Best place to get BP's

[ThyTempest]

Hey everyone,
I am thinking about getting a BP this fall, and this forum has been really helpful in getting everything straight so far. I am curious as to where is the best way to buy a BP. I have heard that finding breeders online or going to reptile shows/expos is a good way, but I am just wanting to get some more input.

I live in Michigan, so if anyone knows of any breeders or good shows, that would be nice. I know the show in Taylor is this weekend, I can't go, and I probably wont be looking to go to one until at least May or June. I wont be buying the BP until probably August either way. Also, about how much should a BP cost (not looking for any particular morph, the normal one looks cool to me), and what should I expect as far as documentation for health etc when I am ready to buy?

Thanks

[bsd13]

Hey everyone,
I am thinking about getting a BP this fall, and this forum has been really helpful in getting everything straight so far. I am curious as to where is the best way to buy a BP. I have heard that finding breeders online or going to reptile shows/expos is a good way, but I am just wanting to get some more input.

I live in Michigan, so if anyone knows of any breeders or good shows, that would be nice. I know the show in Taylor is this weekend, I can't go, and I probably wont be looking to go to one until at least May or June. I wont be buying the BP until probably August either way. Also, about how much should a BP cost (not looking for any particular morph, the normal one looks cool to me), and what should I expect as far as documentation for health etc when I am ready to buy?

Thanks

I recommend BHB Reptiles in Michigan. Brian is a stand up guy and a total pleasure to work with. Passionate about his animals and isn't trying to rip you off.

Check out a couple of his sites -

http://www.bhbreptiles.com
http://snakebytes.tv

[Gloryhound]

A local breeder is generally a good way to go for you "first" normal ball Python. If you place a want add in the for sale section you will probably get lots of bites. As far as documentation that comes with a normal, I doubt you will get much. Generally you will find normals from breeders cost around the same or less than the actual cost of a vet visit. Now this does not say it isn't a good idea to take your new ball python to the vet for a check out! All of our ball pythons have went to the vet. At first while we are still learning about some of the problems ball pythons can have we will probably take our clutches in for vet visits as most will give some sort of discount for taking in groups of snakes. If we ever feel we are getting comfortable enough seeing the signs of something we may change this, but that will be several years in the future. I just can't see a lot of the major breeders paying to have each and everyone of their clutches checked by a Vet. They have been doing it long enough hopefully to know what to look for as far as the health of their snakes.

[Morph Addict]

I have done a little business with Proexotics, and know they are pretty cool people. You can email robyn at proexotics and ask some questions. Ask him to throw in a tempgun with the sale lol he might (I got a tempgun, but I bought a spider a few years ago - which was not as cheap as they are today). They have a lot of BPs including normals to morphs of all sorts. I hope that helps.

I haven't done any business with LadyOhh (Heathersherps.com) but I hear shes wonderful to deal with and would reccomend her as well (I say that because a friend has done business with her and had a good time).

[tonymul]

I haven't done any business with LadyOhh (Heathersherps.com) but I hear shes wonderful to deal with and would reccomend her as well (I say that because a friend has done business with her and had a good time).

I hope we are still talking BP's here.......

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

[ThyTempest]

Sounds like good advice. Do most breeders run websites and ship? Call me old fashioned but I have noticed with a lot of pets nowadays that people buy them from breeders all over the country and have them shipped. To me, this seems like unneeded stress on the animal, since people can buy local, and marks a breeder that doesnt care about the animals they are raising. Anyone have an explanation for this?

[LadyOhh]

I hope we are still talking BP's here.......

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

LOL!!!!!!

Yes, Only BPs...

Sounds like good advice. Do most breeders run websites and ship? Call me old fashioned but I have noticed with a lot of pets nowadays that people buy them from breeders all over the country and have them shipped. To me, this seems like unneeded stress on the animal, since people can buy local, and marks a breeder that doesnt care about the animals they are raising. Anyone have an explanation for this?

You have a valid point, and I really think that if you have that concern, that you should buy locally. Shipping is a definate stress, but it is a minor one. I don't know about most other breeders, but I absolutely care about my animals to a degree of neuroticism. I have people call me when the shipment arrives, e-mail a couple weeks later to make sure everything is okay, and basically make sure the transition is complete for the snake and the owner. It just depends on who you buy from...

[WaRocker]

Can I recomend getting them right from thier "mom" ..
I think that would be the best.. Or the wild just snatch them right out of a tree:

Either or will work or even better yet try both. Try finding the "Mom" in the wild and getteing one of them ..



I just got mine from a store.. You could try that also..

[West Coast Jungle]

Can I recomend getting them right from thier "mom" ..
I think that would be the best.. Or the wild just snatch them right out of a tree:

Either or will work or even better yet try both. Try finding the "Mom" in the wild and getteing one of them ..



I just got mine from a store.. You could try that also..

Wildcaught is the last thing anyone new to ball pythons should get. I take it you were kidding?

Although shipping maybe be a little stressful I think it is less stressful than a show where animals have been shipped to show, on display for a few days and then purchased and brought to a new home.

I have done both and had never had any problems or regrets.

Many may think that store bought might be less stressful but the truth is storeboughts usually have been in very poor husbandry conditions, kept with multiple animals and many babies are captive hatched and are not even established feeders yet. Stores house animals for display not comfort. Most threads you hear about new problem/sick snakes are store bought.

A breeder usually takes much better care of his animals and is very knowledgeable about their husbandry. The guy at the store makes $8/hour and is repeating whatever he was told or feels like saying to make a sale.

If you dont want to ship you shouldn't have a problem finding a local breeder/hobbyist that can give you a healthy animal and CORRECT husbandry info.

[MasonC2K]

I like to get my breastplates from a reputable blacksmith...oh wait... wrong type of BP...wrong forum.