wild caught snakes

[CONCEPT03]

if i buy a snake from a pet store, will it be wild caught or captive bred? im having an argument with a friend because i think that most of them from what ive heard are wild caught?

[HeatherRose]

It really depends on the pet store.

(edit) Maybe I should elaborate...

Most petstores, you don't know what you're getting. Some petstores purchase animals wholesale from breeders who produce captive bred animals. Some might get them from people who distribute wild caught animals.

It depends on the petstore itself, really...You'd have to ask around, people who work there, and have bought from there.

Personally, I'd purchase animals from a breeder (its cheaper, no middleman).

[Pia]

It depends on the species of snake as well as the store, don't hesitate to ask the staff. In my experience, most of the common snakes such as corn, kings, and usually ball pythons are captive bred.

[mykee]

Pia, from my experiences, pet store employees are not the most
a.) intelligent and b.) honest when it comes to passing information on about WC status of their pets.

[sapphire_moon]

Exactly. There is a major chain pet store in my area and I wouldn't buy (another, yes I got pulled in by my darling little female bp) reptile from them. Yet there is another store where they personally breed every herp they have (I have seen the "back room") and everything is clean, and healthy. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from there again.

Where as the other store, If I complain about something not being right, the person looks at me like I'm dumb, nods their head and says something to the fact of "I'll make sure to let our reptile dude know." and they walk away!

At the other store, if I find something I don't like about the care of the animals then I tell someone, either they fix it, or they say "can you wait here, I'll go get the guy that deals with the reptiles.) And they usually take care of it right infront of me, even if they have to go take something off the shelf!