Jesse Van Atta
ForeverBoas
These are the facts about our dealings with Joseph Hernandez. My wife, Angelia, and I bought a 1.1 pair of captive born 2002 anerythristic boas from him with a written guarantee that they would arrive to us alive and healthy. Although the info he provided us with about their history was quite sketchy and almost non-exisent, we bought them anyway. The male was obviously not healthy, and soon died from still uncertain causes.
He and his sister arrived cold(very cold) on Friday, twelve days before he died. They were warmed, and inspected a bit, and put into their new cages(Temps 82-84 room temp, 91-92 degree hot spot). We figured that he was in the latter stages of a shed..... He skin was kinda saggy, he was kinda lethargic, and his sis had just shed prior to being shipped. They were fed on the second day we had them. He took his rat, but not immediately, and once he got it he just did not seem to know exactly what to do with it(could not manipulate his body to help him get the rat down, but appeared to be desperately trying). He did finally eat it though. Once again we figured it was the shed thing. He went poo in his bowl four days later, so we were never able to get a fecal on him, but, her sample came up clean. Very soon after this his tongue stopped flicking right(moving VERY slowly and not much) and he began to rest with his head propped up, and became MUCH more lethargic. So we raised his low end Temp to 86-88 degrees, and anxiously awaited Monday when we could take him to the vet. By the time we made it to there on 4/15 he wasn't flicking his tongue at all, and would only move when rubbed. Our vet's guess was that the little guy was a "runt" for lack of a better word... probably passed over several times in his short life when feeding time came around. He gave him a tiny tiny shot of antibiotic, and sent three more home to be given orally(each dose a liitle more than a tiny drop out of the end of a needle). And he said that the guy desperately needed a meal. So we took him home and attempted to feed him a mouse pinkie. Angelia finally got him to take it amazingly by rubbing his cheek with it the way a mother gets a reluctant child to feed. But it just layed there with it for hours, and finally just put it down. The next day we put him in a completely new, different cage with heat from above, which he seemed to respond to better. He found his hide sometime early that morning, crawled in and died.
Joseph first opted to replace him with another anery he was "supposed" to be receiving on the day I told him of the male's demise. After about a week of ZERO contact from him I called to see what was up. He said that he did not get the anery he was supposed to, and that it took him a bit of effort to find one, also costing him much more than expected.
This is where things went from BAD to WORSE! He told me I would have to absorb some of the cost for this replacement Anery to the sum of $100. After recovering from this I let him know that the only way I would be agreeable was if he answered a very long list of questions regarding the history of the snake, original breeder, health, and also got a clean bill from a vet for proof. I requested this info several times with ZERO replies to my emails, until they became VERY insistent.
All I got was B.S. and a bunch of excuse.... virtually NO answers. I finally told him that he was a cheat and a liar and to keep his snake and that we would keep our self respect, to which he replied that he would reconsider charging us the $100, and that he would send it to us if we just covered the cost of shipping(still no REAL answers to my questions). Thoroughly disgusted, I never replied. Here are some of the emails:
"Hello Jesse, I know that I promised you all the information by last sunday, and I did not comply. As I told you I had a very big problem with a virus on my computer. As a matter of fact I had three viruses. The person that was
supposed to come over last weekend did not. I had to hire someone from the next town over which is about one hour away. The problem was finally resolved on Wednesday May 22. In case I did not tell you I own a couple of
pizzeria's in this area and I have been extremely busy with this being the last week of school and little league. I know that sound like a bunch of crap, but it is the truth. I really do not appreciate you calling me a liar and a cheat because that I am not. I am not in the reptile business for the
money. I have two very profitable businesses for that. I am very sorry that I was not able to send you that email. I have been burned myself by a reputable breeder that advertises on kingsnake and believe me I would not do that to anyone. I do have your animal here and he is doing great. I can tell you that this animal was born at the end of February he has been eating rat pinkies one a week for the past four weeks and has not regurged. He is approximately 21" long but I do not know how much he weighs. He is not as girthy as the female that I sent you. But he is a very aggressive feeder. I have not sent for a fecal sample yet but I plan to do so this week. As for
my source he is no longer in the trade. He has screwed over a few people including myself. All I can tell you is that this animal is healthy and thriving. If you give me one more opportunity I will prove to you that I am not the person that you have described in your earlier email. I have been
thinking over the past week about the hundred dollars for the replacement and I have come to the conclusion that you should not have to pay that much. If you would just accept the shipping charges I will call it even and take the loss. I would rather lose a couple of hundred dollars than lose a
customer and my reputation. I am truly sorry that all this has happened. Let me know If you are still interested.
