Even the big chains are so our of touch and when you take the time to talk to them, they just carry one of each because they have to as a part of their franchise agreement.
I live in Canada, which is very similar. I travel to the US all the time and I notice very little different outside of you guys being the most overly patriotic group ever...
Petsmart sells Ball Pythons between 89.99 and 129.99 here, commons no het. They are also tiny maybe 150-200 grams at best. They simply keep one for the impulse buyers. Crested Geckos sell in the same range 69.99 to 89.99. Again just a basic crested. The crested will be tiny, not even longer than your longest finger.
If I do a quick search on kijiji or craigslist, I find no shortage of really nice crested geckos for 30-50 bucks and no shortage of some really nice BP morphs for as low as 40-100 bucks, some will let recessive morphs go as low as 20-25 bucks.
To go 1 step further, I'm going to my first Reptile Expo on Sunday in Toronto and I fully expect to see the dreamers out in full force hoping to catch that poor guy that gets trapped into overpaying to make his girlfriend/wife happy. I'm sure I will see reptiles that I can pick up elsewhere for 40-50 bucks selling for 200, 300 even 500.
As for the ones bred in some guys basement, As a consumer...why wouldn't you take the cheaper price and the better value?
Being a breeder and keeping your finger on the pulse of the people with money to spend is next to impossible, you will always be a season or two behind.
I've seen this play out in so many different hobbies in my lifetime.
It will continue. But the bulk of us who actually keep pets and treat them almost like family members, will continue to show up here and post.
Prices got so cheap, I couldn't resist getting into snakes. Same reason I got my Crestie 2 years ago
Sorry, I'm outspoken. Most don't like me because I speak my mind.
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