Reasonable price for Cali King?

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missmary

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 27, 2008
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Boone, NC
I'm thinking about getting into reptiles and am thinking about getting a California king snake as my starter snake. About how much would you consider a reasonable price for a juvie?

I've already checked one out at a very reputable pet shop (they only buy from reputable breeders, their animals are all very healthy, tame, and eat only frozen mice... heck, they even cover your reptile's first visit to the vet when you get one from them) and they're asking $100 for an approx. 18-20" juvie. Do you think this is a fair price?
 
Oh, and I forgot to add...

I purchased one of those snake habitat kits by All Things Living and it came with an under tank heater that indicates it's for "tanks up to 20 gallons". It's significantly smaller than the bottom of the 29 gallon aquarium (same footprint as a 20g long) that I'm keeping the snake in. I've read that the under tank heater should cover 1/3 to 1/2 of the underside of the aquarium, but I just wanted double check that with some of the more experienced herp owners on here.
 
For a juvi the smaller heater would be OK, but you might want to get a bigger one as the snake grows. I used the large Cobra mat with my king in a 20 long and it was perfect.

$100 seems a little on the high side to me, but not outrageously high. If you like the look of the snake I'd go ahead and get it. If you want a baby you'd pay much less, and baby Cal kings are pretty easy to raise...but for a snake with a bit of size on it that's not bad.
 
100 dollars is a rip-off, assuming this is the normal black and white banded variety. At a reptile show, you could probably find one for 30 or 40 dollars; 100 should get you some fancy color morph.

However, you did mention it's first vet visit is covered. In that case, it probably is a good deal.
 
Typical high pet shop price. Go to a local reptile show or find a near by Reptile Society. That way you can find a perfect specimen at a better price and great support from the person that produced it!
 
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