I'm having a tough decision :(

[wretchedprocess]

I've never seen BPs, even babies being sold for less than 50 bucks, even normals. I also tend to see pastels as at least 80 bucks or higher. Guess it seriously depends on where you get them.

Not only have I seen the same thing Nanci has at shows, but in rescue, you can hardly *give* a normal bp away. They're so common, even CB, that they sell for nothing. (My personal experience is in Baltimore and the Pacific Northwest.)

 

[Millinex]

Which was probably a parasite ridden import for that little money, or an unplanned breeding.

Buy an import through a reputable importer. Ben Seigel for instance treats all his for parasites upon arrival. Not to mention, it doesn't cost much to treat an import BP for parasites with a simple dose of panacur.

As for the unplanned breeding- anytime you breed ball pythons, you have a chance that none of the genes you are breeding for will land, and thus give you a few normals in the clutch. Most breeders just want them out of their hair, and will sell them $10-$20 range, sometimes $25 for females.

I've never seen BPs, even babies being sold for less than 50 bucks, even normals. I also tend to see pastels as at least 80 bucks or higher. Guess it seriously depends on where you get them.

Get out of the pet store, and do some craigslist searching/reptile expo shopping. I know for a fact wherever you are, I can get BPs for $20, that is, unless you live in like Alaska.

 

[ShenziSixaxis]

Criag's List never brings up anything; lucky to see a fish tank, even.

Last season I did some looking for BPs on breeders' websites. Normals were priced around pet store prices or higher, depending on hets.

 

[AliCat37]

Criag's List never brings up anything; lucky to see a fish tank, even.

Last season I did some looking for BPs on breeders' websites. Normals were priced around pet store prices or higher, depending on hets.

I don't know what kind of breeders you were looking at, but just a plain old normal ball is worth about $20. Personally, the breeders I know don't run websites. Craigslist here has at least 10 or more snakes/beardies a day.

 

[wretchedprocess]

If you want a bp, why not go to a rescue? You can check the animal's temperament, it will be adult and well-established (usually), and they really *need* homes, as well as being cheap. For the OP, you can immediately have a larger snake and know from the beginning whether it's going to be cuddly, whether it tends toward feeding or shedding problems, and, if the rescue is any good, that it's healthy. This is my personal Thing, I know, but it's a good answer for anyone living near a rescue, in my opinion, and is, after all, what we do it for!

 

[grankin01]

I only ever see pet stores wanting that price- and THOSE are parasite ridden.

I may have been lucky but I got Jade, my BP, from Pet Smart and she has been great. She refused food the first time and her first shed was in pieces (that may have been because she likes to hide and I didn't notice she was blue until too late and couldn't raise the humidity long enough to do the job) but she is healthy. I honestly haven't done a fecal on her to see if she has parasites but she is gaining girth and length and hasn't refused food since the first time. My Pet Smart seems to be the exception though. It's clean with a staff that is knowledgeable about reptiles.

 

[AliCat37]

I may have been lucky but I got Jade, my BP, from Pet Smart and she has been great. She refused food the first time and her first shed was in pieces (that may have been because she likes to hide and I didn't notice she was blue until too late and couldn't raise the humidity long enough to do the job) but she is healthy. I honestly haven't done a fecal on her to see if she has parasites but she is gaining girth and length and hasn't refused food since the first time. My Pet Smart seems to be the exception though. It's clean with a staff that is knowledgeable about reptiles.

Glad you lucked out! I know someone who got one from Pet Smart, and it was the sickest animal i had ever seen He never ate, his skin seemed like it had tried to shed but it never even broke, his eyes were nearly popped out with all the eye caps, and he had mouth rot so bad he couldn't close his mouth I'm pretty sure he was impacted on top of all that... I felt so bad for the little guy, he was finally put out of his misery. I guess it really depends on where they get their shipments from! Like I said, I am glad you lucked out, I hate hearing all these horror stories from petstores!! Our local petstore has really sick animals too. It just makes me so sad that they try selling these animals way over priced and they're sick too. I just buy everything from a breeder I know x)

