It will depend on many factors - size, breeder, etc. Be careful and do your research. A few dollars saved can cost you much, much more in the future. The reptile industry is full of unethical people who will stop at nothing to part you of your hard-earned cash. I have a few tips that I use to avoid being a victim of an unscrupulous "dirt bag":



* Research as much as you can about your potential purchase.

* Know what the animal is worth. If you know the market value for a female 100% het albino is $750 and someone is offering a 1.1 pair for $500, look real close. This is probably a bad deal - but not always. Maybe someone really needs cash for some reason.

* Ask for references and contact them. Try to get a feel for what type of person you are potentially dealing with.

* Use the "unnamed" forum. This is an amazing source to find out about some of the good and bad elements in this business.

* Netiquette. Look for posts made by the seller. They might be on the "unnamed" forum or one of the other reptile forums. Is this person professional and helpful? Do they know what they are talking about?

* History. Is this seller new? Again, look for posts made by this person and review the dates. If you find details on this person going back a few years, that's in your favor. If they have no history, be cautious and look to other cues.

* I always avoid ads that list only a first name. Who is "John" and how do I research someone who puts just his or her first name?

* I avoid ads that list a transient email address such as yourName@hotmail.com or yourName@yahoo.com. These are too easy to use for scamming and provide virtually no way to track down the real person.



Just do your homework and enjoy the Ball Python craze!
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Jay A. Martin

Jay Martin Reptiles

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