$500 normal RTB at Petland

[b3napoleon]

I almost myself when I saw this today. I went into Petland so my pit puppy could play with one of the huskies there. Out of curiosity I went over to the reptile section. They have a baby bci for $200 and what looks to be a 2 year old bci for $500. I feel bad for them because they aren't being kept in the best conditions and don't really look healthy, and nobody is going to pay such a ridiculous amount to get them out of the pet store. I could name a long list of morph boas and BPs that I've paid less than $500 for. I just had to vent because that is ridiculous.

[clsutt29]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

Thats pretty common for pet stores.

[Spo0led]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

Wow! Thats horrible. Not only the price but the conditions.

Luckily at the petland here in Springfield, 3 out of the 4 guys who work reptiles are very well educated. One is a breeder and has actually sold his own normal and het babies to the store to sell. He also said if I wanted a very high quality boa to check out The Boaphile or Clay English.

[Hunglikeafruitbat]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

Thats pretty common for pet stores.

Really? Thats interesting that there is such a huge difference in price from breeders to stores over there. Where I am things can jump up and down alot but that seems insanely high to me. I did see a sickly looking Albino that had to be the smallest baby I've ever seen for $500 though and right up the street I saw proven breeder normals for the same price (could smell their water dishes the minute you entered the store, gross) Those are the most ridiculous examples I've ever seen here.

[clsutt29]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

Some are not as bad as others but that is the norm. A big chain I know sells ball pythons for $80 each and buys them for $5 to $10 each. They sell normal BCI for $170 and pay about $25 or $30 for them. They have quite a mark up. The small shops around here are just as bad. There mark up is about 300%

[chaosboa]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

WHATTTTT????? That is nuts! Well I suppose that is probably why that one is 2 years old and not sold. I feel bad for them. Mayb some gullible guy will go in and get them and give them the life they deserve.

[jdataco]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

I myself hate pet stores like that, they give all of us a bad name. I happen to own and operate a small pet store and our animals are taken extremely good care of.

[dangles]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

ah yes... my wife and i fell for the LPS scam when we bought our first columbian. $200! we didn't have a clue at the time, but that place banked BIG TIME off us. don't get me wrong, she's a gorgeous normal (some might call her a pastel), but 200 is still OUTRAGEOUS.

those kind of places prey on the ignorant (i can say that because i was there at one point... ).

the petland near us is actually a decent place. their reptile/fish people know their stuff and take pretty decent care of their "stock," but it's definitely a place-by-place thing. some are good, others suck. the place we got our columbian from sucked. mites, bad sheds, empty/dirty waterbowls, etc. we're EXTREMELY lucky ours turned out w/o problems (probably because we had them special-order her and we picked her up soon after - she wasn't there long!)

and don't fall into the "rescue" mind-set. you may rescue that one, but you're still paying BIG time for it, and they are still making HUGE profit off of you, which allows them to by more for incredibly cheap and continue the practice.

*edit* the $500 animal was most likely a return. it probably got "unhandleable" by the original owners and they sent it back.

[pookiebuttons]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

Yeah it's obnoxious. They do the same with exotic birds and then no one buys them.

[snakefreak89]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

that is so dumb. who could possibly think a norm is worth $500. it just goes to show you how little some of these pet shops know about there animals.

[MLynch]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

WOW! I've never seen a 2 yr old Normal BCI go for $500.00! There's a decent pet shop (privately owned) about 20 minutes from me. They guy who runs the shop is pretty knowledgable about his herps. I've seen him sell baby BCIs for $99.00 (which is still high, IMO, but manageable as far as pet store pricing goes). I've seen him also sell 2 year old BCIs for $200.00.

But $500.00 is outrageous!

[THESURFER]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

Wow, That is crazy. I went to a local pet shop and they had a male pastel BP for $400. I asked the guy who priced him and he said the manager put it that high b/c he wanted to breed him. I guess so no one would buy him. I really doubt that's the case for the one you saw, especially if it's only 2yrs old.

[BigPaPaErnest]

Re: $500 normal RTB at Petland

ah yes... my wife and i fell for the LPS scam when we bought our first columbian. $200! we didn't have a clue at the time, but that place banked BIG TIME off us. don't get me wrong, she's a gorgeous normal (some might call her a pastel), but 200 is still OUTRAGEOUS.

those kind of places prey on the ignorant (i can say that because i was there at one point... ).

i am in the same boat as dangles...i paid $145 for my "Normal" when i bought Noodles. I did a lot of readin on here on "Care" for the boa..but NOT on Classifieds and would of saved a TON of money by switching to...oops sorry wrong commercial...BUT i did pay that much for my first.

that is so dumb. who could possibly think a norm is worth $500. it just goes to show you how little some of these pet shops know about there animals.

and to answer your question snakefreak...a person who has money to blow...and doesn't know better from a normal to a high dollar boa and just wants to be a Tony Montana and own a snake...WILL pay $500 for it and probably take WORSE care of it than the stupid pet stores! JMO...lol