Proof of CB

[Aimo]

Can anybody tell me do reptile shops need to keep accurate records of what they buy & sell in respect of CB, WF & WC, whether its a snake or lizard it always seams that a shop is quick to confirm its CB as, not wishing to be cynical, but if you ask this question its probably bwecause you want/would prer it to be CB, I'm not saying everybody tells porkies but . . . .

So do they need to keep accurate paperwork & if so how do they tie this up when buying of individuls rather than the big breeders/importers.

Can I ask to see written proof etc

[essexchondro]

Can anybody tell me do reptile shops need to keep accurate records of what they buy & sell in respect of CB, WF & WC, whether its a snake or lizard it always seams that a shop is quick to confirm its CB as, not wishing to be cynical, but if you ask this question its probably bwecause you want/would prer it to be CB, I'm not saying everybody tells porkies but . . . .

So do they need to keep accurate paperwork & if so how do they tie this up when buying of individuls rather than the big breeders/importers.

Can I ask to see written proof etc

You could ask to see some form of written proof, I suppose...but what assurances would you get from that if the person providing that proof isn't honest (and you're surely assuming they're dishonest by asking for the proof in the first place)?

The best example to highlight my point that I can think of relates to green tree pythons. Now, legally every gtp that comes out of an Indonesian breeding farm to go into the pet trade is supposed to be 2nd generation captive (farm) bred. But does that mean that every gtp that comes out of Indo is 2nd generation captive farm bred?!?! Of course it doesn't, but it does mean that every one of them has documentation that states that it is a 2nd generation farm bred animal.

The other little marketing "trick" used by pet shops is to advertise these animals simply as "captive bred". Now technically - assuming the best case scenario where the animal is actually farm bred as opposed to wild caught - it is a captive bred animal because it was bred on the farm...but even then is it right to label these captive farm bred imports simply as "captive bred" so that they are indistinguishable from gtp's bred by UK breeders etc?

[GRS]

I would stick to the rule,if you can not be sure it is 100% cb DON'T!!!!!Even if that means not having the snake species you would like.

[ern79]

a lot of things you can pretty much tell by looking if theyre c.b. Speaking from experience though, while an availablity list may state c.b, w.c etc, chances are it wont on the invoice and this is the only thing a retailer is interested in keeping, once used, lsits tend to go in the bin!

[gregmonsta]

I've been to some shops that appear to be labelling everything correctly .... and others which are useless and a friend of mine bought a snake (labelled as CB on the website, also with an internet stolen picture that depicted the wrong species, and named in the shop as CB) and I knew it was WC as soon as I saw it ... I guess unless it's from a reputable shop where the labelling can be trusted or you go to a shop that will only sell CB then you need to know your snakes and the tells and always check the snake over thuroughly prior to purchase.