They probably won't charge you extra but really it never hurts to come with your own container all ready with an active heat pack so the little snake can be tucked right in safe and sound for the trip home. Just make sure the snake can't get in direct contact with that heat pack of course.

If you are looking for a lovely pet snake then a nice normal male BP will likely be your most cost effective way to go and provide you with 20 years or so of wonderful interactions. I bet your wife falls in love with him. Very hard to resist a BP's face, especially the cute babies!

Here's a link to a thread I did recently of our four 06 hatchlings (3 females, 1 male)....these are all wonderful healthy, well started and strong eaters. The three females are normals, the male is a morph (YellowBelly). This should give you an idea of what a healthy little one looks like (and also a start to having your wife fall in love with the little scaley cutie pies!).

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=38886

If you haven't had a chance, have a read through some of the threads on settling in a new snake properly. Those first couple of weeks are so important to get any new snake, especially a young one, settled in and eating well for you. Makes life a lot easier on you as a new keeper if the snake eats/poops/sheds well from the start.

Oh I forgot to mention. Do not buy a snake that is so young it's not even taken it's first meals or shed. Hopefully no one would offer that to you, being a newcomer but it has happened before unfortunately.