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- Apr 2, 2003
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Why don't you change the timing on the lights so that they are off when your up and can see them?
Thinking about getting a Baby Ball Python...
- Thread starter DrGigglez666
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Actually the pet store I work at is at home in the US during the summer... we get our balls from breeders that give us their "leftover normals". So some might even be hets, we've been told. Who knows what though and if they're just pulling our legs 
Either way I took one home because it's a cutie
And I agree it seems prices at pet stores are dropping, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. Sometimes it's good to have price as a prohibitive factor in making the decision to get a pet snake, its a much bigger decision than most people realize, it'll live longer than a dog! But even though we're selling our snakes for $50 (and I have fed them all myself and deem them worthy ) we don't sell very much of them, usually only when someone has already made up their mind ahead of time to get one.
Either way I took one home because it's a cutie And I agree it seems prices at pet stores are dropping, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. Sometimes it's good to have price as a prohibitive factor in making the decision to get a pet snake, its a much bigger decision than most people realize, it'll live longer than a dog! But even though we're selling our snakes for $50 (and I have fed them all myself and deem them worthy
) we don't sell very much of them, usually only when someone has already made up their mind ahead of time to get one.
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Sickness, refusal to eat, and death. Depending on how low the temperatures are, they might just skip straight to death.
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Thanks for the info SPJ.
I've seen alot of misinformation in this thread so I'll try to straiten things out here.
Ball pythons are a good starting snake if they are feeding well. Most ball python imports are not wild caught. They are ranched animals mostly imported from captive bred or wild caught parents. Not many Wild caught Ball pythons are imported due to the fact they do not do well in captivity (when they are it's normaly new found morphs and their bought by breeders). The ball python "farms" Are alowed to catch a number of gravid females and breed a number of snakes based on the total nuber of exported animals alowed by thier area. All the imported animals are Captive bred.
You can go to a breeder and pay him good bit of money for a CB animal or go to a pet store where the BP may feed or not. Best bet is to find a large breeder who supplemts his stock with imports or importer. (Breeders buy a lot and hand pick out morphs and other good examples for breeding and sell the rest, as the ranches don't really know what morphs they have theres a good chance of het animals)
The number one is that the snake is feeding. There's not many other worrys that you won't notice while looking the snake over.
I've worked with Importers over the year this year one had Yellow belly x jungle balls beautiful animals ,all feeding, all just 80 euro each.
So it's worth your time to check out whos importing just make sure your getting what you want and it's eatting.
Ball pythons are a good starting snake if they are feeding well. Most ball python imports are not wild caught. They are ranched animals mostly imported from captive bred or wild caught parents. Not many Wild caught Ball pythons are imported due to the fact they do not do well in captivity (when they are it's normaly new found morphs and their bought by breeders). The ball python "farms" Are alowed to catch a number of gravid females and breed a number of snakes based on the total nuber of exported animals alowed by thier area. All the imported animals are Captive bred.
You can go to a breeder and pay him good bit of money for a CB animal or go to a pet store where the BP may feed or not. Best bet is to find a large breeder who supplemts his stock with imports or importer. (Breeders buy a lot and hand pick out morphs and other good examples for breeding and sell the rest, as the ranches don't really know what morphs they have theres a good chance of het animals)
The number one is that the snake is feeding. There's not many other worrys that you won't notice while looking the snake over.
I've worked with Importers over the year this year one had Yellow belly x jungle balls beautiful animals ,all feeding, all just 80 euro each.
So it's worth your time to check out whos importing just make sure your getting what you want and it's eatting.
I also brought in a bunch of farmed hatch babies this year.
The problem with these animals is that they come in straight from the egg, before their first shed and before they have taken their first meal. Show me ONE single petshop that is going to set these babies up properly to get then to thrive. You will not see a petstore set up each animal individually with temp gradients and hides. What you will see is a bunch of fresh babies thrown into a 10 gallon tank with a price tag on them. Onyl experi4nced individuals should be dealing with these. Not a local petstore employee unless they are one of the very few in the minority that actually has a clue wha thtey are doing. Even then, the store will not go for using all the retail space needed to house 10 or more individually. They will just throw them all in one tank to save space. Also, how many petstores are going to take the time to properly rehydrate these snakes from the long trip?
That is why buying a baby BP from a petstore is not a good idea. Pay the extra and go to a breeder or someone with CH babies that has taken the time to get them established.
BTW, this is what they look like when they come in from Africa. They are packed in groups in bags and put into a crate and then put on a plane.
The problem with these animals is that they come in straight from the egg, before their first shed and before they have taken their first meal. Show me ONE single petshop that is going to set these babies up properly to get then to thrive. You will not see a petstore set up each animal individually with temp gradients and hides. What you will see is a bunch of fresh babies thrown into a 10 gallon tank with a price tag on them. Onyl experi4nced individuals should be dealing with these. Not a local petstore employee unless they are one of the very few in the minority that actually has a clue wha thtey are doing. Even then, the store will not go for using all the retail space needed to house 10 or more individually. They will just throw them all in one tank to save space. Also, how many petstores are going to take the time to properly rehydrate these snakes from the long trip?
That is why buying a baby BP from a petstore is not a good idea. Pay the extra and go to a breeder or someone with CH babies that has taken the time to get them established.
BTW, this is what they look like when they come in from Africa. They are packed in groups in bags and put into a crate and then put on a plane.
How big are these guys?
I got one that had been put in the tank at the petstore only hours before.. they came from a california online dealer to the pet store.
It took me weeks and weeks to get her to eat. BUT now she is a good and enthusiastic eater. I did make minor changes to her enclosure and it made a difference.
I am getting a ball from Chris NTC on tuesday.
I had kept an adult when I was younger, as well as lots of other snakes...
NOT a good snake for some one getting back into the hobby!
LOL
T-chick
I got one that had been put in the tank at the petstore only hours before.. they came from a california online dealer to the pet store.
It took me weeks and weeks to get her to eat. BUT now she is a good and enthusiastic eater. I did make minor changes to her enclosure and it made a difference.
I am getting a ball from Chris NTC on tuesday.
I had kept an adult when I was younger, as well as lots of other snakes...
NOT a good snake for some one getting back into the hobby!
LOL
T-chick