Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am new to snakes, and there was a breeder that I wanted to get a snake from, but there is also a reptile shop type thing near me that breeds a lot of different kinds of reptiles.
I had heard that its better to buy from a breeder, so I thought maybe I will... BUT they're so expensive, and I'm really not planning on breeding or anything, so now I'm thinking of settling for the reptile store. I don't think its bad, but I'm pretty sure if I get from the breeder I will be very happy with it, whereas with the store I'm not really sure.
I don't want to, but I've been waiting soo long to get a snake...
I don't know what to do!!

I don't have a lot of experience and I am sure many others can better answer your question. That being said I would stay with a breeder. Retail is in it only for the money and just like I would tell people not to buy a puppy/kitten from one I wouldn't buy a snake from one either. I bought both of mine at Reptile shows. You get to see a lot of different breeders and the prices are fair. Check under "Events" to see if there is one soon in your area.

Id go with a breeder also. But, if the reptile shop breeds the animals and doesnt just order them they may be OK as well. Really, pet shops buy there animals for close to the same price you and I can. Thats why they cost so much, they have to make a profit by increasing the price. If you buy from a breeder you have to pay shipping which can be more than the animal at times. But, you also have the comfort of knowing exactly where the animals came from and its history. A good breeder will also help you after the sale. Many pet stores are just middle men with little knowledge of the snake you just bought. Some are good though. Just check everything out first. Hope that helped some.

EP
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2.1.8 corns(candy cane, creamsicle, ghost, 4 normal,
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i have gotten a couple of my snake at a reptile store and a couple at a show from breeders. I preferr getting them from a breeder. They can tell you how they are eating, when they were hatched, etc. At a store they have little knowledge of when they were hatched and how they have been eating before they got them. sometimes they will tell you at a store 'it has eaten for us since we've had it'. Also stores sometimes have little knowledge of what they actually eat. I've heard of one store (some of you may guess) tell people baby snakes eat crickets.
Just do your research and you will end up happier in the long run.

There are two issues here

1) the quality of the snake
2) the price

1. Quality - captive born snakes generally cost more than wild-caught snakes (unfortunately!). Therefore, a petstore might buy a whole bunch of wc snakes cheap and seem to be underselling the person with the captive born animals.
You want a captive born animal, period. Wild caught animals are not really good for beginner snakes.

2. Price - many reptile stores are buying from the same dealers you can buy from so they are paying about the same that you pay. Therefore, you can get a better deal directly from the breeder.
You could also buy from a wholesaler, like Glades (gherp.com). Of course then you have to deal with shipping, but it generally still comes out cheaper than the petshop.
The best bet is to go to an expo where you can see the snakes and the talk to the dealers that produced them. This way you will get the best snakes at the best price.
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Chris Harrison

There is a big issue of quality here. My wife works for a pet chain (not mentioning any nameS). The employees are not told where the animals are from and in fact (from what we have heard) are mostly wild caught. Many are too young and while her store takes very good care of them, and actually has an onsite Reptile Vet (actual, not just in name) I still would not buy a reptile from there. One other option is looking for a rescue center near you. We have a rescued ball python that was/is in excellent health. We have adopted all of our pets (I was also adopted... slightly different procedure though) and have had great experiences!
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Well... one of the stores isn't exaclty a pet store, they breed many of their reptiles, but they breed sooo many different kinds.
I'd really rather buy from a breeder, so I'm holding off looking at the stores for a bit. I do like the idea that from a breeder they'll probably know more about their snakes,have a lot of experience specifically with some of the types they breed, and be more helpful, etc.
I'll think about adoption, but I haven't really seen the snake I want in the resucues often... I'll keep checking though.
I'm still kind of going back and forth, but I'll see what some of the breeders have this year, and prices.
I hate weighing on price so much, but really, paying $100-200, as opposed to $250-600 is a big difference for me, ecspecially when it could pay for feeding the snake for a year..

Do your research on both of them, but I prefer breeders. Breeders are generally more knowledgeable about snakes and they are familiar with the animal's history. Pet Stores are just in it for the money, and if they're anything like the ones where I live, they don't know squat about snakes or any other reptile. Actually, I make all of my purchases at reptile conventions, there I get a variety of breeders to choose from and I get to interact with many different specimens before purchasing. Lastly, consider this: are you going to want to continue dealing with the store you are buying him from? Personally, I wouldn't buy a heat bulb from these clowns where I live. But hey, that's just me. Good Luck.