Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, every reptile I have ever purchased has come from a pet store, but I am now looking to purchase a ball python, and after doing a lot of research, I believe that the best way to go is captive breed. Now, my question is, i'm about ready to purchase my python, but is it really safe to have a snake shipped to my house...for some reason this just makes me kind of uneasy, like it may overly stress the animal. It's not like i'm going to be purchasing an expensive morph or anything, just a normal, but it's still my pet, and I want it to be happy and well cared for, and well, I just want to know if it seems to have any kind of negative effect on the animal. Any help will be appreciated.

Dave

i wouldnt see the problem buying a ball from a petstore, i did and it's a champ, readily takes f/t mice, I think the main thing you have to ask is make sure it's eating, i'd never willingly sell or purchase an animal that wasnt eating unless prior arrangements were made
buying from a reputable online dealer isnt a bad idea though, yes it will most likley stress the snake, but if given enough time to acclimate in its cage things should turn out fine. I'm also a stickler for f/t rodents so if the animal is on live food i generally pass it up (especially ball's since they can be quite picky about switching over) but thats just my personal preference

I would say go captive bred from a breeder. I mean, the pythons at the pet shops were all shipped there. Heres's how it usually works: pythons are hatched in farms using wild-caught gravid females. They are then shipped to a distributer, who then ships them to a pet store. The python has just enough time to adjust to it's new home, when it is boxed up, and taken to it's final destination. If you buy direct from a breeder, you are cutting all that down to one shipping trip. Not to mention you will know exactly where the snake came from, and can be reletively sure that it does not have any diseases or parasites. Not to mention being shipped singly is a lot less unhealthy than being shipped in a tiny bag with 50 other snakes all crammed in there with you.
This is not to say that all pet store snakes are a bad bet, most do great! But wouldn't you rather not support the careless raping of Africa's pythons, and get a captive bred animal anyway?
Bulldawger