What would you pay for this snake?

[MichiganReptiles]

There's a guy on CL selling a Suriname Red Tail boa. He thinks female, but says it's never been probed (not sure how you can tell without probing). What do you think is a fair price? He says she's about 3 feet long. Can you look at the picture he sent and tell me if it's truly a Suriname? Looks like it, but I'm not an expert [yet]. I have no idea what that bedding is he has her on. Looks like something for a hamster. :wall:

 

[Dyn]

Shes on aspen shavings it looks like they are commonly used for snakes as well as rodents and other animals.

You can tell the sex by popping them but it isnt as accurate as probing because sometimes males dont pop if you dont do it right and it could lead you to thinking you have a female but its actually a male.

As far as if its actually a suriname its hard to tell by just one picture like that. It has a classic suriname pattern but most suriname tails seem to be a darker red but it could just be the picture. If shes not a true suriname shes atleast crossed it it.

 

[the toe cutter]

Hopefully its aspen and not pine! Pine contains oils that will harm the snake, just a hint. Looks like a Guyana but it could be a pastel Suriname, light coloration, little mottling, and clean saddles! The Guyana have lighter colored saddles and the Suriname darker unless its a morph. But "popping" a 3ft boa isn't going to be an option! Popping the hemipenes is only really an option at hatchling size for boas. Any decent petstore(not Petsmart or Petco) should be able to probe it for you so you can get an accurate determination of sex.

 

[the toe cutter]

As far as a solid price I'd say from 150-200$ But it never hurts to to try for lower!

 

[Dyn]

Guyana did cross my mind... but Guyanas and Surinames are basically the same snakes. The only thing that separates the two regions is a river if i remember correctly and something like that wouldnt really stop snakes from crossing.

Popping could have been done when it was smaller it was the only thing I could think of rather than just a straight guess to think it was a female.

 

[pitbulllady]

It's a nice-looking, clean, light-colored snake. I'd like to see a brighter red tail on a Suri, but that could be due to the camera, too, and not the snake. Certain lighting or flash will wash out anything. For an unsexed snake like this, I'd pay $150.00, tops. Patternwise, this snake looks a LOT like an adult Boa I got off CL Charlotte for $40.00. The guy I got her from had gotten her from his buddy, who'd bought it as a Suriname, when she's not. She is obviously a BCI x BCC cross. She was also supposed to be a MALE, but I had her probed on the way home with her by the guy I buy rodents from, and my suspicions of her being a girl were confirmed. She has the same pattern as this snake, just a more orange tail. I'm trying to decide between breeding her to my aberrant Suri male or my Jungle male this season, now that her weight is good.

pitbulllady

 

[MichiganReptiles]

Thanks, everyone. The guy is selling this snake for $200. I didn't really want to pay that much not knowing if it's truly a Suriname and being unsexed.

 

[Dyn]

200 is a retail price for petshops.

I wouldnt pay that for one out of the paper or on CL.

 

[pitbulllady]

Thanks, everyone. The guy is selling this snake for $200. I didn't really want to pay that much not knowing if it's truly a Suriname and being unsexed.

ESPECIALLY when the rules at CL make it perfectly clear that SELLING of animals is NOT permitted-you can ask for a "re-homing" fee, which is spelled out pretty clearly as whatever money you spent to get the animal in good health, etc., to place with someone else, including things like the cost of medical treatment, flea treatment, vaccines, spay/neuter(doesn't apply to snakes, of course)or worming. A "re-homing" fee is NOT supposed to be what you initially paid for the animal or even its retail or wholesale value, but a lot of people don't get that part. They go to a pet shop, see what similar snakes are selling for there, and that's what they want for their "re-homing" fee, either that, or they ask the same as what they've got into the animal, including the price they paid, plus how much food the animal has eaten since they've had it, etc. There ARE some honest people who really do just want to find a good home for their animal, but others are just wanting to make money. They'll repeated theaten to take an animal to the pound if it's not "adopted" by such-and-such date, yet won't budge on the price. It kinda reminds me of that humor magazine-was it "Mad" Magazine?-where they had a photo of someone holding a gun to a puppy's head with the headline, "Buy This Magazine, or the Dog Gets It!"

pitbulllady

 

[MichiganReptiles]

I agree, PBL. It's ridiculous that they ask so much for a rehoming fee. I'm not going to get it. Instead we adopted a 6 year old cat that is already spayed for $20 for my daughter

 

[blacktara]

200 is a retail price for petshops.

I wouldnt pay that for one out of the paper or on CL.

We have a local pet shop that tries to get like $349 for unsexed red tails about that size

 

[pitbulllady]

We have a local pet shop that tries to get like $349 for unsexed red tails about that size

And they probably aren't "red-tails" at all, but common, run-of-the-mill Colombians or even Nics, which wholesale for $20.00-40.00 as babies, tops. That's one of the reasons NOT to buy snakes at pet shops, folks-you usually will get ripped off, big-time!

pitbulllady