 

[grankin01]

Glad you lucked out! I know someone who got one from Pet Smart, and it was the sickest animal i had ever seen He never ate, his skin seemed like it had tried to shed but it never even broke, his eyes were nearly popped out with all the eye caps, and he had mouth rot so bad he couldn't close his mouth I'm pretty sure he was impacted on top of all that... I felt so bad for the little guy, he was finally put out of his misery. I guess it really depends on where they get their shipments from! Like I said, I am glad you lucked out, I hate hearing all these horror stories from petstores!! Our local petstore has really sick animals too. It just makes me so sad that they try selling these animals way over priced and they're sick too. I just buy everything from a breeder I know x)

Thanks! Unfortunately that seems to be the norm with the big chain pet stores. I don't know if its management at my local Pet Smart or not but they do a real good job of keeping the snakes healthy and happy in clean enclosures. It really is quite refreshing to see this from someone other than a breeder.

My wife has said NO MORE for now but when we are ready to get another one it will definitely be bought from a breeder.

 

[Em Wright]

Which was probably a parasite ridden import for that little money, or an unplanned breeding.

Whoa... that was kinda sour... and perhaps ill-informed?

I had a friend who got two BPs for $25 each from BILL LOVE - you know, Kathy Love's husband? - at a reptile show (I was with her when she got them). They were normals and both perfectly healthy.

A friend of mine that runs a pet store locally sells his normal BP hatchlings for $20-30 and they are also perfectly healthy. His morphs are of course more expensive.

I love my corns too much to swap to BPs. Though perhaps someday I'll get a BP, their faces intimidate me a little bit. I think you should go with whatever feels right for you.

 

[AliCat37]

Oh, another thing that I forgot to mention... I quite frankly find ball pythons to be boring! My ball literally just SITS on me. He hardly ever slithers, and he is so head shy that one wrong move freaks him out and he balls up. My corns are great (the male more so than the female) he just chills but is still active. I'm not saying my ball python isn't great, he is, but I prefer the corn personality. They're more fun to watch tv with haha.
But really, why not set up a completely separate enclosure and read up on husbandry for ball pythons. They're more complex than corns and just about anything can make them go off feed/ have bad sheds/ get sick etc. If you have both then you can decide who you play with depending on your mood that day.

 

[Reddevil95128]

I breed both corn snakes and ball pythons and IMO the only reason ball pythons have this "horrid feeding" stigma is because most people don't invest in the proper equipment to read there temps correctly or control there temps and instead of setting a proper basking temp where the animal can regulate itself like it needs. they blast the heck out of the poor critter and wonder why it won't feed or is POed.

I also agree with the others that if you've only had it for a short while and aren't sure if you really want it you should just return it. There is no sense in keeping something that will live longer then a cat or dog if you don't even like it.

 

[Arachne]

I've had a ball for about 7 years, now, and she's a great snake. Just got a corn hatchling, and it's a whole different world, but I love the corn equally. I got my ball from a breeder, when she was about 3 months old, and he was feeding live. I tried about a thousand ways to switch to F/T, and the damn snake never made the switch. I even went as far as getting her a hamster, and pre-killing. She went off her feed for about 7 months, during that phase, and I eventually had to continue with live, and honestly, I hate it. That was about the only time we had feeding issues, with her, otherwise, it's been smooth sailing. She eats like a champ.

I can't speak for a corn snake, because mine's like 2 weeks old, and hiding constantly so far, but the ball is pretty much a slacker. I keep her water dish far from her hides, so I can see her come out from time to time, but otherwise, she's a total "pet rock". She is very relaxed about handling, and seems a lot slower and more powerful in her movements. She's head shy, but she's never struck.

I can't really imagine being in an "either or" situation, comparing the two. If you want a ball, get a ball, if you want a corn, keep the corn. If you're having second thoughts about any kind of snake ownership, that's something to address. Neither is "cooler".

