Why such low prices???

[Dom]

I find it disturbing that one can buy so many venemous reptiles for under 50$ ..

I would imagine is all about the demand ... thats why the price is low. I find it really worrysome that I could get a mamba for less then a cb ball python or a gaboon viper for a meer 100$..

What are your thoughts on this.

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

Not sure, u can get a mamba for less than a BP? Jeez! I thought vens/hots were sky high in price. Though I have never looked. I imagine because not a lot of ppl keep hots. The gabbys are prolly the BPs of the hot world it seems to me so maybe thats why they're so much more. I dunno, supply and demand my friend. (Good question)

[BWSmith]

I have never seen a mamba for $7 ;) But yes, the easy to breed and common species like Gabbys and C atrox are dirt cheap. $25 for a CB much of the year.

[1Vipera]

Here in Europe you can get C.vegrandis for as low as 5-10 Euros sometimes.
C.atrox are given away free of charge many times because they are not wanted anymore.
Especially the large sizes of these Crotalids are more than most beginning venomous keepers bargained for.

[NewLineReptile]

i always thought hots were big buck's i guess not

[1Vipera]

Its the "designer" snakes that bring in the real bucks.
(initial breeders of f.E.albino Python regius,albino,snow Elaphe guttatta etc. made big money with these snakes)
Venomous snakes don't have the potential to become "household" snakes(f.E.:snow Elaphe guttatta).
This keeps them from bringing in the big money,even if they are very expensive(f.E.:Lachesis melanocephala,..)

[ballpython5000]

yeah i once saw some prices for rattlers under 75$ and it made me wonder why cb venomous snakes would even be under 200.00 cause i didnt think they were very popular among herpers. weird, maybe they are just easier to breed or something.

[Jeremy]

Mambas definately are one of the higher priced venomous sp. Typical asking price for a neo D.polylepis is around $450-525! The Eastern greens are alittle lower, around 200 for a baby but still not cheap.

Also, as was mentioned earlier in this thread, the venomous market is nowhere near as large as the non vens. In comparison, there are only a handfull of hot keepers here in the US where there are tons of non ven keepers. Native, common sp like copperheads, cottonmouths and WDB are unfortunately collected by the thousands and flood the already small market. With only a very few actually dealing with hots, the price is forced to come down.

One last thing that was also mentioned. There is hardly any venomous morphs avalible in comparison to non vens and even the ones that are produced only have a veryu small group of people who will actually buy them. Granted, im sure the first albino kaouthia went for a hell of alot but now look at the price.

I agree, its kinda scary that someone can get a leathal snake for under 100 bucks and it even worse when alot of dealers pay no attention to who they are selling to and what there age is. These animals should only be for the VERY experinced and im affraid alot of dealers only see the green invovled and care not for the integrity of the hobby.

Welp, my 2 pennies,
J

[Hamster of Borg]

I've seen copperheads, puff adders, gaboon vipers, western diamondbacks, cottonmouths - all for less than 30 dollars at shows - shows where there are kids wandering around with money to burn. Thankfully most of these shows won't sell to anyone under 18. But even if you look at morphs, an albino western diamondback is only in the 300-400 dollar range if you buy a baby. You'd be lucky to get a het ball python for that. :) Not that most ven keepers really even think about morphs. Then look at the price of beaded lizards and gilas. They start at about 1100 and go up from there depending on species and how nice they look. Its largely supply and demand, offset a bit by how hard they are to get into the country. Since there isn't a huge demand for venomous animals - the hot community is definitely a minority in the herp community - the prices are lower to move stock.

Ham

[Mustangrde1]

Im actually curious to how many people really do keep hots , as many that i know dont really bring it up unless they are talking to other hot keepers, I know of several well know nonvenomous keepers that i would never have guessed owned hots until i actually talked to them. Many good venomous keepers seem to keep their mouths shut about keeping them,Yes i fully agree there are the ones as my wife calls them { little D_ _ _ syndrome} that seem to have to brag about them.But i truly believe they are the minority of the hot keepers. As to selling to minors, ANY smart seller would not risk their license or bussiness to sell to anyone under 18. Price well thats just good ole supply and demand.

[KrokadilyanGuy3]

... Name one Scot.
Xain

[Mustangrde1]

If they wanted their names public im sure they would.However I respect people and there rights to privacy.As I believe anyone should respect another.

