Buying a BP from new seller. How to be safe?

akmorphs · October 15, 2019, 12:55am

I had to hunt down my original post, but I think a block of this could be very helpful for you!

I’ve given this a lot of thought in the past week or so, and I thought it might be some benefit to you. When I’m looking at a particular snake I like, I’ll save it to my wishlist (so I can come back to it if needed) and then immediately click on the breeds profile/store front - whatever you want to call it.

I’ll look first for the feedback. If they have more than 5 positive reviews within the last 3 months that’s a good sign you’re dealing with someone who knows what their doing. More than 5 positives and I’d have no issue purchasing a snake from them. Now when I see a breeder has 20+ reviews BUT has a 95% or lower reputation I’ll personally go look and see what the neutral/negative comments are.

I’ve come across a few snakes I really like, but the stores are brand new and have zero reputation. When that happens I’ll google the breeder. Sometimes it turns out they are new to morphmarket, but they’ve been in the business for years. If they have a Facebook page I’ll check out what others have reviewed about them. If I see the reviews are turned off or hidden on Facebook that’s my first red flag. However, if I still really like the snake I’ll reach out to the buyer and ask for a veterinarian reference from them. If they hesitate to give it to me, right off the bat, I walk away. It’s just like me asking a German Shepherd breeder for their vet reference and if they hesitate - then something is wrong. No one should be hesitant to give you their veterinarians reference. My mom is a Veterinarian and maybe once a month she’ll have someone call her for a reference on a breeder they plan on purchasing from.

I like to look at breeders social media as well. Do they have an active following? Do they post regularly? Are they posting different snakes, and not the same snake from just different angles. If it’s an active breeder you can tell from their content whether they are truly in the breeding business for profit OR because they have a passion for their animals and what they are doing.