by kivr & fireflii » Wed Jan 17, 2018 12:15 pm
Nothing wrong with big name breeders. You can still get a quality animal from a big name breeder/site with good packaging and detailed records. That has nothing to do with being a popular/well known/big name breeder. Just the same, you can find small hobby breeders that aren't very knowledgeable about a high quality vs poor quality, aren't as experienced with what packaging works best, don't keep good records, etc. While there are a few big name breeders that are known to be bad, I would say more people get scammed by or have bad experiences with the small, hobby "breeders."
I think it all really comes down to doing your research and knowing what you want out of your snake (ex. a pet? a future breeder?). No matter if you go big breeder or small hobby, just do your research. Look up reviews on them. See if anyone had extra good/bad experience about them. These are some feedback places I like to check when I don't recognize a breeder's name:
- Board of Inquiry at faunaclassifieds (requires account, but highly recommended)
- "FBI - Feedback and Inquiries for Reptiles" group on Facebook
- "good guy/bad guy exotic reviews" group on Facebook
- "herpetoculture feedback and inquiry" group on Facebook
- the reviews on a breeder's facebook business page
- ask around on facebook groups/forums dedicated or geared toward the snake species of your interest
But there can be good big name breeders (ex. for ball pythons, J. Kobylka) and bad big name breeders (ex. BHB... for real, stay away from him), and there can be good small hobby breeders and many, many bad ones. Research is key.
-fireflii
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