Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I came across some wild caught adult ball pythons today. The lady at the pet store said they are just bought and sold to people who want a snake right now, and do not want to wait.She said they buy them , they don't eat, then they die.They were beautiful snakes, and i feel very sorry for them.Would it be wise to get one and try and save at least one, or not buy one and support their stupidity?
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1.0 albino Speckled king
0.1 speckled king
0.1 desert cali king
1.0 ball python
65 common rats
25 african soft hair rats
100 mice
8 degus
2 girbils
1.0 blue and gold macaw
1.1 orange wing amazons
0.1 tin african grey
1.0 sugar glider
1 beagle
1.1 borneo bloods (comming soon)
0.1 hell spouse
3.2 children (kids)

Personally I would complain to the manager, and continue to make complaints until they stop selling them. The most horrible thing about the situation, is that the lady KNOWS perfectly well that the snakes will suffer a long slow death. If you do decide to buy one of these snakes, there is a very good chance that the only food the snake will EVER eat is live gerbils. I work at a pet store and have several customers in that exact situation. They bought an adult WC ball at a flea market, and now they have to buy $10 gerbils every feeding. (Also, wild-caughts usually have ticks, so they need to be treated for that before any attempts are made at feeding.)
There are many reasons that WC's may not eat, but at least you can treat for internal and external parasites... sometimes that alone is enough to make the snake feel healthy enough to eat again.

Either way you choose,
Good luck!

There is a really fat cream colored one that caught my eye. That is why I asked. I breed gerbils, degus, and african soft furred rats so I think there is a good chance of success. I really do not like the particular stor though. They keep african rocks, balls, bloods, and some boas in the same cage.
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1.0 albino Speckled king
0.1 speckled king
0.1 desert cali king
1.0 ball python
65 common rats
25 african soft hair rats
100 mice
8 degus
2 girbils
1.0 blue and gold macaw
1.1 orange wing amazons
0.1 tin african grey
1.0 sugar glider
1 beagle
1.1 borneo bloods (comming soon)
0.1 hell spouse
3.2 children (kids)

buying it would save that individual snake but it would pay for two more to be imported.

if you want to save wild balls than get a pair of cb's and start breeding, help build a better captive population
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jake barney

my addiction:
1.1 normal ball pythons
0.2.1 corns
1.0 albino cal king
0.0.1 wc garter

In actuality by the time those snakes hit the pet stores they have been bought and sold a few times over - in most cases they have already paid for the next shipment before they are even exported - so by not buying you really aren't helping anything.

Also - pet shops know there are always going to be people that will buy the snakes - their main market is the uninformed and they are a huge market - until pet stores can get cb adult snakes for $10 they will go with imports for pure profit margin - are you willing to sell your cb snakes to them for $10?

The whole "don't buy them and they'll stop importing them" theory is nice - but it's not a reality - there is a huge market for imports and they're going to keep coming.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

Insert Silly Quote Here

you may not put a dent in the importers but you can help by not letting the store make profit off it
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jake barney

my addiction:
1.1 ball pythons
0.2.1 corns
1.0 cal king
0.0.1 wc garter

wild balls suck....

don't buy into their stupidity....

......wild balls do not have to die.........they are wrong..........they will eat if you take care of them........(they still suck)....

.......buy baby US born balls
.
.
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.....too many critters.....
......too little time.........
.......
.
.
.

If you really want to try - I would recommend seeing if you are able to get a steady supply of African Soft Furred Rats - first. If so - you'll need to quarantine and treat the snakes for parasites - then you'll have to set them up in a similar to nature enclosure. Then leave them alone - forever - if you are luck they'll eat the ASFs fairly steadily - if you are really lucky you'll be able to switch them to regular rats. Even though they are adults they might not breed in captivity - for a few years or ever. Some people have good results with WCs others don't.

As for whether or not to buy them - thats a debate you'll have to have with yourself - someone will likely buy them - they will likely die - either in the store or at whoevers house. If they're asking $100 for the snake - forget it.

Good luck.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

Insert Silly Quote Here

they are $45.00 each. i am still in mourning over my 10 foot burmese who i cared for for 6 months trying to cure a RI. I thought it was gone then wham he was gone. It turned out he had IBD.
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1.0 albino Speckled king
0.1 speckled king
0.1 desert cali king
1.0 ball python
65 common rats
25 african soft hair rats
100 mice
8 degus
2 girbils
1.0 blue and gold macaw
1.1 orange wing amazons
0.1 tin african grey
1.0 sugar glider
1 beagle
1.1 borneo bloods (comming soon)
0.1 hell spouse
3.2 children (kids)

Most imported balls are full of parasites,mites,ticks,and usually dehydrated and in very poor health when sold. Buy a Captive bred , dont support the import market. Normal captive bred babies are cheap, Sorry to hear about your burm......Sucks!!

Don't support their business. If you buy one and save it great then they buy more and the same cycle repeats, you can't save them all and not buying and filing complaints encourages them to stop if you are lucky.
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0.2 Normals
1.0 Sumaritan Blood
adding more soon!

in that case wait 6 months before buying ANY snake
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jake barney

my addiction:
1.1 normal ball pythons
0.2.1 corns
1.0 albino cal king
0.0.1 wc garter

What makes you think your snake had IBD? Were any tests actually done?
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John Vandegrift

it may be cruel to let them die but if you buy one you continue the cycle and possibly spread parasytes to your collection.
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jake barney

my addiction:
1.1 normal ball pythons
0.2.1 corns
1.0 albino cal king
0.0.1 wc garter

This guy is a WC adult from Nov of last year.
Acclimated great and takes f/t rats now.

Well I picked one up. They were treated for external, and internal parisites.The owner of the store was very enthusiastic about them.I didn't get the one that caught my eye as it just stayed curled up, and hissed alot. The one I did choose was very alert, clear eyes, and didn't ball up barely.I will post pics in a week after it is acclimated to its new home. The store owner also wants some of my soft furred rats for breeding in his store.
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1.0 albino Speckled king
0.1 speckled king
0.1 desert cali king
1.0.1 ball python
65 common rats
25 african soft hair rats
100 mice
8 degus
2 girbils
1.0 blue and gold macaw
1.1 orange wing amazons
0.1 tin african grey
1.0 sugar glider
1 beagle
1.1 borneo bloods (comming soon)
0.1 hell spouse
3.2 children (kids)

.....
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Charles Glaspie

Here it is.

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1.0 albino Speckled king
0.1 speckled king
0.1 desert cali king
1.0.1 ball python
65 common rats
25 african soft hair rats
100 mice
8 degus
2 girbils
1.0 blue and gold macaw
1.1 orange wing amazons
0.1 tin african grey
1.0 sugar glider
1 beagle
1.1 borneo bloods (comming soon)
0.1 hell spouse
3.2 children (kids)