Like the others said, papers are only as good as the integrity of the person you purchase the snakes from. I've received some pretty crappy "paperwork" in the past and I've also had some fairly decent paperwork arrive.

The worst I've ever received was from a "breeder" that sent me the snake along with a 3"x5" note card that simply said "Posuble 50 percint het"

That's it. It was written with a bold permanent marker in what appeared to be a 3rd grade child's handwriting. The spelling above is EXACTLY how the seller wrote it. It was so ridiculous that I actually kept it as a joke. I didn't pay much for the snake and it was a female so I didn't mind too much, but I have made it a point never to purchase or recommend the seller again.

I know a lot of people will bash paperwork but it can be beneficial in many ways. The paperwork I've always made up for my customers includes a color picture of both the Sire and the Dam (along with their ID numbers) as well as a color picture of the snake that is being offered. The pattern on all of the snakes is always clearly visible for future identification.

I always list the genetics of the Sire, Dam and the offered snake as well as a guarantee stating what the buyer can possibly expect to produce when breeding the snake to a normal as well as another snake with it's same genotype.

I have a detailed guarantee that lists the terms of a refund or exchange if the animal fails to prove out in the future as well as my contact information. I also include the original purchaser's name and contact information along with the date of the sale. This way if the original buyer wants to resell the animal they will be able to provide some sort of "proof" of the animal's genetics. I only extend the guarantee to the person named as the original buyer, but if they decide to sell or trade the snake they can use my paperwork as a sort of template to create their own guarantee to future buyers. Everything is spelled out in a straight forward, easy to understand manner.

After everything is all set up and the sale is finalized I always make sure to laminate the paperwork (which also carries a watermark - to make duplication more difficult). This way it is less likely the buyer will lose the paperwork and it ensures that nothing is tampered with. If they need to return the animal for a refund, the paperwork must come back with the animal. At that time I can compare it against the original copy I keep in my records as well as against the returned animal's patterning. If anything doesn't line up or appears tampered with - the deal is off and the guarantee is void.

Paperwork doesn't just protect the buyer, at times it can be used to protect the breeder as well as any future buyers.

While I can't completely advocate charging extra for paperwork, I can understand the practice to an extent. If the breeder or seller offering the paperwork is someone I trust or who has references I trust then it makes it a little easier to pay an extra money - especially if no one else is offering any sort of guarantee with their animals of similar genotype.

By the way, the reason I include all of my contact information along with the original buyer's contact information is so that future potential buyers can contact me (if needed) and inquire as to whether I actually produced and sold the animal being sold and so that I can verify that I actually sold it to whomever is currently offering it for sale.

If everyone includes similar paperwork with their animals and also passes on any paperwork they received when they bought the animal, it becomes easier to see a history of the snake - which can also be good information to know before committing to a purchase.


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Stay United!


"...I say 'apparently' because despite all our progress she is not at all a tame or handle-able snake and gettting her from that cage would re-start a war.. and we've had a good armistice for several months now."-Gus Rentfro - I love this quote!

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