Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am interested in purchasing a mexican black king snake from these guys, does anyone have expereince with them? good? bad? are they reputable? thanx
-Robert

John Cherry is one of the most reputable in the business.

While I have never bought an animal from Mr. Cherry and do not know him personally, I can tell you that he is an active member of the herp community. He posts fairly regularly on the pituophis forum and sometimes on others as well. He is generally well regarded as evidenced by what others say about him on the forums, and appears to be a sound source for snakes...not just for selling them but for follow up information as well. Hope this helps.

Note: this says nothing about the qaulity of thier animals ,
or thier outstanding reputation!!!
i contacted them once about 2 months ago and asked if they welcome visitors and if i could
come to thier farm to visit and buy?(i'm in texas & wanted to avoid shipping)
i was told no.
Dallas

Obviously, that is the breeder's option. In this case, I recall a post from John Cherry in which he said that a virous was introduced to his stock by a visitor, causing a lot of losses. His position on that is certainly understandable.
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Tim

and that is the very reason I don't allow people as a rule to visit my collection. The reason for that is for protection of my own animals as well as to insure that anything that goes out of my collection is disease-free.

It may be inconvenient or disappointing to some customers, but you can't be too safe. I'm quite sure John would have agreed to meet you someplace nearby to deliver the animal to you, Dallas. Plus John is always willing to provide quality photos of the actual animal you are purchasing so you can see color, pattern, etc before you purchase. I've never heard of a problem with quality from any of John's animals so I wouldn't even concern myself about that. I'm sure that out of the hundreds of animals Cherryville Farms has sold, there had to be a problem or two somewhere along the line, but I know that they will make it right if there is a problem.

I know John would enjoy showing his animals as much as anyone would enjoy seeing them, but the risk is just too great. In a breeding environment, it is impossible to have the barriers between viewer and animal to prevent disease transmission that something like a zoo would have.

Most private breeders work out of their home and may not want to invite a stranger into their home every time they sell a snake. Unfortunately, letting every customer into your home to see your entire collection not only brings the risk of disease but also theft. I'm not accusing you of being that type of person, just saying that inviting strangers into your home on a regular basis is kinda asking for trouble.
Chris

OHHH yes, I understand the reasoning behind the decline of an invitation, I also understand snotty nose, dirty, funky, nasty, dumb,
Tire kickers wasting folk’s time! Ha ha
I was not offended by it either, but I just thought that my little trivial experience with cherryville, was poignant to the question, next summer I might order from them because the shipping distance would be short, but then again there is a very
Nice woman in dfw who said she would more than happy to set up an appointment when her husband could attend. Whom ever has the animal that tickles my fancy, and is convenient with the least
Amount of risk.

>>OHHH yes, I understand the reasoning behind the decline of an invitation, I also understand snotty nose, dirty, funky, nasty, dumb,
>>Tire kickers wasting folk’s time! Ha ha

And just who would you be refering to with that remark? John Cherry maybe, or the people trying to help by answering the posts, or maybe yourself?
Just curious where the heck that came from?

I have never purchased from Mr. Cherry but I know he has an excellent reputation. You will get great animals.
dB

Hi, I purchased an incredible trio of Knob kingsnakes from John in May '03. He provided help above and beyond what was expected!! The snakes are excellent stock and laid 18 eggs approx 30 days ago.

I've done business with Cherryville. Very pleased with all aspects of the deal.
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International Snakes Meetup
International Herpetology Meetup

they are really nice honest people. i bought a pair of tarahamara Mtn kings(Knob)and were very hot looking snakes, mite free and healthy. John is a really nice guy. unless his shipping policy has changed he will only ship from airport to airport, delta dash, and not ups/airborne. you may want to check with him though, good luck, dave