Large Orders Of Ball Pythons

[Adam_Wysocki]

Yes, really, they get bad care. Lots of these snakes die at their "ranches" and "farms".

Actually, that's not true at all. I haven't been myself, but I have some close friends that have made the trip over many times and the setups in West Africa are comparable to what we have here in the US. Like it or not, it's a business and sick or dying snakes means loss of profits, so every effort is made to insure that the animals receive the best care possible.

As far as captive hatched babies that are exported in large numbers out of West Africa, they are bagged shortly after being hatched ... there really isn't any time for them to receive "bad care".

I think that the mistake a lot of people make is believing that there are just a bunch of crazy money grubbing pirates over there running around the woods scooping up as many ball pythons as they can get their hands on in order to make as much money as possible ... the reality is that ball pythons are a protected species that are carefully regulated around the world by the "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora" or CITES ... it is a group of scientists and conservations from countries all around the world that set quotas on the numbers or protected species that can be exported from any given region based on the health of wild populations. If CITES allows a certain number of ball pythons to be exported from West Africa in a given year you can be assured that it is because that number will have no impact on the wild populations of the species in any way. There are smarter people than you or I making sure that ball pythons in the wild are safe and are being farmed responsibly.

Even though I am a captive breeder and I personally do not profit from the WC/CH ball python trade, I support it ... because in the end, the quotas are a form of population control for the ball python ... the alternative is either burning them to reduce wild populations or sending all of the CH/WC animals currently being exported to the meat trade ... neither of which I find particularly acceptable. As long as the business of exporting ball pythons to the pet trade is thriving, wild ball pythons have the best chance of living great lives.

But, everyone is certainly entitled to their own feelings and opinions and I have nothing but the utmost respect for others who choose to voice those feelings and opinions whether or not they are the same as my own ... free exchanges like this, as long as they remain mature and respectful, only make our hobby stronger by opening each others eyes to all of the views among us.

Hope this helps.

-adam