I'm not sure that's something I would want to gamble on.

[BlueMoonExotics]

Thanks for all the responses, I figured youguys would know better than I do if this was a good deal or not and I definitely appreciate everyone's thoughts. I'm going to go take a look at them and make my decision from there.

In response to Gale: yes I most definitely know that this is going to be a big jump in responsibilities on top of my already large animal population. My plan is to give the normals amonth (or however long it takes) to make sure they're eating and have no issues and either sell or trade them off since I really have no need for them in my future plans and that will take 5 snakes out of the mix. I'm a stay at home mom and working with animals has always been my dream since I was a tiny kid so I know this is something I can do.

Feeding issues I'll be honest and say I'm not familiar with since my girl never misses a meal. Even in shed she's always ready to eat. I do expect there to be some kind of feeding problems though with taking in 17 snakes even if they were taken care of properly, I’ve heard balls CAN be problem feeders.

Heating I was actually going to ask you guys what you would recommend because my one snake is in an Exo Terra tank. I’ve never dealt with tubs or racks before so how do you guys heat these? If I’m going to have that many snakes I think a rack would work out better for me. I currently only have one thermostat so is there a way to heat all of them with one or am I going to need more? I’m willing to buy what I need to make sure they have what they need but I guess I’m just not really sure where to start when it comes to tubs and racks.