Why would you even support a pet store than knowingly has mites? Mites suck blood, which make the snake anemic, which weakens the immune system, and the snake gets very sick. WHY? There are SO many good breeders out there with high quality animals, that it's really never a question for me to buy from them over a crappy pet store.

With a quality breeder, you KNOW that animal has been cared for properly, doesn't have internal OR external parasites, is well-started, eating and growing like it should.

With a pet store, you don't know any of those answers. That snake could be 8 months or it could be a stunted 3 year old.

I've had ALOT of snakes shipped to me, and all of them have come out of the box just fine, settled in quickly, and ate within the first week of having them. It's a minor setback in their world compared to the many vet visits, car rides, mite treatments, etc that you would have to put them through if you bought that pet store boa. Who knows what could be passed onto your Ball Python if you didn't properly quarantine..

I got my boa a year ago from Jo(Frankykeno) up in Michigan/Ohio. She rescued Sonja from this twit of a girl who didn't have a clue and was scared of the snake. Sonja was being kept in a 40 gallon tank with a big heat rock on one side and a huge tub of water on the other, no other heat sources. So, she was either freezing or was being burned. She actually came to Jo with a big burn from her chin to her vent on her belly. After a few months in Jo's care, Sonja was shipped down here by Casey Hulse and arrived just fine. She settled in and has been trucking along perfectly ever since.

She's now around 3-3.5 years old, 8ft long and weighs 25lbs+. She just ate a 2lb rabbit last night as a matter of fact.

I've handled Burmese Pythons of 8ft+ and I've held Sonja, and nothing really compares to the strength of a boa. I ALWAYS have another person available if I am taking her out of her enclosure. She's incredibly strong and doesn't just "sit there" like a limp noodle.

Why not try for a Carpet Python or something. They get to 7-8ft but are more slender. It's a good step up from a Ball.