Should i open my arms to her

[Reptile Alchemist]

oooooook. so i went to petco yesterday and always see the same lavandor albino king snake shes been in their for now a year and the cage they keep her in is getting to small for her i watched her grow by the way.. with a snake like that many would think someone will snatch her up quickly but unfornately she was notorious for striking and biteing. so nobody ever picked her up and shes still in the same place. but to me shes needs a upgrade in tank size. soo i was told if wanted to buy her the manger would knock price down by 15-20% and they have her on sell for 164$... soooo what should i do??. shes also healthy she goes to the vet so shes fine in health...

[Truly Rare]

That's an out ragious price, and I've learned...never buy something out of pity!!! But she's in good health, but if you really want to fork out that high of a price for that snake..then I say..go for it.

[Donnie_K]

Insanely outrageous price. And if they're not properly caring for that one, don't give them any money. Yeah, you may be saving the one, but then they just see they're making money off of these animals misfortune and just order in more animals that will go through the same thing. Don't support them. Check out a reptile show near you, or get on kingsnake's classifieds.

[Reptile Alchemist]

ok thanx. i will take that into consideration

[smilts]

I rarely ever buy from any pet store.  You just end up in the long run better off going with a breeder.  Like Donnie said as soon as you buy that one there just going to stick another in that same tank and after that one another and another.  Chain stores especially care nothing for the animals at all.

[Reptile Alchemist]

ooook thanx. do u kno of anyone that breeds them

[Sylvias]

Just so ya'll know... I do work at petco -.-
However I realize that just because I make sure the animals in my store are cared for doesn't mean that all the other petcos do.... and I have heard some horror stories. A tank that is 'too small' is not really a horror story though. If the tank is clean and everything is in good condition, and obviously been there a while and is growing so it's eating well and appears to be healthy you are probably pretty safe taking it IF you want to pay those prices....  They are ridiculously high....
Also... If it has been there that long chances are they will not order another one. They like to have things that sell, not things that sit there and cost em money. We had a gorgeous albino nelsons milk sitting in my store for almost a year before someone finally bought it and we will never have one in the store again because it was there to long.
And if anyone is wondering, the majority of our snakes come mice direct.

But even if the care is perfect and the animal is perfect the price is still way to high... although with shipping these days... you'll be lucky to find someone who can actually ship you a snake and if they can the price will be about the same so unless you find a decent local breeder the price pretty much evens out.

[Donnie_K]

If they're getting what they're asking for it, it's making them alot more than it's costing them. And I don't buy the grey area "not that bad" or "good enough", it's either proper or it isn't. Reptile stores that care will have them proper... ones that don't will make it look good enough to sell.

[Reptile Alchemist]

i mean money isnt a thing for me. and i kno the tank is clean and shes eating but the thing is to me a small tank isnt really were a snake like that shud be kept. its jus in the same side the snake is own they have scorpians in a much larger tank than what shes in.. i mean its not just because of the snake is in a small tank its just. i think she would be better off else were so since the price isnt a thing for me ill just go get her this saturday. thanx everyone. for the comments and suggestions

[Sylvias]

well proper in your eyes is a stagnant rack system where only the most basic minimal needs are met... and don't get me wrong..that works for some snakes and a lot of them can adjust to it, but thats not the only way to do it and as i have said before... I firmly believe that there is an important psychological element that we ignore in reptiles because they cannot show their mental state as easily as mammals so we just assume it's not existent. Some day I'll find a way to actually test that theory....
and an animal that sits there for a year is costing them more than one that sells quickly so they can order another and have it sell quickly and keep going that way. If it doesn't sell, we don't keep ordering em.

I am not trying to defend chain stores cause they are always worse than GOOD breeders (keep in mind that a private breeder can just as bad if not worse than a chain store as well) I just want people to know that they aren't all death camps like people portray them.

I don't want the wrong idea to come across here.... if you can support a good independent breeder definitely go that way! But you really have to check them out even more carefully than a pet store cause you can't always get into their facilities and see that things are healthy and clean and have a chance to handle the animal before buying to make sure it is ok. Thats why we have things like the BOI, helps you a little bit in finding a reputable breeder