Sincerely,
Joseph Hernandez
----- Original Message -----
From: Angelia Van Atta <[email protected]>
To: Joseph Hernandez <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 10:20 PM
Subject: Re: '02 Anery pair
Joseph...
I have become dissatisfied with your lack of contact. I have sent this Email to you twice... This makes three times, and will be my last good faith attempt to get some info on the anery you have for us:
Hello again Joseph,
Thank you for sending the pics. He looks VERY nice... Is he a sibling to the other anerys? He looks very similar. If not,Do you know how old he is? Length? weight? We are glad that you are going to get a number of meals in him before you send him to us. What did you feed him, I can't remember what
you said you fed your neonates? Have you managed to take a fecal sample to the vet yet? I hope you understand our concern. We would also really like to know what type of breeding he came from, and preferably WHO the breeder
was.(A phone # would be real nice.) We definately want him, but to have our questions answered would REALLY give a little more peace of mind, considering the circumstances. Thank you....
Jesse & Angelia
Right now we are only guessing why you will not reply to our emails...We will see.... But one thing is for certain. No info no money... You told me I was your first customer... Now I am telling you that businesses large and small are usually made or broken with the choices taken very early on. What you are doing is bad business.
...I am your PAYING customer, I purchased two snakes and one died(because it was sick and like that when it arrived here). First you said you would replace it, and then decided to make me pay for the replacement also, or at
least a portion thereof, and I will do this, if you provide me with the things I ask:
1... Age/ Date of birth
2... An accurate description of its health(every detail)
3... size/weight(grams)
4... Feeding regimen
5... Provide proof of a clean vet checked fecal sample
6... (MOST IMPORTANT) your source & his/her phone number
If this is all too much to ask at least let me know, keep your anery to try to sell it to someone else. I am better off without the headache.
Think on it if you need to. Let me know.
Sincerely,
Jesse Van Atta"
He is trying to sell snakes right now on Kingsnake Classifieds.
Please, I strongly urge everyone not to have ANY dealings with him unless you want to go through what we did....
Thanks for taking the time to read this post.... and for the people who know how....... PLEASE....... Get him!
Jesse Van Atta
He and his sister arrived cold(very cold) on Friday, twelve days before he died. They were warmed, and inspected a bit, and put into their new cages(Temps 82-84 room temp, 91-92 degree hot spot). We figured that he was in the latter stages of a shed..... He skin was kinda saggy, he was kinda lethargic, and his sis had just shed prior to being shipped. They were fed on the second day we had them. He took his rat, but not immediately, and once he got it he just did not seem to know exactly what to do with it(could not manipulate his body to help him get the rat down, but appeared to be desperately trying). He did finally eat it though. Once again we figured it was the shed thing. He went poo in his bowl four days later, so we were never able to get a fecal on him, but, her sample came up clean. Very soon after this his tongue stopped flicking right(moving VERY slowly and not much) and he began to rest with his head propped up, and became MUCH more lethargic. So we raised his low end Temp to 86-88 degrees, and anxiously awaited Monday when we could take him to the vet. By the time we made it to there on 4/15 he wasn't flicking his tongue at all, and would only move when rubbed. Our vet's guess was that the little guy was a "runt" for lack of a better word... probably passed over several times in his short life when feeding time came around. He gave him a tiny tiny shot of antibiotic, and sent three more home to be given orally(each dose a liitle more than a tiny drop out of the end of a needle). And he said that the guy desperately needed a meal. So we took him home and attempted to feed him a mouse pinkie. Angelia finally got him to take it amazingly by rubbing his cheek with it the way a mother gets a reluctant child to feed. But it just layed there with it for hours, and finally just put it down. The next day we put him in a completely new, different cage with heat from above, which he seemed to respond to better. He found his hide sometime early that morning, crawled in and died.
Joseph first opted to replace him with another anery he was "supposed" to be receiving on the day I told him of the male's demise. After about a week of ZERO contact from him I called to see what was up. He said that he did not get the anery he was supposed to, and that it took him a bit of effort to find one, also costing him much more than expected.