 

[AliCat37]

I breed both corn snakes and ball pythons and IMO the only reason ball pythons have this "horrid feeding" stigma is because most people don't invest in the proper equipment to read there temps correctly or control there temps and instead of setting a proper basking temp where the animal can regulate itself like it needs. they blast the heck out of the poor critter and wonder why it won't feed or is POed.

Everyone that I know who breeds ball pythons have the same off feeding experience. My friend breeds thousands of balls and some of his will go off of food for 8 months. My ball's set up is exactly like his and he still won't eat this year. I am a little confused that you say "basking temp" when balls are nocturnal and don't bask.. I've got my UTH on mine set to 90. The ambient air temp is 85. With the cool side going no lower than 80. Even our my boyfriend's two breeder ball pythons are off feed. I've been told that if I REALLY wanted to get them all to start eating again that they need asfs.

 

[AliCat37]

I've had a ball for about 7 years, now, and she's a great snake. Just got a corn hatchling, and it's a whole different world, but I love the corn equally. I got my ball from a breeder, when she was about 3 months old, and he was feeding live. I tried about a thousand ways to switch to F/T, and the damn snake never made the switch. I even went as far as getting her a hamster, and pre-killing. She went off her feed for about 7 months, during that phase, and I eventually had to continue with live, and honestly, I hate it. That was about the only time we had feeding issues, with her, otherwise, it's been smooth sailing. She eats like a champ.

I just wanted to add that only males go off feed for breeding season, it's not normal for a female to do. So you girl eating like a champ is normal Wish my boy would.. so many f/t rats of mine end up going to waste right now..

 

[Shelby Craig]

just wanting to say where everyone was talking about craigslist earlier...I see people trying to sale their normals for a hundred dollars trying to make money off people that dont know anything...and even one person trying to sale one as a baby boa...

 

[starsevol]

While I bristle at the idea that a living thing can be returned like a defective pair of shoes because there is something out there that is "cooler" because it gets bigger...I do think that if this animal is not what you want you should return it. But before you get anything else, do some research please!!

 

[AliCat37]

just wanting to say where everyone was talking about craigslist earlier...I see people trying to sale their normals for a hundred dollars trying to make money off people that dont know anything...and even one person trying to sale one as a baby boa...

Definitely true. Not everything on there is a winner. There was also someone selling a ball python in my area... it was a red tail boa.

 

[wretchedprocess]

While I bristle at the idea that a living thing can be returned like a defective pair of shoes because there is something out there that is "cooler" because it gets bigger...I do think that if this animal is not what you want you should return it. But before you get anything else, do some research please!!

Yeah, I avoided mentioning it, but I bristled too. However, if the chap doesn't love the snake after a week, he well may not start, and that's not an ideal home for the baby. I think the possibility of it ending up with someone who will love it is worth boosting.

 

[Reddevil95128]

Everyone that I know who breeds ball pythons have the same off feeding experience. My friend breeds thousands of balls and some of his will go off of food for 8 months. My ball's set up is exactly like his and he still won't eat this year. I am a little confused that you say "basking temp" when balls are nocturnal and don't bask.. I've got my UTH on mine set to 90. The ambient air temp is 85. With the cool side going no lower than 80. Even our my boyfriend's two breeder ball pythons are off feed. I've been told that if I REALLY wanted to get them all to start eating again that they need asfs.

I have over 30 ball pythons here most are adults that include WC/CB/CH and only 1 goes off feed for months...also tomato tomahto It doesn't matter what its called "basking temp", hot spot, UTH ect you know what I meant.

 

[Dreamsnake]

I love both my corns and my python. My snow corn is nearly two now and I wear him like a necklace. I still watch him closely and keep a hand free in case I need to catch him. He is funny and slinky, never refuses dinner.

My ball python is a male retired breeder. We adopted him for $50, it was a bit steep. He is about 8 years old now. His self awareness was startling at first, but as he got accustomed to us and the house he relaxed. He will rest his head in our hands, flick his tongue down our ears, rub his neck against our hair, and entangle his body around our necks. But it did take a year for him to fully unclench. He is the biggest drama queen I've ever encountered and I've always had cats.

I wouldn't give up either snake breed for the world. However, the corns are more my snake.