Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im going to purtchase a ball python from my local petco, but the issue is that i NEED a male ball python. i need to know if petco probes/sex's there snakes, or can/will. or ways to tell the male ball pythons apart from the female ball pythons!

i doubt anyone at your local petco can or will probe a snake. you might get lucky though, and a herp savvy employee works there. i would also suggest buying from a breeder. it will probably save you money, youll get a guarantee of sex, and the snake will surely be captive bred.

Breeders will almost give normal males away. Even if shipping is necessary you will probably not pay much more than you would at Petco.
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John Vandegrift

And if you look hard enough you might just find a breeder near you and no shipping if your lucky.
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2.3.0 ball python (gondor, aragorn, arwen,`eowyn)
1.0.0 100% het pied (frodo)
1.0.0 Blond Pastel
1.1.0 columbian boa (squiggles)
1.0.0 rat snake (alabastered)
1.1.0 corn snake (baby)
0.1.0 Chuckwalla (Jamie)
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
2.0.0 Quaker parrot (Woody)(Liam)
1.0.0 Landseer Newfoundland (Mac/Newfy)
0.0.5 whites tree frog (trevor, kirmet)
0.0.5 pacific green tree frogs
3.2.0 cats (rockie, bs, brownie, lerrado, kole)
1.3.0 kids (dilyen, dakota, chyanne, sierra)
Brian n Chrissy

"snakes are kind of like potato chips, you cant have just one"

I am sold out currently, but was selling my normal '06 males for $25-$35. I have the parents present for people to see and touch, and can sex them. I am a small time breeder...there are loads just like me! Petcos animals are way overpriced, and usually are not captive bred. If you find some one to sex it there...they will probably do it wrong, or take it in the back and come back with their best guess.

Also, look at the events section, you may find a show near you even if you can't find a specific breeder in your area.

Good luck!
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2.17 Normal ball pythons
1.0 Pastel ball pythons
1.0 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
2.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
-----My list is too long, so I'll stop here!
*Amy*

No, Petco does not probe or sex their snakes. Even if a herp savvy employee worked there, we are not permitted to probe reptiles (potential for lawsuits if someone accidentally hurts a customer's animal). You could probably get away with bringing a friend along who knows how to pop snakes safely, but depending on your Petco they may not even let you do that.
Petco's ball pythons are captive hatched, not captive bred. Just something to keep in mind.

Like everyone else said before me...your best bet is just to find a local breeder. Their snakes are probably going to be considerably cheaper anyway - Petco's ball pythons are 80 bucks each when not on sale.

~jenny
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1.2 normal ball pythons (Cindy, Darwin, and Periscope)
0.2 rescue chinese water dragons (Yoni and Linga)
1.0 rex rat (Scurvy)
1.0 gerbil (Yerbul)
0.1 bunny (Spazz)
1.1 betta fishes (Vicious and Killer)
2.2 great danes (Shasta, Odysseus, Merlot, and Watson)
1.0 fat fuzzy mutt (Smokey)
1.1 cats (Thidwick and Turtle)
3.0 horses (Buddy, Sam, and Scout)
1.0 goat (Billy Jack)
1.25 chickens (Ugly the rooster and his harem)

"The problem with America is stupidity. Now, I'm not saying we use capital punishment, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?"