$10 Burms- get yours cheap!

Went to the All MD Reptile Show @ Havre de Grace today. There were a friggin TON of burms there... albinos were going for $100 newly hatched. Normals were running around $50. But one vendor had a "skinny special" on normal burms that were thin-- I would guess they were not good feeders. They were selling them for $10 a piece.

So for half a $20 bill, a teenager can walk into that show and buy an animal that, if it survives, can reach 15' and weigh more than said teenager. It could reach 10', a dangerous length, in one years time.

Is this really the way we want to treat our hobby? Should we, in this political climate, be offering dangerous animals for sale to the public, at random, in so cavalier a fashion?

that is part of the reason for our "big snake ban" problems here in Florida. For many years, I saw kids and obvious newbies at shows walking around with tubs containing a baby Burm,, retic, or worse, African rock. They were sometimes marked as low as $20 - $25. I never saw ANY vendor with any kind of warning sign about their eventual size and caging needs (there might have been some giving that advice, but I never saw it). I even discussed it with a couple show promoters. They said that there was nothing they could do as long as it was legal. Problem solved - now it is NOT legal. But that is exactly the kind of solution I HATE.

If the show promoter can be convinced to require certain species (mostly the biggest pythons and anacondas) to be sold only to adults, and to require some sort of large sign (or maybe even sign a waiver about understanding the requirements), it would go a long way towards showing that we are at least TRYING to self regulate. It won't stop the humaniacs from trying to kill or hobby with more legislation, of course. But when they do push their agenda, at least we would have SOMETHING to show that we are attempting to do something about it. Or the sellers can take the short sighted approach like they did in Florida and probably achieve the same results. All of the big snakes are now banned as pets in Florida (although they can still be commercially bred here for sale outside of the state).

Wow. That's just...wow. At the Portland show today I was thrilled to hear a breeder talking someone OUT of buying one of his lovely retics and pointing them toward his Hogg Island boas instead. A much better choice for the average keeper.

At the recent Repticon in Baton Rouge I actualy heard a breeder tell someone he refused to sell them a snake because apparently this women buys animals as babies when they are "cute" then gets rid of them. Its nice to know there are some decent breeders out there and once army_greywolf and I get into breeding if we ever do a show I will refuse to sell to children unless their parents are there with them right at the table. I have heard to many horror stories from a vet tech friend of mine.

The problem is, even if the parents are there, uneducated idiots tend to think they can just "give it to a zoo," and they surely have no concept of just how big and dangerous 15' is. Even 10' is beyond their comprehension. Couple that with the "cage size" myth... very dangerous.

My other dislike is people who bring their pets to reptile shows and walk around with them. Why? No one who matters cares that your beardie is really big and tame and rides your shoulder. The people oohing and aahing are the people who don't have any clue the danger your healthy animal can be in at a herp show. Do you really need to impress those people??

Originally Posted by Hypancistrus

The problem is, even if the parents are there, uneducated idiots tend to think they can just "give it to a zoo," and they surely have no concept of just how big and dangerous 15' is. Even 10' is beyond their comprehension. Couple that with the "cage size" myth... very dangerous.

I agree here but at some point you need to realize as a seller you can only do so much to make sure the animal is cared for after it leaves your possession. A pet store I frequented when I lived in Buffalo, NY actually did this. They wouldnt sell to just anyone and they required proof of your set up for anything from fish to ferrets to pet rats and reptiles.

Really? I think that it doesn't even have to be a teenager that buys the snake. An adult could get it and have the same issue. I think vendors need to be alot more attentive to who they sell snakes too. Be it a teenage or an adult. Because the issue isn't age, its experience. I keep some odd ball snakes all of which I do great with. But I know people who can't keep a cornsnake alive that are twice my age! So it all has to do with each individual and their ability to care for the animal. And as much as teenagers get attack for bad husbandry and being immature with animals. I personally think that some teenagers are great keepers and some adults don't know what the hell they are doing! And vice versa. So as much as it is the kids fault for saying "Hey! There's a cheap snake!". It is as much the adults fault for selling a snake at that price to a minor.

I think it is definitely the sellers responsibility to warn people about animals with difficult care requirements, animals that need very specialized care, or animals that can very easily injure or kill you. Any seller. From pet stores to private breeders. And I think they also have the responsibility to refuse people animals if they feel that the buyer won't be able to, or refuses to properly care for them. Hearing about things like this just really upsets me.

True some adults would or could do worse with a pet than a teenager or child but think of this. Kid comes in and buys a snake, takes it home, hides it from the parents and the snake is perfectly healthy. Two months go by and suddenly the parent finds the snake and makes the kid bring it back to the store for a refund, which a lot of places wont do after a month or so. Or worse yet the parents "take over' the snakes care, which they know nothing about. Or even worse, the kid gets bit. Imagine how the parents feel then.
So really making sure a parent is present is more of a CYA than anything.

True, but what kind of half decent adult sells a kid a burmese python! Or even a larger sp of boa constrictor, like an Argentine boa.