[BWSmith]

Most hot keepers are very reclusive because the general public is frightened and cannot understand, thus we are often persecuted by the public and the authorities. I am the opposite. I am VERY high profile. Particularly with Dept of Natural Resources and local authorities. It brings credibility. Of course neighbors dont even know I own snakes, much about 60 of them and half venomous ;)

[Nightflight99]

As with any product of value, the prices of venomous reptiles are subject to simple supply & demand. The reptile market as a whole is reasonably well-sized, and consists of different sectors, much like any other given industry. The main sector is the one that has the largest potential customer base - in this case, the pet keepers and intro level keepers who keep corn snakes, ball pythons, bearded dragons, etc. The demand for these species is relatively large, because they are easy to keep and appealing to a large number of people. The supply of these species is accordingly large, which brings down the prices to a bare minimum. This is exactly the reason why ball python or Boa constrictor morphs, for instance, sell for a lot of money. They appeal to a broad target audience, yet the supply is relatively low, which maintains the prices at a relatively high level. As the supply rises, prices decrease proportionally.

Venomous reptiles - like any and all dangerous animals - appeal to a very limited target audience only. It takes a curious and fascinated mind to keep and work with venomous reptiles, and to assume the responsibilities and risks associated with it. The supply in this sector is often plentiful, which keeps the prices relatively low. The reason why even venomous morphs will never have the same consistent market value that non-venomous morphs produce lies in the very limited potential customer base.

The retail price of any given product is usually entirely unrelated to the level of responsibility and danger associated with it. For example, guns are available at just about any price level, yet the responsibility of owning one is certainly very significant, to say the least. There are many products available today that require the owner to have a great sense of responsibility, yet this fact alone has little bearing on the retail price itself. The fact that venomous reptiles are available at low prices should not be shocking to most people. After all, would a set price level minimum deter people who want to purchase a venomous snake? Truly determined customers - be they qualified or not - will not be deterred by a few extra dollars.

The task to keep venomous herpetoculture a field of elite and responsible herpers remains with the sellers and the industry as a whole. The seller must protect himself and the venomous keeping community by applying great sensitivity when selling potentially dangerous animals to potential customers. In addition, the venomous community must also apply a sense of self-regulation by frowning on irresponsibility and sensationalism among its ranks.

Regards,

---Nightflight99

[Mustangrde1]

Outstanding explanation Nightflight.

Brian you work a lot with DNR maybe you can help me with out with a prodject Ive been think about and working on for about 4 months now. I am trying to get together permits and advice for Breeding {C.adamentus} for the soul purpose of reintroduction in to the wild , Ive suprisingly found that the general responce from the {Powers to be } has been supportive yet everyone of them ive talked to have no idea how i would do this or what permits are needed. I know your not in Florida but anything you have heard reguarding this subject i would truly appriciate hearring about. The population is in trouble and I would truly like to breed them and reintroduce them hopefully on private lands and lands owned by the State and Federal gov. in florida and possibly throughout the natural range of the EDB.
Thanks for any help

[Nightflight99]

@Mustangrde1:

While the populations of Crotalus adamanteus certainly are in overall decline throughout their range (they are now regarded as extinct in Louisiana), reintroducing snakes is not always the most effective countermeasure to apply. The reason for this lies in the fact that the reintroduction of snakes in general is not usually successful. As a matter of fact, reintroduction programs that were able to account for even modest survival rates are far and few in between.

Research has shown that snakes who are released in an unfamiliar habitat - this goes for both wild-caught and captive-bred specimens - do not spend enough time feeding and thermoregulating, but instead spend a significant amount of time roaming around seemingly at random. Mortality of marked specimens skyrockets to a point where the effectiveness of such a program at all becomes questionable - especially with the relatively large amount of effort involved.

An alternative that would likely be more effective - though certainly equally frustrating to pursue - would be to become active in protecting the habitat of this species. Habitat destruction is the number one factor causing the decline of wildlife - especially in the case of a delicate species like Crotalus adamanteus.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

---Nightflight99

[Mustangrde1]

Thanks Night. Any other info you have or opinions are very appreciated. Ya know its people like you and the others on here that help others that makes this my favorite sight to visit. Nice to have so many people that are so willing to help.