First time buying a snake?

Nightfire · 03-22-14, 08:29 PM

I worked up a huge interest for snakes, especially pythons. Their beauty and strength is magnificent and I'm looking into buying one at a later age. Well, when I have my own apartment. I've heard that ball pythons are an excellent first snake to own with their laid back attitude and easy care. Anyways, the question I have about them is where to buy from. I've heard that buying from a pet store is not as good as a breeder because the snake's can be unhealthy or not well cared for. I was able to handle one, and it was my first time ever handling a snake. It's scales were free of marks and it's eyes were clear and healthy. The price was $79.00 and it was a pastel morph. Very beautiful. He wasn't nippy and seemed very content to be in my hands. He became active not long after he was handed to me. What I'm trying to say is, he looked and acted healthy. So, would it be okay to buy from a pet store as long as you gave the snake a good "check up"? As long as the snake looks and seems to be in good shape?

sharthun · 03-23-14, 07:55 AM

Hey and welcome.

Starbuck · 03-23-14, 08:00 AM

while i personally dont think there is anything inherently wrong with buying a healthy animal from a pet shop where it is well taken care of, you have to realize that pet shops get the majority of their business from selling supplies, so please make sure you have a good idea of the husbandry needs of your snake before you get ahead of yourself and purchase the animal. Many pet shops provide incorrect husbandry information, or sell you things you do not need, tat can actually be harmful to the snake (such as red lamps and screen top cages for Bps, or hot rocks for any species).

You may be better off looking on craigslist or want adds, or going to a reptile expo, as you will find a much wider selection (20-100 different pastels or w/e so you can really chose an animal which catches your eye, instead of the one individual sold at the petstore). Craigslist also allows you to maybe rehome a snake that its owners can no longer keep, and often they are trying to move larger, subadult/adult animals which CAN be well established.

There are also lots of sickly snakes on craigslist, and i would advise against purchasing a sick animal (to give it a better home). You want the animal to be feeding regularly, not have any stuck sheds, have normal looking feces and urates (if there are any in the cage), and seem to be in healthy body condition, bright and alert with good muscle tone.

RyanReptile · 03-23-14, 09:29 AM

Although there is nothing wrong with buying from a petstore it is very important to familiarize yourself with the care of the snake you plan to purchase. You can never do too much research talking to people that have lots of experience like many of those on this forum are a great way to learn.

drumcrush · 03-23-14, 09:42 AM

I also recommend having the enclosure and everything all set up before buying the snake.

poomwah · 03-23-14, 10:24 AM

to me, it all depends on the pet shop. I usually can't stand them. Most do not take care of the animals properly and you wind up having to try to fix the mistakes they made. If they can be fixed.
But, if after you've done your research, if you feel comfortable that the snake is healthy and has been properly cared for, there's nothing wrong with getting it there.
Starbuck had some great points, craigslist can be a good place as long as you are careful, and avoid the trap of "rescuing" a sick animal .
Another idea, and this one has worked out great for me, check with the closest large university and see if they have a herp lab.
And I can't agree more with drumcrush, make sure everything is set up before bringing any animal home. You don't want to find out you are having trouble maintaining heat and/or humidity while the snake is already in the enclosure.
The big thing, do your homework and ask as many questions as you need to.
We'll be here for you :]

LadyWraith · 03-23-14, 10:42 AM

I also agree with Starbuck on doing your husbandry research ahead of time. Get your entire enclosure set up and running before purchasing any animal. I also feel the incorrect product sell is the general issue with petstore buying. However, I would never touch a CL acquisition as my first snake. IMO that is a venture for the more experienced keeper. You defintely don't want your first keeping experience to be trying to fix a possibly sick animal.

Theweinz · 03-24-14, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyWraith

I also agree with Starbuck on doing your husbandry research ahead of time. Get your entire enclosure set up and running before purchasing any animal. I also feel the incorrect product sell is the general issue with petstore buying. However, I would never touch a CL acquisition as my first snake. IMO that is a venture for the more experienced keeper. You defintely don't want your first keeping experience to be trying to fix a possibly sick animal.

