I dig and totally respect your advice on the big box brands. Maybe it's because the ones around me (KC) seem to be better than others in other areas on their standards of care? I'm just saying that sometimes, for the first time snake buyer that doesn't even know the community is there, or that resources like this forum are available, it's not the worst choice.
I really think the local pet store is the way to go if you can find a good one, or a show if you already know what you are talking about, but finding a local store that really knows reptiles is a minefield for someone who knows absolutely nothing about reptiles. Even stores that are really awesome for other pets, are no guarantee that they are really good for reptiles. If they don't know how to decide if a local shop is good or not, how can you expect a newbie to choose wisely? They don't even know what to look out for. And, I have seen local shops that will tell me one thing (after they realize I know something about snakes) and tell a newbie something totally different. There is no consistency for the local mom and pops. Therefore you get extremes. Really great ones, most that are honest and great people that are not reptile experts, and some real con artists. My wife used to work for our local PetSmart and I have been standing nearby when their "reptile specialist" has been talking to newbies, and they are generally correct in their advice. I wouldn't call them experts (or me either for that matter), but if the person followed their advice, they would get a nice animal at a ridiculously high price, and would have a generally good outcome. I think that is fair for the first time.
Donnie, IBD from PetSmart? Wow, sorry to hear that. Did you call their hotline and report it? They do take that kind of thing very seriously. Once when my wife found out that her store's PetHotel was not walking the dogs properly at night, she call it in. They did a full investigation and fired the GM of the store, the night manager of the hotel, and a couple of employees that were faking the care records. That's a really bad thing to hear. I know they are a big corporate environment, and the prices are outrageous, but I do believe they pay attention to the care of the animals in their stores. I have seen some of their employee care standards training. They get pretty ridiculous at times. Now, whether you can count on a high school kid paid minimum wage to actually follow the standards correctly and consistently is another matter altogether LOL!
I definitely think they are both better options than the guy up the street with 10 gal tanks that Donnie mentioned or getting one from craigslist with no history from someone who doesn't want the animal because it isn't cool to clean cages.
I recently say a BP that a newbie got off of craigslist that was obviously malnourished and had scale rot from a nasty cage setup. To the new owner's credit, he immediately took the ball to the vet, is cleaning the wound daily, has hooked up with our local snake shop guy to get the feeding back on track, and the ball is healing up nicely. Good on him, and good news for the snake. I just think we forget how alien and mysterious snake husbandry was for all of us at one time or another. What is common sense for us is "OMG really?" material for the average noob. Obviously, none of us would buy a BP from a big box.
I too would recommend a colubrid over any boid as a first snake, but if you aren't into colubrids and get a healthy CB ball, you will do just fine with a little research.
