Personally? I would have told the guy about the care and requirements a BP needs. The other day I saw a young couple at PetCo, the guy had pants down to his knees. They were looking at the baby burm, saying "Aww look how little he is! We should get him!" I walked over and just plainly said, "You know, that snake's gonna get 15 feet long." They both had an "Oh God!" reaction and left.