I agree with everything LadyWraith states here, especially about avoiding Craig's List!! Probably is a healthy snake you are looking at. Some Ball Pythons can be finicky about feeding, a few of mine are. Ask to watch the animal feed. If he/she takes it with gusto, that is another check in the positive column.

steven959799 · 03-24-14, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightfire

I worked up a huge interest for snakes, especially pythons. Their beauty and strength is magnificent and I'm looking into buying one at a later age. Well, when I have my own apartment. I've heard that ball pythons are an excellent first snake to own with their laid back attitude and easy care. Anyways, the question I have about them is where to buy from. I've heard that buying from a pet store is not as good as a breeder because the snake's can be unhealthy or not well cared for. I was able to handle one, and it was my first time ever handling a snake. It's scales were free of marks and it's eyes were clear and healthy. The price was $79.00 and it was a pastel morph. Very beautiful. He wasn't nippy and seemed very content to be in my hands. He became active not long after he was handed to me. What I'm trying to say is, he looked and acted healthy. So, would it be okay to buy from a pet store as long as you gave the snake a good "check up"? As long as the snake looks and seems to be in good shape?

Yes just remember there not handeled that often and can become agressive, along with the fact that they could be fed in the tank which will make them associate your hand with food. keep that in mind when buying from a pet store, i specifically would never buy a snake at a pet store but probably anything else as long as i check it out and make sure its healthy and, other things like that

poomwah · 03-24-14, 02:55 PM

don't completely rule out craigslist, just be careful with it.
There are LOTS of sick and neglected animals.
But craigslist is also where we found a semi-local breeder that has some of the nicest snakes I've ever seen.
So like I said, don't completely rule it out, just be really careful. If something doesn't look or feel right, pass on it.

LadyWraith · 03-24-14, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poomwah

don't completely rule out craigslist, just be careful with it.
There are LOTS of sick and neglected animals.
But craigslist is also where we found a semi-local breeder that has some of the nicest snakes I've ever seen.
So like I said, don't completely rule it out, just be really careful. If something doesn't look or feel right, pass on it.

My point being that as a FIRST time snake owner (just handled first snake EVER recently), the OP does not have the knowledge/experience to correctly ascertain a proper animal from the likes of CL. Even buying from a petstore is iffy with the lack of experience, but marginally better than the free for all of CL. Personally, I'd choose an animal from a breeder or expo for my first experience.

poomwah · 03-24-14, 03:31 PM

excellent point Dani,

Terranaut · 03-24-14, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drumcrush

I also recommend having the enclosure and everything all set up before buying the snake.

This is solid advice.
choose your species and create an enclosure before bringing it home. Get everything ready and ensure it holds the proper temps and humidity required for that species.
So if you are in fact getting a ball...don't buy a screen top aquarium. Ask here what you need and not the pet store. We want you to have a happy healthy snake....the pet store wants you to spend money

Lankyrob · 03-25-14, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steven959799

Yes just remember there not handeled that often and can become agressive, along with the fact that they could be fed in the tank which will make them associate your hand with food. keep that in mind when buying from a pet store, i specifically would never buy a snake at a pet store but probably anything else as long as i check it out and make sure its healthy and, other things like that

Ignore all this.

I rarely handle my snakes and they are not aggressive at all.

I feed in their enclosure every time andnthey do not associate my hands with food, unless i have been rubbing my hands with rodents.

Mikoh4792 · 03-25-14, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steven959799

Yes just remember there not handeled that often and can become agressive, along with the fact that they could be fed in the tank which will make them associate your hand with food. keep that in mind when buying from a pet store, i specifically would never buy a snake at a pet store but probably anything else as long as i check it out and make sure its healthy and, other things like that

As Rob said, ignore this post. I don't handle my snakes at all, and everytime I do handle them for maintenance reasons I see no aggression at all. My snakes just tame down with age. I feed all my snakes in their enclosures and don't experience any cage aggression.