Last week, I did something I never thought I'd do — buy a snake online, sight unseen. I'm an experienced hobbyist; I have over 16 years experience with each of the big five constrictors, with a few boas, colubrids and ball pythons thrown in for good measure. Since I got married in 1998, I've been downsizing my collection, to the point that I've only had a ball python and a large Burm for a while.
I've been wanting to raise another snake from a hatchling, and I've also been wanting another retic. I haven't had a retic since mid-1998 when I sold off a large pair. So this year, I decided to treat myself to a Christmas present: a hatchling retic. Thing is, I wanted a plain old regular female retic. I want one that will get as big as possible, and while I like the different morphs out there, I think the regulars are the most beautiful. I searched the classifieds and went to a number of different Web sites and I had a hard time finding what I was looking for. I could find all the fancy morphs I wanted, but no normals. Eventually, I found what I was looking for at Prehistoric Pets. They're in California; I'm in south Georgia. I had some reservations buying a snake mail order from across the country, but I really wanted the snake. I placed the order Wednesday afternoon. Less than 24 hours later, she arrived at my office. Here's the kicker: FedEx didn't update their system after the delivery, so it looked like the snake hadn't been delivered. Thursday night about 7:30 my time, I received a call from Prehistoric Pets inquiring about the status of my order. They were concerned that the computer didn't show that it had been delivered. They were relieved when I told them everything was fine.
Two things amazed me during this process: The difficulty in finding normal retics and the level of customer service I received from Prehistoric Pets. Once I found what I was looking for, it was a very smooth transaction. The snake is doing fine. She ate Saturday and seems to be adjusting. I also forgot how large a hatchling retic is. It's going to be fun watching her grow.
