cool
I think one can really want something and still balk at the price
but if you're still considering it, it sounds like the financial part more a stretch than a hardship
for purely selfish reasons of course, I'd like to encourage you
it is an amazing looking snake
and I imagine that Scott will give you a break of some sort when you take a pair
and after rereading your post I realize that at the end you ask "...is it worth $500 to have a rare and beautiful garter????"
maybe not one - but two? sure, why not