Newcomer looking to jump into the scene.

[Kesslers Kreatures]

I apologize for jumping to the Petco theory....my bad! I jumped because Petco is notorious for selling diseased and infected reptiles and I stand by my recommendation to purchase from a breeder and never from Petco.

I agree, Every time i have gone to petco, I have had to point out something wrong with their reptiles. I would buy from breeders only, you will get a better quality for sure if you go breeder.

[West Coast Jungle]

I think the big differnce between getting a snake at a pet store or a breeder is pet stores usually(especially this time of year) have CH or captive hatched snakes that basically were hatched in Africa and shipped here by the thousands and sold to petstores dirt cheap. Most of these animals are not established and have never eaten yet(they can go weeks/months without eating). In transit they usually pickup mites, ticks and stress related problems(RI, wont feed). My first BP came from a reptile specialty pet store. They swore it was captive bred and it turned out having ticks and mites! CB sure it was. Yes they lie to tell you what you want to hear to make a sale.

Most breeders wont let an animal go until it is established and has had at least four sucessful feedings. If you think shipping overnight is scary(it's not) think of what shipping 1000's of snakes from Africa in a crate. You can also get a het from a breeder which looks normal but carries the genes for a recessive trait (like albino or ghost) for about the same price as a normal. The breeder will also give you accurate info of when/what it is eating and solid husbandry advice.

Can you get a good snake from a pet store? yeah maybe but why take a gamble when a good breeder will give you an established animal for the same if not less. If I were you the only thing that would concern me about shipping is the added cost.

Hope this helps

[soy.lor.n]

Since the local pet shop says they have CB balls, maybe you should try to find out what breeder(s) they're buying from. It might even be someone that works there or something.
And the $50 is a pretty normal price. Like was already said, if you're getting an animal sent to you, you'll be putting lots of money into the shipping anyway, so you might as well get one locally if you can find a good one. And it seems like you can often trust a pet store that specializes in exotic animals over one that doesn't really know anything about them. Probably they'll even have someone working there that knows how to sex the snakes. Of course you probably should go to the vet anyway and get it double checked while your there.

[CircleOfSnakes]

I think the big differnce between getting a snake at a pet store or a breeder is pet stores usually(especially this time of year) have CH or captive hatched snakes that basically were hatched in Africa and shipped here by the thousands and sold to petstores dirt cheap. Most of these animals are not established and have never eaten yet(they can go weeks/months without eating). In transit they usually pickup mites, ticks and stress related problems(RI, wont feed). My first BP came from a reptile specialty pet store. They swore it was captive bred and it turned out having ticks and mites! CB sure it was. Yes they lie to tell you what you want to hear to make a sale.

Most breeders wont let an animal go until it is established and has had at least four sucessful feedings. If you think shipping overnight is scary(it's not) think of what shipping 1000's of snakes from Africa in a crate. You can also get a het from a breeder which looks normal but carries the genes for a recessive trait (like albino or ghost) for about the same price as a normal. The breeder will also give you accurate info of when/what it is eating and solid husbandry advice.

Can you get a good snake from a pet store? yeah maybe but why take a gamble when a good breeder will give you an established animal for the same if not less. If I were you the only thing that would concern me about shipping is the added cost.

Hope this helps

Since the local pet shop says they have CB balls, maybe you should try to find out what breeder(s) they're buying from. It might even be someone that works there or something.
And the $50 is a pretty normal price. Like was already said, if you're getting an animal sent to you, you'll be putting lots of money into the shipping anyway, so you might as well get one locally if you can find a good one. And it seems like you can often trust a pet store that specializes in exotic animals over one that doesn't really know anything about them. Probably they'll even have someone working there that knows how to sex the snakes. Of course you probably should go to the vet anyway and get it double checked while your there.

Very good points, and buying from a normal pet store I was never really thinking of doing in the first place. My first choice would of course be a breeder, but I was looking more into the local place and they actually seem to be very professional and knowledgeable when it comes to their area of business. Actually, here's the reptile section on the site:

http://www.aquaticcritter.com/Reptile/reptile.htm

If you look around a bit they explain the difference between captive bred, captive hatched, etc., and the importance of selling/raising captive bred babies, and their ability to probe them if it's requested. So, they look pretty legit. Let me know what you all think, if you check it out.

