Recommendations

[Auskan]

A post on another thread prompted me to think of this, and if its not an appropriate topic, Mods, please delete! A lot of people talk about buying from a good, or reputable breeder, but how to find one? What if people posted their experiences of good breeders so that for someone who has never ordered from a breeder before, they will know where to turn.

On another thread, someone mentioned that cornsnake.net is good. I've had contact with Kathy Love and would definitely order from her, as she was prompt with responses to my queries, and very professional. Has anyone ever purchsed live animals from lllreptile.com? What was your experience there?

[jjnnbns]

I've been emailing back and forth with South Mountain ( www.cornsnake.net ) and every night I would email a question and by 8am the next day I would always have a reply. I want to order, but they cant be shipped until the temp doesnt fall below 20F at night. Right now it doesnt even get UP to 20F during the DAY!! Seems like a good site to me though!

[sapphire_moon]

Cornsnake.net is don sodderberg....I ordered from him and he was absolutely wonderful!
I've heard bad things about lllreptile.com so I won't say anything. How to find a good breeder? Ask around on these boards...go to the expos or have them shipped to you, which they won't right now.....

I was thinking of getting a kisatchi corn (just have to look at it, its got metalic colors!) and breeding a male to our female motley amel and see what we ended up with. But that will be extremely far into the future.

I do reccomend don sodderberg......he even sent pics and such of baby corns. Gave us an exact hatch date, sent it when he said he would. And when I emailed him after we got the snake he was still very very polite.......

And to think he doesn't have this site listed on his page.....look at all the good things that are said about him here!

[Gary D.]

Certainly referances are good, but basing your purchases on other's experiences is not always the solution. Many hobbiests who only produce a clutch or two each year have some fantastic animals that should not be overlooked just because you haven't seen their name on a forum, etc. Determining a quality breeder is best done in person. Do plenty of research before going to buy your animal and then ask questions. If they can't answer them to your satisfaction, move on.

A quality breeder isn't determined by a board of inquiry or how many animals they produce yearly, it's their knowledge, ability, and how they keep their animals.

GD

[One More Herper]

Ive had snakes from Kathy Love before, they are phenominal animals, never a dissappointment!

[gonesnakee]

Good points by Gary D. Also I'll point out that just because they are prompt in replying to emails, doesn't nessicarily mean they have a clue about animals. We are on the interent & people are constantly mislead by people that they think are A1 just because they have a nice website & spend lots if time on forums etc. Most of the best breeders I know spend very little webtime, but rather spend their time concentrating on their animals not the www image they want to portray. Their image is shown in the quality of the animals they produce, not how many hours they spent on their computer surfing the web etc. Heck I could be on ssnakess 24/7 & never even spend 5 minutes with the snakes I'm trying to market. Remember that the marketing doesn't always make the product the best. Shop around, check the boards of inquiry, talk to others. Just because someone has the best marketing skills doesn't mean they have the best animals. Don't be afraid to try out the little guys, they sometimes have the best stuff & don't even own computers. Mark

[Auskan]

Good points, Mark & Gary. But - how do I find the little breeders? I guess that was kind of what my inquiry was too - a way of finding them. I don't know anyone personally who keeps herps so my only points of contact are via the internet - namely, THIS SITE!!! So when I asked for recommendations, I wasn't asking just for recommendations of big, well-known sites, but also experiences people have had with these little guys, that would lead them to recommend them to others.

[gonesnakee]

Make a post too look for local herpers, touch base with them & see what they have to say. Chances are you can go meet some people & see their animals. A much better way than to order blind from the net. Good Luck. Mark I.

[marisa]

Not sure if I am supposed to be linking to other sites (if im not just edit please mods)

But for looking up any info on breeders Rich Z runs a wonderful BOI. There is both American and Canadian BOI there and you can simply type in a name, and see what others have said.

It's located here:
http://faunaclassifieds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=115

But I also agree that getting to see what you are buying when buying from an unknown can also work out fantastic. Just do lots of research and you'll get a feel of who is shady and who isn't.

Marisa

[sapphire_moon]

well there is that good pet shop I was talking about it's in lawrence. They breed most of the snakes they sell and keep them in excellent condition. and refuse to sell them unless they are estabilshed eaters. I brought my hoggie home the day after he ate, he had no problems.......
They have alot of beautiful herps, and run an education program bringing snakes and other herps to schools.....

Auskan:

It's a store in Lawrence ks, if you are looking for something specific I can ask them if they have it. And if You want I can give you the name and phone number of the place.

[Scales Zoo]

This is a good thread, a lot of good information could come of this.

What Gary and Mark said, I agree with - and both are people that I would in the future, and have in the past, bought snakes from.

The internet is a double edges sword. A lot of good Canadian breeders aren't know about, and many "not so good to deal with breeders" are known about.

Just because you are known, doesn't necessarily mean you are good, and the exact opposite is also true sometimes unfortunately.

I suggest buying from someone you know and like. Someone who will talk to you on the phone, and doesn't mind re-hashing basic care info to a potential buyer is 100% better than someone who doesn't care past the sale, no matter how many animals they have for sale.

I've got a list of people I suggest to new reptile buyers, it has changed in the last 3 years, and it keeps changing almost monthly lately - haha.

Having said all of the above, 95% of my dealings have been good. It is that 1 out of 20 people that reminds you just how good the other 19 have been - so don't worry about it too much, you've got a 95% chance of picking someone good.

Ryan