Atlanta Reptile Connection - Inquiry

Ready to go Breeding Group
Atlanta / Nationwide
Posted by Atlanta Reptile Connection (Contact Me!) on May 02, 2003 at 11:07:40

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2.8 adults (1 male is an amel) Four of the females are "supposed" to be het for amel, but I can't be sure, so they are priced like normals. 14 eggs so far this season (4 have hatched). Call for details. Pics available to serious inquiries!!

Here's what you get-
1.0 Amel
1.0 Hi yellow
0.8 Normal
0.0.4 het for amel
$500 + shipping ($35 per lizard)Make your money back this year.
Local sales can have the ten eggs in the incubator as well.

Trades considered for Balls (no males), Bloods, Carpets or Beardeds only. Calls preffered. 404-247-3544

http://www.atlantareptileconnection.com

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Now this is an interesting ad- ready to go breeders, that are already laying (kind of takes the fun out of buying ready to go breeders if they've already laid eggs and now are being shipped? nice amount of stress on the animals don't you think?)

The price is reasonable, probably on the high side for a package deal.

But you have to factor in that they have already been bred and already 4 have hatched. So they first started laying 2 months ago or so. Not all of the females have laid presumably which means some are probably underweight and/or too young to lay just yet.

Now also here's the thing that gets me, although it is probably an honest mistake from an inexperienced shipper. 35 PER ANIMAL SHIPPING. As opposed to a single box charge. I haven't contacted him because i'm not actually interested in the animals, but if he insists on that fee then it would change the dynamic of the entire sale from a risky one to a foolish one.

Steven,

The $35 per animal is what the animals cost. That is not the shipping cost. he is charging $500 for the animals, there are a total of 14 of them divide 500 by 14 you will get $35.17ea. I am pretty sure that is what he was trying to say in the ad.

I have never heard of this company. I lived in Atlanta for 2 years, and grew up not far from there. When I lived there, I searched for everything 'reptile' looking for reasonably priced feeders. In otherwords, if it's legit, it's a new company, or they didn't advertise at all then

Rob Hill may have a bit more input, he still lives there I know....

They aren't so new, as afar as I know. I remember seeing advertisements of theirs over a year ago. They don't advertise much. I believe they focus more on education than breeding for profit.

I am confused

Steven:

Have you spoken to these peole or are you just posting this here to break down their add on KS? If you have not spoken to them then I do not know why you are putting them down. I like Rob understood that they meant $35 per gecko not $35 for shipping.

I do not know these people and am also in Atlanta but what does that have to do with anything. I really feel strongly that this is unfair to these people or their company. They are not showing poor animals and are upfront with the breeding issue so why can't people draw their own conclusions and decide from that?

My point is, so I do not ramble, I would hate to not type an add to someone's satisfaction and they come on here and put me down without even speaking to me first. I have written things in a hurry that I later read and realized it could be viewed differently than I had initially meant for it to. This just does not seem fair.
Just my thoughts,
Bruce Davis
www.geckosbydesign.com

Atlanta Reptile Connection is not all that new. It is run by Ben Team, who I believe used to work at the ill-fated Jungle Pets at one time and I also think he did some work for the now closed House of Reptiles(not saying that the closure of those stores was his fault), though I'm not totally sure on that. He focuses more on reptile education to my knowledge, but he does produce and sell a few things here and there. I haven't done business with Ben, I've just met and seen him at a couple of local herp events, so I can't vouch for his business ethics and animal quality one way or the other.

As far as why this thread is even here, I'm not so sure. If you did not contact Ben/ARC to inquire about the animals for sale, or if you were not interested in them, why did you even bother posting? And not only that, the only thing you were posting about was his pricing and the wording of his ad? You are calling them fishy and insinuating that they may be unethical without any basis on anything. I am not exactly Ben's best buddy or anything, but unless you've got a valid inquiry about doing business or a complaint, I see no reason to be posting here to put the man's business down.

I have been doing educational programs throughout Atlanta and Georgia for years. I have not heard of them or met them. But that doesn't mean anything. I focus on native GA venomous and nonvenomous species and they tend to teach with more "Pet Shop" type animals. Maybe we just have not been in the same venues because of the different specialties. Site seems pretty up front though. May have to meet them and see what they are all about.

As far as the ad, I see no reason to post it here. Not to mention the fact that I found it perfectly clear.

Yeah you're right... I was surfing without my glasses on and I think the eye strain went to my head! lol

I realize the BOI can make or break a person, but to me I frequently use it at this point to discuss issues just matter of factly with people in the hobby that I trust and value the opinions of.


I may not have expressed myself right before as I was rushed to post. And clearly I misunderstood the ad in the first place.


My main beef is the ethics of selling animals advertised as being able to breed this year and make your money back when the case is that the seller has already bred some or all of them this year.

I should have kept this anonymous and brought it up in a different forum, and for that I apologize.

If the dragons have dropped a clutch this year, they can still drop several more before they stop ovulation. One of my females dropped seven clutches last year. Most females will drop four or more a year when bred.

But is it ethical to ship a gravid female? I wouldn't want to stress out any herp like that, even a hardy leopard gecko as is this case.

Personally I would never ship a gravid female and I would also never ship a hatchling under a month of age.

I suppose they could have changed her light cycles to get her to stop egging, but you have a point about the hatchlings.

Ben Team

I have done business with Ben Team and have been very happy with the critters we bought from him. We didn't have a 100% trouble free experience, but Ben went above and beyond to make it right. Let's face it, things happen that are beyond the breeder's control when dealing with live animals, and what matters is how a breeder handles a situation. We bought a partial clutch of unstarted high yellow carpets from Ben. Several of them wouldn't eat after a month of trying, and he was having the same problem with the rest of the clutch that he had kept. He took the non-feeders back and sent us replacement clutchmates that were feeding reliably. Not many breeders would have done the same and I have a lot of respect for the guy as a result. We've bought several other critters from him since and they have all been of excellent quality.

I too have dealt with Ben Team and have been happy w/ my purchases. We've stayed in touch, as I purchased one of his holdback JCP's in '05. Here's the kicker...I once sent him some pics to show him how the snake was coloring up and he was a little disappointed in it (didn't color up quite as brightly as he expected, but still beautiful). Although I am happy with the snake, he let me know that because of what I paid, if I ever felt dissatisfied, to let him know and he'd work something out on a future animal.

Anyone who's worked w/ carpets knows that you can't always tell how they're going to look after a few years. For him to even suggest this makes me want to deal with him again. I don't know if the Atlanta Reptile Connection is even him at this point, but if it is, the animals would be of greatest importance judging by my experience w/ him (shipping, packing, stress, etc.).

This thread is 5 years old...

Yup....just noticed after my last post....a moot point now, huh? LOL

lol...5 year old thread.
I saw this 2 years ago for the first time, and didn't see any reason to respond, but now that it has resurfaced again...

1) Thanks Mike and Ross for the kind words. Glad you guys are happy with your critters.
2) I don't even know why this thread was started? The original poster doesn't even appear to have been interested in the animals...but a phone call/email could have resolved any concerns over the animals' well being.
3) I work full time with a non-profit nature center now, and so I don't provide much live animal programming commercially any more. I am no longer DBA Atlanta Reptile Connection, and I now operate New Paradigm Herpetoculture. My phone number is 404-438-2135, and my email is chondro776ATyahooDOTcom. If anyone has any concerns, I am a mouse click away....
4) I am a frequent participant on a number of reptile related forums (posting under my name) and have a long list of references for anyone interested in my ethics, philosophies, etc.

Thanks to the original poster for making a thread out of nothing.

Ben