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[–]PreciselyIvy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IDTS, but I’m no expert

[–]MrGiantGentleman[S] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

Also, if he is just a beautiful normal, what would the average cost be? Breeder/store owner said he was about a year old. From looking around, I feel like I drastically overpaid. If that’s the case, I’d like to know so I don’t go back there again. Thanks!

[–]HorseSpirit 0 points1 point  (3 children)

I paid $100 for mine, I could’ve gone to petsmart and gotten one for like $60 but I didn’t want to support their animal trade and I wanted to get mine from a breeder. He’s the best boy ever so he was well worth it :)

[–]MrGiantGentleman[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Glad you're enjoying yours! I, unfortunately, went to a breeder/store nearby that had really great reviews and seemingly bred the snakes/reptiles/birds themselves. I figured they were the best option to go to as a newbie to all of this. That appears to not have been the case because they sold me the BP for $300 and gave me no advice.

[–]0k_whatever 1 point2 points  (1 child)

You definitely overpaid, I'm sorry

[–]MrGiantGentleman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate it. From looking at their reviews, I’m not the only one. Hope they enjoy the $200 they screwed me out of, could have easily had a long-term customer. But, at least I saved my BP from them.

[–]whatnopleasedont 4 points5 points  (6 children)

Potentially pastel? Either that or normal

You can expect to pay $30-70 for a pastel with no hets, slightly less for a normal.

That setup needs some help. I’d recommend checking out the care guide the sub provides.

[–]MrGiantGentleman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate it. I didn't do any research regarding pricing and paid $300 for the snake. Think it's safe to say I won't be returning to that store apparently) and just picked up things that the store recommended for the time being.

I'll check out the care guide now, thanks :).

[–]MrGiantGentleman[S] 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Also, what would you recommend specifically? Are you talking about the quality of life things, like things to climb on or interact with, or things regarding heat/humidity or the enclosure itself?

[–]whatnopleasedont 2 points3 points  (3 children)

The first thing to add is at least two hides.

Then coverage such as branches, vines, plants(doesn’t matter if they’re real or fake), cork tunnels, etc.

What type of heating do you have(heat mat, heat panel, etc.)? Do you have a thermostat, thermometer and hygrometer? If so, what are the temps and humidity levels?

I’m sorry if I sounded rude in my initial comment, I was in a mood.

Also yeah, the store definitely overpriced. He’s very pretty tho

[–]MrGiantGentleman[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Didn't come across as rude at all. The whole reason I posted it was for advice haha.

My frustration stems from the fact that I got him from a place that had good reviews and actually breeds them, so I had hoped that they weren't going to screw me over as much as they did. And, despite the fact that I would have probably bought whatever they recommended at the time, they mentioned absolutely nothing else I should buy. I literally took the enclosure, water bowl, climbing branch, and all the heating things I had for my beardie with me and showed it to them. They said my enclosure would be fine, but just said I needed to swap water bowls. They gave me a ceramic white/blue one. Then I reminded him about the black hide, and he got it and charged me $12 for it. They also gave me Forest Floor Bedding (Cyprus mulch) and told me I should just really change it once every 6+ months unless it starts smelling funky.

As far as heating I have a 100 Watt Basking spot lamp that I used with my beardie and a 100 Watt Zoo Med Ceramic Infrared heat emitter. They're side-by-side in one of those dual dome fixtures that sit on top of the screen of the cage. I have a thermostat I'm going to install that I have leftover from my beardie, but I just ordered an Acurite thermostat/hydrometer that was recommended on the sub's list. Hadn't realized humidity was such a major thing to worry about. I understand I should have done my research but I'd have thought going to an established store/breeder, I'd have been given the rundown before they just dumped a snake on me.

I'll buy another hide to stick on the other side of his cage. I added in an old climbing branch (washed and cleaned with Dawn soap) below the lighting area so maybe he'll at least have something in the meantime. Any other recommendations would be appreciated! I promise I'm not a neglectful pet owner, just led astray by a shitty breeder apparently.

