So yesterday I came across an classified that said they had 2 ball pythons for sale for $250 one normal one albino it included the tank and accessories.



Of course I had doubt from the start but I couldn't help but get excited at the thought of possibly getting an albino for that cheap.



The ad said he was moving out of the country so I thought maaaaybe I could get a super deal. The pics were not real clear the normal was def a ball python but the albino was blurry and I couldn't make out the head of it at all.



and I know next to nothing about burms



So after a few emails and a phone call I was told they were originally a family members and they moved out and the guy that has them now wasn't much of a snake person and was trying to get rid of them and the 70 gallon tank they were in.



When I asked if they were both ball pythons or if one was a burm he said that he was told they were both balls and they looked exactly the same but that he really didn't know anything about snakes.



Then I realized the pattern on the albino looked more like a burm then a ball but still I had to find out for sure. I'm a pretty cautious person and couldn't help but wonder if the whole thing was a scam, I didn't like the idea of going to someones house I didn't know so I took a few basic precautions before heading over to check them out. At first I was going to just ask him to bring it to the door to show me because in my head going to someones house that you don't know by yourself is a good way to get robbed beaten killed and dumped in a lake or fed to the gators via wood chipper Fargo style...



but when we spoke on the phone the guy sounded like he just didn't know much about them and when i got there and saw they were right by the front door I felt safe enough so I went in for a closer look, I asked if he would mind taking it out of the tank so I could take a good look at its head, thats when i realized he was serious about not being a snake person...his eyes got a little wide and he was like...no way I'm terrified of them...so after asking permission I took them out & realized that unfortunately it was a underfed slightly scarred burm in with a healthy looking size ball. I asked how often he was feeding because she seemed a bit thin to me and was told once every 2 weeks is what he was told to do.



So I told him that from what I could tell he had a Burmese python and pointed out the difference in head shape and location of heat pits but like I said, I don't know much about burms and I'm certainly no expert on balls. I let him know that if it was a ball python it would be worth more then what he was asking but it wasn't and the normal wouldn't be worth a lot either unfortunately. I wished him luck and went on my way as I do not have a need for or want a burm and already have enough normals.



I would have liked to stick around and give him as much info as I could on them but my anxiety gets in the way even when I want to be social sometimes, not to mention I had skipped eating on my lunch break to talk to him on the phone and was starving. So instead of going home with new snakes I went home and made myself a giant burger with spicy jack cheese on a kaiser roll...it was good just in case you're wondering



maybe next time

[ Hide Replies ]

• sounded too good to be true & It was - tragic8ball, Wed Mar 26 23:21:52 2008
• *sigh* - OKReptileRescue, Thu Mar 27 02:27:37 2008
• RE: sounded too good to be true & It was - thisdude, Thu Mar 27 09:01:46 2008
• RE: sounded too good to be true & It was - OKReptileRescue, Thu Mar 27 12:56:24 2008
• I don't think he meant you. n/p - mikebell, Thu Mar 27 13:00:53 2008
• ooooooooooooooooo---- - OKReptileRescue, Thu Mar 27 13:07:13 2008
• RE: sounded too good to be true & It was - tragic8ball, Thu Mar 27 13:48:32 2008