tyflier
[Insert Witty Commentary]
That's what I thought - but I kind of think a "high white RO" ought to be called a "candycane" XD When I think okee I think orange background, even more so than thick saddles
... I guess "thick bordered candycane" doesn't have the same ring as "high white RO" though.
I'd have to agree. Judging from the pictures, I would call a "High White RO" a "wierd candycane"...
Yea...I see a difference. The last two are ROs...NICE ROs. The first two are wierd looking candycanes, IMHO.
When I picture a Reverse Okeetee in my head, I see a snake with bright orange ground color, thick white borders, and clean bright red saddles...not a dirty white ground color with a clean white border. That's just my opinion, and the reason I made my statements. Since RO and Candycane are both selectively bred variations of simple amel, it's really a matter of opinion as to what constitutes an RO. IMO, the "high white" RO pictured doesn't fit the bill. I'm not saying Don is wrong...he's welcome to refer to his animals in whatever manner he sees fit. I simply wouldn't buy one at all, let alone pay extra for the "high white" classification...I'd rather pay for a nice candycane. But then again...I also wouldn't pay extra for a "low black" Okeetee...I'd buy a nice normal. But that's just me, and not really the topic of the conversation.
Back on topic...I think a lot of people tend to forget to calculate shipping costs when discussing the cost of various snakes. Sure...you can go to a breeder's house, pick out a nice RO, and bring it home for $50 or so. But if that animal needs to be shipped, and the breeder isn't close enough to view and hold the animal before purchasing...you're paying $100 or more for that snake. At least at a pet shop, you can play with the animal, get a feel for it's temperment and health, and there are no add-on fees like shipping that can double the price of the animal. It's not cost-effective for a small snake hobbyist making a single purchase of a very readily available animal.
With that said...it's different if you are buying a trio of animals with very specific homo or het traits. Here, the cost of the animals is typically higher than that of the shipping, and you probably won't find exactly what you need at a pet shop, so you pay one shipping price for all three snakes to be shipped in the same box. It's more cost-effective.
When all is said and done...I don't think $149 for an adult RO that looks as good as the original one pictured is a bad price at all. You'd pay at least $100 for an adult snake like that from a breeder, anyhow, and you'd need to factor the shipping. So no...the OP did not get robbed...they bought a snake that they wanted for a price they were willing to pay from a source they were comfortable with.
Best of Luck!!