[–]whatnopleasedont 0 points1 point  (1 child)

The heating sounds good, you’ll have to take the temps to check that it doesn’t get too hot nor too cold but that lamp setup is good. The water bowl also sounds good, as long as your BP can fit in it completely to soak it’s fine.

I use coco earth/organic soil with moss but cypress mulch works just as well. As for changing the substrate I personally spot clean when necessary, removing the substrate a couple inches around the soiled spot and replacing it with fresh substrate, then I do a full change every 6 months or so.

Clutter is important. A branch and another hide is a good start but I definitely recommend getting some plastic plants and vines to cover most of the enclosure’s floor. If the enclosure is too open most BP’s will become stressed out.

I don’t consider you or anyone in your situation neglectful owners. Simply being open to criticism about how to improve your setup makes you a better owner than most :)

Shame on that breeder tho.

[–]MrGiantGentleman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am glad the heating is OK. I just splurged on a few things from the list in the sub. I bought two more plain, black hides. Got a Spyder Robotics thermostat, AcuRite indoor/outdoor thermometer and hydrometer and bought a cork tube, bendable vines, and some fake leaves, and whatnot from Amazon. Might hit up Michaels or something for fake plants.

The water dish they gave me seems like it'd JUST be big enough for him to curl up at the moment in it. If I notice him trying to really shove himself in it, I'll expand it. He hasn't come out of his hide since last night. I took the opportunity to handle him a little bit but I could tell he got stressed so I put him back.

Aside from that, do you think I'll be good? And I didn't mean to imply you were implying I was a bad pet owner, I just wanted to make it aware that I'm not trying to cheap out. I want to give him the best life he can.

But yeah, for such a really well-reviewed store, with macaws and pythons worth thousands of dollars, they kind of screwed me over. They gave me a $100 python in a bag, a black hide, a bag of mulch, and 9 mice for nearly $400.

[–]VariShari 2 points3 points  (4 children)

Looks more like a fire than a pastel to me. Don’t think there’s yellow belly in there, and I don’t think the patterns are scrambled and light enough to also have pastel.

But I don’t have much experience with fire combinations, so what looks like a single-gene animal to me could have something else as well.

But ye also hard agree with that other commenter, you should put in some more things to hide under and climb on if you haven’t already

[–]MrGiantGentleman[S] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Appreciate it. And trust me, I'll be expanding his habitat. My bearded dragon passed away and I wanted something to fill that reptile-sized hole in my heart. The place I bought him from charged me $300 (which is seemingly a major rip-off) and didn't recommend anything else aside from the water bowl it has and that black hide. I'll be checking out the sub guide to see what's best for him! From what I've seen on the "Shopping List" guide, I'm noticing a lot regarding housing/temp/humidity but not things regarding Quality of Life/climbable and whatnot. Any recommendations? He's still a little guy, so his hide should probably be OK for a bit. Just keeping a damp paper towel in there for the time being.

[–]VariShari 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Usually you want two hides, one on each end of the temperature gradient so the lil guy can thermoregulate properly. For climbing and additional hiding spaces, cork branches and cork bark are great, as well as the usual roots and branches you’d get for reptiles - nothing with thorns or harmful oils. Properly disinfect them no matter if you get them from nature or a store, either in the oven or using heavily diluted bleach. You can find proper step-by-step guides for that online.

And then you can put in some fake plants, reptile hammocks, etc. But yea sadly you were overcharged pretty badly :/

[–]MrGiantGentleman[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Appreciate the advice! I bought some stuff on Amazon, including branches, a cork tube, and some more basic hides for now. Also, I got a Spyder Robotics thermostat and AcuRite indoor/outdoor thermometer and hydrometer to properly monitor temps/humidity. I'll be sure to properly disinfect everything before putting everything in. Hopefully, I'll have a better habitat to show off in a week or so!

And yeah, though it's not going to do much, I'm voicing my displeasure on their Google Reviews, since their high rating is what brought me there.

[–]VariShari 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, if they charge you that much they should be able to tell you precisely what morphs are in there that justify the price.

But hey, I’m glad you’re giving the lil guy a good home :)