My experience with BHB was excellent. Brian sent me pics of multiple snakes to choose from on the same day that I asked. He also responded to all of my emails or myspace messages on the same day provided I did not send too late in the day. He also shipped the same day that I paid via Paypal which was awesome. I always got one early the next morning in that case. Tracy Barker was also great when it came to communication and shipment. If I was buying from NERD then I would just go there to look and buy in person as it's pretty close. As I don't have many snakes at the moment I have not dealt with any small breeders, but would not hesitate to if I felt comfortable after conversations and word of mouth.