Let's Chat - Spilotes Pullatus

[eminart]

I know at least a couple of you (Dave and Roman) have tiger rat snakes. They've been at the top of my wish list for a while now. I'm thinking this may be the year I do it.

The vast, vast majority of these snakes are imports. I do know that blackpearl recently bred a pair of mexicanus but, I spoke with him and, if they get babies, the price is going to just be too much for me to realistically consider. The Mexican subspecies is really beautiful, but I'm not sure that I don't prefer the other subspecies with more black.

Anyway, I guess I'm wondering if you guys have imports and how many issues you had related to that healthwise? My ultimate goal is to get a pair and help get more CBB babies into the US hobby. They seem like such fantastic snakes for those of us who are into the less common colubrids.

Do you guys have any recommended sources? Or people I should NOT buy from? I see imports occasionally on kingsnake and fauna. I know DM Exotics was breeding them at one point too. I'm just hoping to find reasonably healthy snakes.