Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If I get a written guarantee stating that the snake being purchased is a 100% het piebald male, is that good enough? Should I feel better about my purchase? Your thoughts are appreciated.

The paper is worthless, the signature on it however makes the difference.

I recommend buying hets from a reputable breeder or seller. They won't ruin their reputation to pass off a $100 dollar normal female as a $1000 het pied. I'm in Orange County and buy my hets from Prehistoric Pets.
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1.3 Normal BP
1.0 Albino
0.1 100% Het Albino
1.0 Pastel
0.1 Spider
1.0 Pied
0.1 100% Het Pied

I agree....spend the extra $100-$200 and buy from a reputable breeder thats been around awhile. You don't want to wait around for 2-3 or even 4 years to be disappointed!!!!

A signed guaranty is only good if you live in the same state and with that you can have something done with out a lot of expense , If it is out of state it will cost you more to get a judgment than you more than likely recover and with that said a judgment is not a guaranty you will get your money back you’ll just have a paper that says your entitteled to it . So all you can do is get one from someone you can trust or take your chances . David of DS Reptile Rescue

I dont necessarily agree with always buying a het from a reputable breeder, I mean if that is the case then what would all of us small breeders do? What you need to do is a little research on who youre buying from ask for references and there are other forums where you can do an inquiry on someone. As for big breeders this guy wasnt a huge name but he was well known it was Chris Johnson at Top Shelf Exotics he got away with dumping normals off as hets for years and I was one of the people he did this to. So yes going with a big name breeder is the way to go but if you absolutely cant spend an extra couple of hundred just do a little research.
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Damian Macioce
www.strongholdreptiles.com

Try to follow this: People go to Tijuana to buy cheap Silver, the problem is, the Silver chains and rings they buy are stamped .999%, which gives a "guarantee" of sorts, that you are buying real Silver jewelry. The problem is, it is only Silver PLATED, not solid Silver. So, you get a guarantee, but does it really do anything for you, no, not really. A guarantee is only worth something if there is someone to stand behind the guarantee. My advice, if you want a Het Pied, email Kahl, VPI, the Sutherlands, etc. OR, if you have met someone over the internet you feel comfortable with, if you have met someone at a show, great, buy from them. In my opinion, paperwork is over rated, and worthless unless it shows pics of the exact snake you are getting, and the parents of the snake, and it is signed by the breeder, and the guarantee is in writing, and what will happen if they do not prove out,,,,etc.

Dave

I personally microchip my hets...

But then again, it all depends.

You must trust the person you buy from. Make sure they actually have what you are buying, and the parents even?

Most reputable breeders will be happy to share with you all that information and more.
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www.HeathersHerps.com

-Ohh, what a Lady-

Balls for Life, Baby!

The guarantee is only as good as the person standing behind it anyone can produce a piece of paper guaranteeing a 100% het animal.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

The most important thing IMHO, is to research. You can have successful and good transactions with smaller breeders. I have done several deals with big breeders and can say only one was good and that was with Graziani. The rest... well... let's just say I won't being doing deals with them again. I have 3 '04 Het Pieds that sporadically feed AT BEST. One weighs just over 1000 grams, the other two are under 1000 grams. What good is a guarantee from a big breeder if the damn things will never see breeding size?

Research, research, research! And when it comes to non-visual hets, don't cut corners.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

surely, jim, you cant expect a guarantee on growth rate and feeding voracity.

np

That's just my point. If you can't get them up to size to breed, what good is the guarantee?
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

i hear ya jay. my 05 het girl is the only problem feeder i have out of 8 balls. she eats twice a month and weighs 800 grams. i really wanted to prove her out later this year (next season) but dont know if shell be ready. i did get her to eat a couple of soft furred rats recently and may be feeding her them from now on. ive heard pieds and het pieds can be more of a problem to feed. my male eats EVERYTHING EVERYTIME. good luck with yours.