[rabernet]

Since the local pet shop says they have CB balls, maybe you should try to find out what breeder(s) they're buying from. It might even be someone that works there or something.
And the $50 is a pretty normal price. Like was already said, if you're getting an animal sent to you, you'll be putting lots of money into the shipping anyway, so you might as well get one locally if you can find a good one. And it seems like you can often trust a pet store that specializes in exotic animals over one that doesn't really know anything about them. Probably they'll even have someone working there that knows how to sex the snakes. Of course you probably should go to the vet anyway and get it double checked while your there.

Sadly, that's not always true. The local "exotics" pet store by me doesn't know a darn thing, even though the owner has reportedly kept reptiles his entire life. He believes that probing snakes will sterilize them, and he also believes that female ball pythons aren't available in the pet trade, because breeders won't let them go.

He doesn't know why the ball pythons that he has all in one enclosure won't eat, or have poor sheds, and he's in no rush to clean their enclosures. And they don't need small hides, they have that huge 1/2 log hide that they all "cuddle" in together.

Very good points, and buying from a normal pet store I was never really thinking of doing in the first place. My first choice would of course be a breeder, but I was looking more into the local place and they actually seem to be very professional and knowledgeable when it comes to their area of business. Actually, here's the reptile section on the site:

http://www.aquaticcritter.com/Reptile/reptile.htm

If you look around a bit they explain the difference between captive bred, captive hatched, etc., and the importance of selling/raising captive bred babies, and their ability to probe them if it's requested. So, they look pretty legit. Let me know what you all think, if you check it out.

They look good on "paper"! Have you been in there? Are the animals well kept? Really trust your "gut" when you go in there.

There is a good review of them in the last post here:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...quatic+Critter

[rabernet]

Beautiful snake ya got there. And thanks for the input, I'm taking all I can get at the moment, and the pictures really help. Do certain substrates help keep up the humidity? And also, I've heard people say that you shouldn't have your heating source on the bottom directly touching the surface of whatever the tub is sitting on, is that really something to worry about?

Some substrates do help, but what helps more than anything is the fact you're going to be housing in a tub. I was using aspen in that photo - now I use unprinted newspaper. With 24 snakes, I got tired of always pulling the vacuum cleaner out when I did anything with the snakes (all the aspen on the floor). Also, with paper - when it's clean - it's CLEAN!


You should have some space between the heat element and either the tub or the surface it's on for air flow. For example - I have my flexwatt taped down to the surface but the tub lifted with little feet to allow airflow. And since you'll be controlling your UTH with a thermostat - you won't have to worry about flashpoints (unless your thermostat fails, which is why it's good to back it up with another thermostat or rheostat).

[Thor26]

wait did you use a soderin g iron to cut out the flower dish entrance how does that work???? feel free to PM me -josh

[CircleOfSnakes]

They look good on "paper"! Have you been in there? Are the animals well kept? Really trust your "gut" when you go in there.

There is a good review of them in the last post here:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...quatic+Critter

Yeah, I've been in there a few times, and it's a very lovely establishment. It's very clean, they have tons of different types of reptiles, and all seem to be very well taken care of. That's why I was thinking of going with them in the first place, they're well renown and seem trustworthy.

[CircleOfSnakes]

Thanks for all the help, everyone. I think I have all I need, all due to you guys and your experience. I'll be getting the stuff I need for the setup tomorrow and Friday, and then next week I should be getting the snake. I'll update this thread with pictures and such when all is done. So stay tuned.

[rabernet]

Thanks for all the help, everyone. I think I have all I need, all due to you guys and your experience. I'll be getting the stuff I need for the setup tomorrow and Friday, and then next week I should be getting the snake. I'll update this thread with pictures and such when all is done. So stay tuned.

I can't wait to see your pictures of your new addition!!