buying a snake... should I be concerned?

[missnikki]

Hi Everyone..

I'm looking at buying a spotted and I went and looked at one today I just wanted your opinion on this. The man who was selling it said it was about 2 years old for $180. (I was expecting them to be hatchies or yearlings but they were adullts.) He had such a beautiful temperament and I was really interested in buying him. (Even though initially I was looking at a hatchling or yearling as I wanted to raise the snake and watch it grow) But, I had three concerns. When I asked the breeder about his feed history he didn't say anything and then said yeah you dont need to feed him much..Maybe once a month. The snake looked nice and had good muscle tone but one of his scales was a pale colour and when I asked about it he said it was probably from his last shed and he could scrub it off in the bath. One of the men that lived there is a snake catcher and for some reason I had a feeling they might have caught this spotted in the wild (they had a house full of snakes including taipans and other deadlies), but I am not sure I could be very wrong. Also, the snakes cloaca looked a little dark around the edge but I don't know if that is just normal.

Anyway, I know if I have any doubt I shouldn't buy the snake but he did have a beautiful temperament and I wanted some feedback from experienced herpers to see if my concerns weren't anything to worry about as I have never bought a snake before.

 

[FAY]

I would go with my gut instincts if I were you.
Not really knowing the person or animal, if you have concerns, don't do it just to be on the safe side.

Scrubbing something off in the bath sounds weird. Also only feeding it once a month.

 

[AM Pythons]

one of the cairns locals might go have a look with you...

 

[AM Pythons]

a bit of retained shed could be it, a warm bath would remove it.. how did you find these ppl? ad,friend?

 

[missnikki]

Yeah I thought that it might be some retained shed.. I found them in an ad in the paper. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't wrong about these 'concerns' of mine as i am not very experienced..

 

[Fantazmic]

if you have a gut 'feeling' about something you should listen to it...thats why we have instincts. There are plenty of animals around so dont feel you 'have to' get this one.

I would advise you to have a look on this forum there are heaps of really good breeders on here. Someone who is doing the right thing and is really ethical deserves to have you buy a snake from them...not someone who you have a 'bad' feeling about.

have a look on the feedback forum and also in the snakes for sale section.....have a good read on this site...there are also sponsors of the site that are reputable breeders as well.

Have a really good look around there are some wonderful people out there who will really help you pick the right snake as you first snake

Regards

Elizabeth

 

[missnikki]

Thanks for your feedback Elizabeth I will definately take your advice!

Nikki

 

[justbecausewhy]

i got my adult female nearly 18 months ago. She had "burn" marks on one side of her body. I was told it was from crystals that was under the heat light and they burnt her skin. She was so gentle to handle and I just fell in love. I brought her and took her to a vet for a check up and it was all ok. I feel that she is a lot happy now and I feed her every week. At the moment she is hasnt eaten for 5 weeks and she did that last year as well cause its getting a lot colder and they dont feed as much.
Ask your self a question....what do you think might happen to that snake if you dont buy it? If your child had something wrong with it, would you do something to help them? Not every snake is perfect, just like you or I. I would get it but then again thats me.
I look at my snake with her "burn" marks and think thats what makes her different.
Check out my pics on my profile.

 

[symbol]

Follow the gut, its often right. I think the other thing to remember is, although you loved this spotted python, they are dime a dozen so there is plenty for sale etc....

 

[AM Pythons]

its not hard to find a breeder in cairns.. good luck look around..

 

[Waterrat]

Nikki, don't buy the first snake you see. There are other breeders in Cairns who would be willing to give you the snake's history, show you the parents, etc.. Having old slough on it's back doesn't say much for the owner. If my snake had retained shed, I would attend to it straight away and I certainly wouldn't show such animal to a potential buyer. Drop me an email if you like, I may be able to put you onto someone in the area.

 

[Northern]

Nikki out of interest where in Cairns was this guy... sounds very similar to someone I've had dealings with and I have a big suspicion that yes he does catch wild snakes and sell them. I have the number of a great breeder in the cairns area, will dig it out and send to you if you like .

 

[missnikki]

Hi Northern!

That would be great!... He was on the southside, that's all I will say as you never know who could be reading these things!

 

[Waterrat]

Nikki out of interest where in Cairns was this guy... sounds very similar to someone I've had dealings with and I have a big suspicion that yes he does catch wild snakes and sell them.

Are you thinking what I am thinking? The yob who made the headlines and got fined $4500.- recently?

 

[slim6y]

There's a fellow at the Night Markets these days (snuggleasnake) he seems to have some interesting looking snakes. All (that he displays) have beautiful temperaments. I know he's got Womas for sale at present - maybe even some others... Or is it a spotted you're definitely after?

Good luck either way - I've bought a spotted off a great dealer here before - but surprisingly enough I've only ever bought one local snake, the rest from out of town!

 

[Northern]

Waterrat that guy came to mind too yes lol. The guy i was thinking lives in northern beaches... I looked at a pair of spotties he had and left empty handed after he could not produce 1. a licence 2. a record book 3. he stated movement advice was not needed. I wont name cause as Nikki says you never know who reads

And Slimey... buying a snake at the night markets sounds even more dodgy

 

[missnikki]

Hey Slim6y!

I actually went and saw the guy at the nightmarkets on Saturday night and he had beautiful Jungle hatchlings, I was considering getting one but I decided a spotted would be better for my first as they were very vicious little things and I think they would suite someone wih more experience.. and the enclosure I have is more suitable for a spotted size too.

 

[Waterrat]

There's a fellow at the Night Markets these days (snuggleasnake) he seems to have some interesting looking snakes. All (that he displays) have beautiful temperaments. I know he's got Womas for sale at present - maybe even some others...

This is hilarious, the night markets .....
Is he displaying, selling or both? If that's a goer in Cairns, I may set up a stall at Rasty's markets on Saturdays, in the "greens" section of course.:lol:

 

[spanna_spamload]

That'll give me 2 reasons to go to rusty's

 

[eitak]

If your worried its wild caught, why not just get licence details? You need his licence number if you want to buy the snake anyway . . If he cant provide then I would agree with wild caught theory . .