Be Careful Who You Buy Reptiles From Online
September 3rd 2009 18:32
I have been in the reptile market for several years now, and I have only ever had two problems. The first problem was a breeder who quickly corrected the situation, and I would be willing to purchase from again. The second problem was from a very unprofessional reptile breeder of crested geckos, that I will never purchase from again.
In the first instance, the breeder shipped to Georgia in 90 temperatures without a cold pack, and the gecko fried during shipment. My money was reimbursed promptly and severe apologies were sent. I was very appreciative, and will definitely consider buying from this guy again.
The second breeder, Gecko Glory, sent me a wonderful lot of 10 crested geckos about 4-6 months old give or take. I was floored at the purchase, so I bought another lot, to which I paid a little more and received 12 geckos. All 12 geckos were no more than 2.0 grams each, most averaging closer to 1.5 grams. They were all packed in one mini sized kritter keeper. There was already major improper shipping this this second order, not to mention the geckos being WAY too small to have been shipped.
Well, one of the geckos had injured back legs and he could not walk. Several of the other geckos were very lethargic. I emailed him to let him know, and all he said was give it a few days, check for stuck shed on the one gecko. There was no stuck shed. I waited a few days, re-emailed to say that some geckos were doing better, but not all and that the one still could not walk, and I received no response.
A week after that when they started to die, I was informed that my story was fishy and I had to pay shipping for any replacements because I could only prove one death and one disabled gecko, which was true. I did not take pictures of the others, and by the time he finally emailed be back it was too late.
I was told he would replace 3 of the 5, which was fine, but I had to pay shipping because I couldn't prove all of the deaths. I was able to prove one and prove the one still could not walk. I thought it only fair if we split shipping, he quickly informed me that I have mistaken his generosity for weakness and that my story was fishy.
Due to the un-pofessionalism of the transaction, I bid that you be very careful of who you purchase from, and that if at all possible you avoid this breeder, as he does not know how to properly ship geckos, and will be quick to blame you for any faults even if he was notified from day one.
If this had been a month down the line, I would have left it be, or if the geckos had arrived 100% fine and healthy, and just started dying, things would have been left alone. I informed the breeder of the issues from day one and along the way for a week and a half, and because there is no health guarantee it's all up to you.
Also, the 24 email response is definitely not true, as for some emails, I have waited nearly two days, and others have not gotten any response.
In the first instance, the breeder shipped to Georgia in 90 temperatures without a cold pack, and the gecko fried during shipment. My money was reimbursed promptly and severe apologies were sent. I was very appreciative, and will definitely consider buying from this guy again.
The second breeder, Gecko Glory, sent me a wonderful lot of 10 crested geckos about 4-6 months old give or take. I was floored at the purchase, so I bought another lot, to which I paid a little more and received 12 geckos. All 12 geckos were no more than 2.0 grams each, most averaging closer to 1.5 grams. They were all packed in one mini sized kritter keeper. There was already major improper shipping this this second order, not to mention the geckos being WAY too small to have been shipped.
Well, one of the geckos had injured back legs and he could not walk. Several of the other geckos were very lethargic. I emailed him to let him know, and all he said was give it a few days, check for stuck shed on the one gecko. There was no stuck shed. I waited a few days, re-emailed to say that some geckos were doing better, but not all and that the one still could not walk, and I received no response.
A week after that when they started to die, I was informed that my story was fishy and I had to pay shipping for any replacements because I could only prove one death and one disabled gecko, which was true. I did not take pictures of the others, and by the time he finally emailed be back it was too late.
Crested Gecko Hatchling reared at goReptiles
I was told he would replace 3 of the 5, which was fine, but I had to pay shipping because I couldn't prove all of the deaths. I was able to prove one and prove the one still could not walk. I thought it only fair if we split shipping, he quickly informed me that I have mistaken his generosity for weakness and that my story was fishy.
Due to the un-pofessionalism of the transaction, I bid that you be very careful of who you purchase from, and that if at all possible you avoid this breeder, as he does not know how to properly ship geckos, and will be quick to blame you for any faults even if he was notified from day one.
If this had been a month down the line, I would have left it be, or if the geckos had arrived 100% fine and healthy, and just started dying, things would have been left alone. I informed the breeder of the issues from day one and along the way for a week and a half, and because there is no health guarantee it's all up to you.
Also, the 24 email response is definitely not true, as for some emails, I have waited nearly two days, and others have not gotten any response.
Video of the disabled gecko:
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Comment by Gecko Glory Truth
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Comment by Whitney
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I've even seen my video posted by another user, which is what made me post about the situation on the board.
I wouldn't recommend them, and I'm pretty lenient on sellers that I buy from. All I know is they won't get my business ever again, and I'll try to turn as many people away from them as I can. Hate to be like that, but if you can't ship properly, then you shouldn't be shipping.
If you can't follow through, then you shouldn't be selling.
The animals shouldn't suffer because of the people.
Comment by Gecko Glory Truth
John Nessinger and Jackie had the thread removed from fauna classifieds.. They are now attacking me from a previous thread... "Has anyone heard of Ariel Cudia?" I have made mistakes and learned from them.. But to tell lies to get the focus away from them, I am not surprised at all...
Ariel Cudia
847.924.2130
Comment by Whitney
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