Quote Originally Posted by beachvibesbyeff
I've called many up, like Reptile Depot and several others, and they only have "farm" raised, which I want no part of.
I'm not sure why you want no part of captive hatched (aka farmed) ball pythons? If they are well started, are really no different then captive bred. Pet store #1 is charging way too much for a captive bred male - $30 max is what I'd spend on one.

I have 16 ball pythons, 11 are captive hatched and do just as well as the captive bred.

I purchased many of my females from Will Bird at http://www.ectotherms.net (but his are captive hatched - but well started babies). I don't hesitate to recommend him. I also have purchased some CH babies from Michael Cole at http://www.ballroompythonssouth.com and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him for nice, well started CH babies.

Here are a few examples of my "farmed" babies:





















If I rejected the idea of farmed animals - none of these beauties would be in my collection! :eek:

I get a wee bit defensive about my lovely CH kiddos. None of them tested positive for internal parasites and all of them are fabulous, reliable feeders.

I also am one of the live feeders here - the largest prey that any of mine get are small/small rats, which are about 4 to 5 weeks old with teeth that are still soft.

Feed what's most convenient for you - that's what we advocate here. Live, pre-killed and frozen/thawed can and are offered safely by our various members.

I do agree with Store #2 on the UTH vs. the lamp, none of mine have lamps, all are in tubs or a rack with flexwatt as the UTH, controlled with a quality thermostat.

Good luck!