Craigslist has become a poor man’s Kingsnake.com or Fauna Classifieds. I have yet to meet anyone who has reptiles who doesn’t check Craigslist daily to see what reptiles pop up. One of my friends has become a Green Tree Python breeder from Craigslist, which I will talk about later. Here is the trend I see on Craigslist: 1. People buy reptiles and then can’t handle what they purchased so try to get their money back or trade for something easier. Usually it stays on Craigslist long enough that they drop the price and someone gets a great deal. 2. The other group is people who try and become breeders and sell the babies on Craigslist. They can’t sell them so price drops and then they eventually try becoming gecko, bearded dragon, or ball pythons.
It is sad to see people treat reptiles like some VCR or games they want to move for something better act like real breeders on a localized forum and try to make a profit for an animal they should never have purchased in the beginning.
Now lets talk about people who get in over their heads. Owning a reptile is not like owning a hamster. Food and water is not all they need. Well not all of them. If you can’t keep a Crested Gecko you should never be allowed to own a pet period, not even a gold fish. Most reptiles require a lot of special care like temperature, humidity, caging and diet. Many people want the rarest and coolest looking pets or they grab something cheap without knowing what they got.
For those who didn’t do their research and just purchased a reptile, they should be ashamed. This why Florida has wild pythons and Iguanas everywhere. I love Iguanas and one of my favorite pets I have had was my Iguana named Corona I got from a rescue. People will buy reptiles not knowing what they are getting into and when they can;t handle the feeding or up keep they either release it, or turn to Craigslist to sell, trade or give away. If you can’t handle the reptile do not try and act like a big shot and sell it for an inflated price. Get the animal to a good home. Lets bring in my friend Charlie. He has a trio of of almost all the locales of Green Tree Python because of people buying them and finding out they are more difficult then they planned and they are not that happy with being held. They get bit and can’t hold their pet so they want to move it but they paid a lot of money for the snake and it’s enclosure so it goes on Craigslist. He makes offers and when they can’t move it they call him. He gets the snake he wants cheap and from those humble beginnings he now has 23 snakes he uses for breeding and one is a hybrid he keeps as his show off pet. He takes great care of them and every snake he has is friendly and very easy to handle. When I asked him about the people he purchased from he always laughs and in his breeders logs he has a note about the formers owners. 21 of his snakes came from people who purchased their Green Tree Python at a reptile fair or a reptile shop thinking it was cool but when they found out how much they didn’t like getting bit nor wanted to wait for it to get use to being handled they put up an ad on Craigslist. The other 2 he got were from a couple whom I have purchased from as well. They told both me and him how they wanted to become rich off breeding reptiles and that they quit their jobs to breed reptiles. Now before I met them they told me they were herpetologist yet when I asked where they went to college they were college drop outs. They got to far in debt and needed to move them so Chuck got his green trees and I got a very angry female blood who is name puppy dog tame. Before we met the couple I watched their ad on Craigslist for 2 months and the prices drop fast. I haggled with them via text that entire time.
Now lets turn to the so called “Breeders”. When I started breeding pythons I had only a few snakes so I used a site called Kingsnake.com. I paid to have my snakes posted and I got them sold fast. As my collection grew and I had more and more snakes hatching I started my own site, purchasing a booth at reptile fairs, and used third party sites to help me sell my snakes but each third party site was a reptile based sites. I matched or tried to go cheaper to what the market was and I still do that today. I go to places real reptile keeps look to for purchases and I make sure all my reptiles are healthy, have a guarantee, and I do not misrepresent who I am. Craigslist has allowed some people to believe they are big time reptile breeders. I see tons of ball pythons getting moved around from someone who wanted to breed them to someone who wants to start. I keep wondering, what about the poor snake? How many times has it been moved because it didn’t make the new owners money. Some people are getting great deals and helping these animals get into good homes but I see so many people who are only trying to make a buck.
There is a study going on in Florida I am tracking a micro-chipped ball python through how many hands he passes through. The people tracking him said as of the end of October 2013, he has had 5 owners. Every owner wanted to be a ball python breeder and 3 of them went flat broke trying to become a professional breeder. They buy the snake back and check health and the little guy is doing good. He is a 3 year old male Spider Ball python het for Pied. A few of his re-sales he somehow gained the albino gene and was sold 2 times as a Spider double het for albino and pied. Can’t trust anyone on Craigslist, or can you?
Craigslist isn’t all bad. There have been great bands that started in a garage and the garage sale site that is Craigslist can help people get their start. I have met a few people who started out with 2 crested geckos and through selling and trading off babies they have gained a great collection of different colors, patterns and more from Craigslist. My buddy Chuck started selling the few babies he had on Craigslist and now has a full site and travels to shows in the South East. I have heard a few other success stories and even met a guy who has made a killing off buying ball pythons off Craigslist. He is a large breeder and has over 400 snakes in his care, 2 employees who help him and more. So if you are serious, do your research, and actually take the animals’ well being first and just trying to sell a few baby reptiles I say Craigslist is great. You can reach many people and make a bit of cash or trade for something new. With the internet it is become a great world for those who love reptiles. Just today I read about the studies on Sailfin Dragons. Not anything I plan on working with but they are awesome looking lizards and I had a blast reading all the studies done on them in the wild and in captivity.
So buyer, seller and breeder beware what outlet you use for your sales and remember Craigslist can be a great source but can also be the worse place you have ever been. Please comment and let me know how you feel, tell me any deal you got from Craigslist, and share
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