rickyduckworth

this person is a man who uses his girlfriend's email address. he lives in oklahoma. i've seen him around for years but never dealt with him until november of this year.

after much negotiating, we agreed on 2.2 cb blacktails, 5.0 mohaves (one was supposedly thin but eating), 2.0 wdb.

i received 2.2 blacktails, 4.1 mohaves and 2.0 wdb. all were SEVERELY DEHYDRATED AND MALNOURISHED to the point of being almost dead. none looked to have eaten in months, all were scarred and some had fresh gashes. the pictures i saw were not of the animals i received. they were quarantined in a location seperate from my own collection.

NONE were eating voluntarily after 1 week and in that time, none were drinking voluntarily. they were in such horrible condition that we had to forcefeed them after the 2nd week.

after 3 weeks, 3.1 mohaves were eating and drinking on their own, 0.1 blacktails was eating voluntarily and 1.0 wdb ate voluntarily. the rest were not eating and required more forcfeeding/hydration to even have a chance. all were literally monitored 24/7 but given an environment as void of stress as possible.

well, as of now, the only remaining animals are 1.1 blacktails, 1.0 wdb and 2.1 mohaves. the mohaves are doing great as of now, the wdb still has problems regurging occasionally and the blacktails still have not eaten voluntarily. ok, i got screwed but still got my money's worth after tons of work THROUGHOUT THE HOLIDAYS. i had a friend who helped a LOT.

well, the potential HUGE ISSUE is this; these animals have shown signs of OPMV infection, 2 of my healthy timbers have since died mysteriously with symptoms of sudden RI followed a few days later by convulsions and death. a few of the animals i got from him that have died have convulsed and shown symptoms of RI mostly in the form of regurgitated mucous/blood. the one blacktail that was doing the best had a seizure and died and went from fine to dead in a few days. 1 mohave was doing great and then suddenly died. another mohave never had a chance. the wdb would eat but regurge no matter what and eventually died.

i've been unable to get a necropsy due to the lack of support of local vets, but last week was able to find help in the form of the university of florida (dr. elliot jacobson and dr. nicely). all i can do now is to wait for anymore deaths. my collection is being treated as infected even though the only animals showing signs of illness are the 1.1 blacktails. they're still alive and in OK health as far as weight and hydration goes, but are regurging bloody mucous on occasion, won't eat and are probably going to die. i can't risk forcefeeding them again in fear of spreading the mystery illness. if anyone else dies, they will be sent to the U of F for a necropsy and a full compliment of tests.

as of now, i'm fully convinced that the illness came directly from these snakes and that the sudden death of my 2 healthy timbers was somehow related to these sick snakes. one of the timbers was CB from my own female and i sold the 3 siblings to others who have all confirmed that they were perfectly healthy and doing great.

the ONLY explanation is the one i have outlined above and when i can prove it, i will. most of my snakes have been in my collection a long time with no issues whatsoever. i'm fully expecting more losses and even a possible total loss.

do NOT deal with this person EVEN IN PERSON. the snakes are misrepresented and he downplays their health or is too stupid to recognize it. i've not asked for a refund or anything because i don't expect to fix this. if my other 20+ snakes have OPMV, then there is nothing he can do nor would i expect him to try anyway. i have a favorite animal, a timber i've had for 7 years now, and if he dies it will be like losing a member of my family to me, however ridiculous that sounds. i'm not sure i'd want to let it go then and i'm not above revenge, however ridiculous THAT sounds.