Newcomer looking to jump into the scene.

[missi182]

I've seen Uli drink twice and it's SO cute

I know haha. My bp went for a drink the other night and my hubby was moving stuff around in front of his tank and I was like "Stop! I wanna see him drink! Dont move!"

Oh, I need a life haha.

[Ginevive]

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

Super-awesome post
Buying from a respected breeder, with a great reputation, is the way to go. Shipping is no big deal when it's done by a reputable seller. For your first snake, I would search for a breeder that had stellar feedback and great references. The size of the breeder is not what matters IMO; it is their clientele's favorable opinion of them. There are breeders out there with 5 females, that I would buy from before certain mass-breeders. But there are awesome professionals out there as well that devote all of their time to these animals. The Feedback section of this forum is a great place to start looking Most morph breeders always have some normals around to sell.

[CircleOfSnakes]

I almost never see my bp drink, but he has always got plenty of water should he need it. I notice him go for a drink a few hours after eating, but thats it.

This wrinkliness you speak of, does he look a bit shiny? It could be the beggining of a shed cycle. You will notice a slight pink belly, a darkened shade to his skin, and eventually his eyes will go milky white/blue. After a few days of this (milky eyes), his eyes will clear, then he should shed.

Check this out for more detailed info

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28794

I would have to agree that a spray bottle is a much better idea

He actually looks a bit more dull than a few days ago, but his eyes aren't milky or white. The wrinklyness almost makes him look underfed, but that's impossible because he'd eaten three days before I brought him home on Friday, and then again Sunday. Also, if you look at the pictures I posted before he looks fairly plump, and he doesn't look quite as plump at the moment. I need to get some more pictures. Thanks for the info though. If this isn't actually a shed I know what to look for when it does happen.

Super-awesome post
Buying from a respected breeder, with a great reputation, is the way to go. Shipping is no big deal when it's done by a reputable seller. For your first snake, I would search for a breeder that had stellar feedback and great references. The size of the breeder is not what matters IMO; it is their clientele's favorable opinion of them. There are breeders out there with 5 females, that I would buy from before certain mass-breeders. But there are awesome professionals out there as well that devote all of their time to these animals. The Feedback section of this forum is a great place to start looking Most morph breeders always have some normals around to sell.

I'm pretty satisfied with the shop I bought mine from, but if I decide to get another one I'll probably go with a breeder. If I do ever get another one, I want to get a female HET-something. So I can' think of a better way than the breeder route.

[Ginevive]

Oh I didn't know you got one I would just make sure that the store was clean (meaning, that the snake that you got does not have mites or internal parasites.) Some stores can carry reptiles with mites, because they have a higher turnover rate and also, some stores do not practice proper quarantine. But I wish you luck!

[CircleOfSnakes]

Oh I didn't know you got one I would just make sure that the store was clean (meaning, that the snake that you got does not have mites or internal parasites.) Some stores can carry reptiles with mites, because they have a higher turnover rate and also, some stores do not practice proper quarantine. But I wish you luck!

I'm pretty confident in it. It's not a regular pack-animal pet shop that sells everything without a clue about them, it's an exotic reptile/fish specialty shop. They do a lot of reptile shows and things like that, and I think quite a few local breeders are affiliated with them. So I'm not really worried about parasites or mites or such. I do plan on taking him to the vet here soon just to make sure, and get a checkup.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I'm pretty confident in it. It's not a regular pack-animal pet shop that sells everything without a clue about them, it's an exotic reptile/fish specialty shop. They do a lot of reptile shows and things like that, and I think quite a few local breeders are affiliated with them. So I'm not really worried about parasites or mites or such. I do plan on taking him to the vet here soon just to make sure, and get a checkup.

I love your optimism and confidence sadly a specialized store does not always mean that they know better.

There is a pet store specialized in reptiles close to me, the owners have 30 years of experience combined

Long story short bought a beautiful banded male from there 2 weeks later it had mites when there hoping they would carry PAM (which they did).

When I went there I played stupid and ask about mites, well that they I learned that mites just appeared, just like that out of the blue and I was told it was just normal when you own reptiles to have mites

I will not even go through their husbandry practices, again 30 years combined, specialized store, they breed some of their snakes, and others are supplied by some local breeders.

At the Repticon show they hab a tub full of BP and on the head of one of them was a HUGE tick (how do you miss that I have no idea) when told about it they took the BP out, remove the tick put the BP back with the other ready for sale

[CircleOfSnakes]

UPDATE

It's been a long time since this thread has been active, and everything has been going great. He's successfully shed, he never misses a meal, I'm getting him a bit more plump (because apparently, I found out from somewhere else, that he was a tad bit underfed when I got him), and his temp/humidity/happiness is all stable. He hasn't hissed, struck, bitten, or balled up on me once. He's 198 grams currently, I just weighed him today.

And now the obligatory pictures:

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/n...zelUpdate1.png
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/n...zelUpdate2.png
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/n...zelUpdate3.png
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/n...zelUpdate4.png