This is where things went from BAD to WORSE! He told me I would have to absorb some of the cost for this replacement Anery to the sum of $100. After recovering from this I let him know that the only way I would be agreeable was if he answered a very long list of questions regarding the history of the snake, original breeder, health, and also got a clean bill from a vet for proof. I requested this info several times with ZERO replies to my emails, until they became VERY insistent.
All I got was B.S. and a bunch of excuse.... virtually NO answers. I finally told him that he was a cheat and a liar and to keep his snake and that we would keep our self respect, to which he replied that he would reconsider charging us the $100, and that he would send it to us if we just covered the cost of shipping(still no REAL answers to my questions). Thoroughly disgusted, I never replied. Here are some of the emails:
"Hello Jesse, I know that I promised you all the information by last sunday, and I did not comply. As I told you I had a very big problem with a virus on my computer. As a matter of fact I had three viruses. The person that was
supposed to come over last weekend did not. I had to hire someone from the next town over which is about one hour away. The problem was finally resolved on Wednesday May 22. In case I did not tell you I own a couple of
pizzeria's in this area and I have been extremely busy with this being the last week of school and little league. I know that sound like a bunch of crap, but it is the truth. I really do not appreciate you calling me a liar and a cheat because that I am not. I am not in the reptile business for the
money. I have two very profitable businesses for that. I am very sorry that I was not able to send you that email. I have been burned myself by a reputable breeder that advertises on kingsnake and believe me I would not do that to anyone. I do have your animal here and he is doing great. I can tell you that this animal was born at the end of February he has been eating rat pinkies one a week for the past four weeks and has not regurged. He is approximately 21" long but I do not know how much he weighs. He is not as girthy as the female that I sent you. But he is a very aggressive feeder. I have not sent for a fecal sample yet but I plan to do so this week. As for
my source he is no longer in the trade. He has screwed over a few people including myself. All I can tell you is that this animal is healthy and thriving. If you give me one more opportunity I will prove to you that I am not the person that you have described in your earlier email. I have been
thinking over the past week about the hundred dollars for the replacement and I have come to the conclusion that you should not have to pay that much. If you would just accept the shipping charges I will call it even and take the loss. I would rather lose a couple of hundred dollars than lose a
customer and my reputation. I am truly sorry that all this has happened. Let me know If you are still interested.
Sincerely,
Joseph Hernandez
----- Original Message -----
From: Angelia Van Atta <[email protected]>
To: Joseph Hernandez <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 10:20 PM
Subject: Re: '02 Anery pair
Joseph...
I have become dissatisfied with your lack of contact. I have sent this Email to you twice... This makes three times, and will be my last good faith attempt to get some info on the anery you have for us:
Hello again Joseph,
Thank you for sending the pics. He looks VERY nice... Is he a sibling to the other anerys? He looks very similar. If not,Do you know how old he is? Length? weight? We are glad that you are going to get a number of meals in him before you send him to us. What did you feed him, I can't remember what
you said you fed your neonates? Have you managed to take a fecal sample to the vet yet? I hope you understand our concern. We would also really like to know what type of breeding he came from, and preferably WHO the breeder
was.(A phone # would be real nice.) We definately want him, but to have our questions answered would REALLY give a little more peace of mind, considering the circumstances. Thank you....
Jesse & Angelia
Right now we are only guessing why you will not reply to our emails...We will see.... But one thing is for certain. No info no money... You told me I was your first customer... Now I am telling you that businesses large and small are usually made or broken with the choices taken very early on. What you are doing is bad business.
...I am your PAYING customer, I purchased two snakes and one died(because it was sick and like that when it arrived here). First you said you would replace it, and then decided to make me pay for the replacement also, or at
least a portion thereof, and I will do this, if you provide me with the things I ask:
1... Age/ Date of birth
2... An accurate description of its health(every detail)
3... size/weight(grams)
4... Feeding regimen
5... Provide proof of a clean vet checked fecal sample
6... (MOST IMPORTANT) your source & his/her phone number
If this is all too much to ask at least let me know, keep your anery to try to sell it to someone else. I am better off without the headache.
Think on it if you need to. Let me know.
Sincerely,
Jesse Van Atta"
He is trying to sell snakes right now on Kingsnake Classifieds.
Please, I strongly urge everyone not to have ANY dealings with him unless you want to go through what we did....
Thanks for taking the time to read this post.... and for the people who know how....... PLEASE....... Get him!
Jesse Van Atta
'>