When figures such as: "Collectively, the multitude of turtles traded between Hong Kong and the United States were valued at up to $409,000", some people will line up for that kind of money, knowing it's illegal, and of course being caught, is the last thing on their minds. Go figure.:shrug01:


Here at my ranch, during spring and summer, my family and I see on average 15 to 25 three toed box turtles every 3 to 4 weeks, my family and I would greatly miss them if they disappeared.


It all comes down to those who have a love of money, when in fact we are to use money.

Seeing these indigenous critters here at my ranch is Priceless!

JMHO

Lynn Peterson
Big Time Reptiles

I think that some great strategies are....

Let the buyer beware.

If it sounds like to good of a deal, then it probably is. Walk away....

Understand that reptile shows are a swap meet.
The healthiest and best animals are not there.

Research the animal you are interested in, AND look for reputable breeders.
Email them or call them, If they are too busy to reply, or help you move on.

Sick animal bought at Hamburg, PA show
 

I found this thread because I was trying to locate Mr. Gangemi to request a refund for a RETF I bought at the show.
This was my first time buying an animal from a show, I did not know there were WC animals for sale, otherwise I had not gone at all.
I asked the lady (the mother of Mr. Gangemi) at the table why the one was different from the others, she told me it was not different they were all the same. I insisted it was darker than the others and she dismissed again giving me an empty explanation. Because I had never seen a RETF in person before I didn't know the shape of their bodys, so I didn't notice they were emaciated.
Because the darker, to me, looked pretty I got it plus 2 more.
I made sure to be very careful carrying them, went quick to the car when I left the building and immediately turned on the heater.
When I got home the dark one was dead and another was very bad.
I just want Mr. Gangemi to refund for the frog that died, the one his mother saw and even after I asked about it she allowed me to buy.
Thank you!

Red Eyes can be deep dark green as well as bright lime green and be perfectly healthy.

It was cold that day of the show- if you brought them to the car and THEN turned on the heater, that's plenty of time for them to die. 10 minutes in December hamburg weather waiting for the car to warm up would kill pretty much any tropical frog.

Or, you were just incredibly unlucky enough that two frogs that were alive when you bought them, succumbed to their illness at the exact same time immediately after being transported home in December with nothing to do with the weather...

I did not say they got sick after I bought them, I said they were already sick and one was already dying. There was one already dead at the table but I thought casualties are expected. Now I see some have more casualties than others!:rolleyes_

Seriously Marta, you purchased critters you are now saying were already sick and dying after you claim to have seen a dead frog on the table? You really do not have to know body shapes to recognize emaciation. I think it is much more likely that this was a weather/husbandry issue.
I'm sure you took photos, can you post them please?

If you had contacted me I would have issued a refund the day off. I haven’t had an issue with any of the others and as stated above some are light green some are dark and some have spots and some don’t. Please privately email me so we can work something out. Thanks and as for another one dead at the table I don’t recall as there’s no way in hell I would have left a dead frog on the table at the show! Thanks everyone take care

Why would I have the trouble of coming here to say lies? What would I gain with it? Maybe you guys are used to deal with scumbags but I am not one of them.
Yes I took pictures and yes there was a dead frog on the bottom container, please ask your mother, she disposed of it.
Mr. Gangemi I will email you the pictures tomorrow, tonight I have an appointment I am already late for.
Thank you!

Marta very sorry to hear of your loss.

Generally there is no guarantees on amphibians.

Frogs are fragile creatures and losses can be expected.

You had the opportunity to look over the frogs in person before you purchased. if the frogs looked sick why did you buy them?

Please post your pictures here.