Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I currently own 1 snow cornsnake and 1 pueblan milksnake. I have always loved BP's though and plan to get one sometime within the next month or two (I figure it will take at least that long to convince my husband). Does anyone have any recommendations as far as good online breeders/companies to deal with (Is LLL Reptiles reputable?, etc.)? I am not looking for a $25,000 morph, just a good old "normal" BP. There is also a show that I am considering going to in a few weeks in Butler, PA. Does anyone know anything about that particular show or the breeders who go to it? I believe it is called the "Western PA Reptile Expo".

Aside from the actual purchase, I am reading up on BP's and plan to learn as much as I can about them before bringing one home. Are they fairly friendly when they are babies or nippy? My corn is a sweetie, but my pueblan loves to throw tantrums when handled. Just curious how the BP's temperment falls in relation to those two.

Thanks for any help you can give me in making an informed decision about purchasing a ball python!

Imagine your Milksnake's just bigger and thicker and you pretty much have it down. Very shy snake, has probelms with eating will go off feed for no reason (sometimes) There are plenty of reputable breeders.

Brian Sharp, Peter Kahl, Ralph Davis. Look for individuals that own companies and stay away from the KS classifieds unless you get good feedback from other people here.
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Pat
1.1 (100% het albino) Retics
1.1 Coastal Carpet Pythons

There is one good breeders= that I know of that gos to the Western PA Reptile Expo. Perter Rushton from P.T. Reptiles I bought a normal female ball python from him in 2004 very nice snake. Thanks Scott Glover

Thanks for the names. I will check into what they have available!

I have never owned a nippy ball python, but if you get a wild caught adult or subadult, don't be suprised if you get bit a few times. If you feed them in the same place you keep them, you should be aware that they can mistake you for food from time to time, so you must be careful when getting them out. Otherwise, a hatchling that has been handled occassionally its whole life will grow up to be one of the friendliest snakes you can own. It is almost unheard of to get bitten while you are handling a ball python, almost all bites happen in the cage while you are sticking you hands in there.

I definitely plan to buy CB and I also plan to feed in a separate container. I've always done this with my corn and milk specifically so they never confuse my hand reaching into their tank as food! Thank you for the response!

There is also a show that I am considering going to in a few weeks in Butler, PA. Does anyone know anything about that particular show or the breeders who go to it? I believe it is called the "Western PA Reptile Expo".

I'm not sure if he'll be at the Butler show or the one in Cheswick, PA (they're on the same day in June) but Carl Aiken has some nice BPs. I know he's been working with them for a while. Very helpful guy and quality snakes.

~Katie
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4.7 Cornsnakes (Slink, Spaz, Shadow, Worm, Suzie, Soleil, Star, Sweetheart, Snickers, Selena, Sunshine)
0.1 Columbian Red Tail Boa (Baby)
0.3 Leopard Geckos (Cutie, Lily, and Miss Piggy)
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Sam)
0.1.1 Pac Man Frogs (Gordito and Spud)
0.1 Suriname Toad (Squishette)
0.1 Green Iguana (Iggy)
0.0.1 Red Eared Slider (Tiny)
1.2 Ball Pythons

Thank you, I will check into which one he is going to be at. Do you know his e-mail or does he have a web page? THANKS!

I highly recommend Ben Siegel from Ben Siegel Reptiles. Below are some details in case you were interested.

I received a CH baby from Ben a month ago or so and was really pleased with the transaction. I offered to pay somewhat of a premium ($10-$15) for a high gold, nicely patterned snake. I told him that I wanted to make sure that it had fed a few times and that I would wait until he found a suitable snake. After around two or three weeks, Ben confirmed that the snake he had selected for me had shed, eaten a few meals and was acclimating well. As events turned out, UPS screwed up the delivery and ended up throwing the package over my neighbor's fence, where the snake remained overnight. Though it wasn't his fault, Ben agreed to extend his live delivery guarantee INDEFINITELY (within reason, of course) and to let him know if the snake developed any respiratory infections or became too stressed to feed. Luckily everything seemed to have worked out fine. The snake is much nicer than expected (great colors, nice side blushing, cool pattern, partial ringer), eats great (his first meals were f/t) and handles well (he's never balled up and actually climbs up to you when you open the cage).

Just my two cents. Good luck!
Bruce

LLL's OK. Never ordered from them online, but I go there nearly every weekend. The place is clean enough and haven't really had any problems with them. Most of their BP's are captive-hatched, though, unless they actually say otherwise. Hope this helps.