Craigslist Blunders

Hello everyone! I haven't posted here actively in about 3 years. My name is Lisa, from Virginia obviously, and I currently own 3 male ball pythons. I've only gotten back into snake keeping about a year ago, so my collection is tiny compared to what it once was. I'd like to get into breeding them, so I am on the prowl for females.

I admit it, I'm a Craigslist addict. I routinely see unwanted snakes posted there, so I decided to test my luck with a want ad for female ball pythons.

I received an email today for a female ball. The sender was vague on details, so I asked for more information and photos. They replied back saying she was a yearling pastel for $80.

Yeah, she looks pretty pastel.






I'm assuming the female in the pictures is wearing a dress, rather than forgetting her pants, and that the snake's home is that bright pink box held shut with electrical tape. All of the images, including the belly pics I asked for after receiving the first set, are taken in their car. They assured me she's pastel. The father was a cinny and the mother a pastel, the breeder showed them the parents so it MUST be a pastel.

As bad as I feel for the shoebox snake, I declined, stating that she appeared to be a normal and to take the mistake up with the breeder. I have yet to hear back.

So am I totally blinded by the low quality photos, or is this girl a complete normal?

#1 - This is from a craigslist ad. IMO, anything from craigslist should be presumed to be not het for anything, come with free mites and perhaps a bonus tick or two.

#2 - Craigslist is great for furniture, toys, books, hookers, and not much else. I would never again get any living thing from anyone on craigslist.

#3 - Never "Rescue" an animal by paying for it. It's merely positive feedback to people willing to put animals in peril for money.

There's lots of people with 08 and 09 pastels and they're going fairly cost effective these days, I'd look at the fauna classifieds or hang out in chat sometime.

All my 08's live in shoeboxes (plastic ones) and they're perfectly fine, don't feel bad for the snake.

Oh, and that's a 100% het for normal.

Originally Posted by Uroboros

All my 08's live in shoeboxes (plastic ones) and they're perfectly fine, don't feel bad for the snake.

See, yours are in boxes that you have set up to house them. They aren't taped shut and carried around in your car, which is how things seem to be for this animal. The images they sent were hours apart, yet all in the car, so it doesn't seem likely that she has a proper setup.

I still feel bad for her, but I'm not going to purchase her.

If it is a female, and that is a big IF, $80 is not a bad deal. The snake looks well fed and scar free, but is definitly not a Pastel.

Maybe the owners are so dazzled by the combination of shocking pink shoe box next to orange leggings that the snake really does look pastel in comparison.

whats up with the orange legs?

Maybe they meant the GIRL in the pics was kind of pastelish?

Dave

Originally Posted by David Reid

Maybe they meant the GIRL in the pics was kind of pastelish?

Dave

Someone pointed out in chat they could be tights....

Yeah, like *I* would think of those, not to mention fluorescent ORANGE ones!!!!!

Originally Posted by Mooing Tricycle

whats up with the orange legs?

Thought it was just my eyesight--confirmation that it was going from bad to worse...

Originally Posted by David Reid

Maybe they meant the GIRL in the pics was kind of pastelish?

Dave

OK, THAT makes much more sense because the ball definitely isn't!

Haha, I didn't even pay attention to the color of her legs. I figured it was the lighting messing with the camera on their phone.

I do hate seeing snakes for sale, and the best image they have is from a camera phone. ::shudders::