Here are my dealings with Ed Clark. Oh how I wish I knew of this Board before I purchased from him!
Back on 12/28/09 I told Ed I wanted to purchase his Black Pastel Male Ball Python, advertised at 440 grams. I wanted this snake for my first breeding project this season.
The snake and one companion (female ball python – normal CH, she was thrown in because of an accidental overcharge for the original snake), arrived on 12/30 via FedEx.
When I opened the package and retrieved the snakes, I thought both were deceased. Limp and lifeless.
Felt like they had been in the refrigerator. I took them to their cages to place them on their heating pads just in case (I wasn’t optimistic), and started to take pictures for proof of DOA. While doing so I noticed a muscle contraction from the male so I put them in a container with hot water bottles and towels. Both have survived thus far.
Here are the photos take on the first day:
http://picasaweb.google.com/PricklyP...K2ppZXtlsTLaA#
I bumped up both snakes heat to 95 degrees on the hot side and 78-80 on the cool side.
This precaution didn’t help the male and he developed a URI on 1/9/09 (heard wheezing late Sat afternoon). Which is not surprising due to the condition on arrival.
Upon bringing the animal to the vet (1/11/09), we also did a fecal since the snake provided one for us on the spot. This was positive for Strongyles.
At the second visit it was discovered that this snake was a FEMALE and not a Male. As mentioned above I was looking to purchase a male to breed with my female and this female was not what I had thought I purchased. This was confirmed by a reptile vet via probing.
I notified Mr. Clark of this on 1/14/09, also sending him receipts and a copy of the records indicating the snake is a female.
I have spent $305.60 as of today (1/18/09), and have one more visit scheduled bringing the total to: $375 on vet bills. I realize this isn’t a huge amount, but it is when you are treating an animal that you did not want in the first place.
I would like to be compensated for the cost of the snake since it was mis-sexed and I am now spending $675 on a snake that does me no good this year.
If Ed would refund me the $300 that I paid for the “male” then I will be satisfied.
If he refuses to refund the money then he needs to replace the animal per his advertisements on Kingsnake.com where I found his original ad for the ball python.
Taken from his ad:
Sexing.
While I strive to be 100% accurate on sexing thats not always the case. I will guarantee correct sexing for 30 days after you recieve it. If there is a sexing mistake that is brought to my attention within 30 days I will replace the missexed animal.
I have to say he was very quick to respond to my emails, even when I notified him on the snakes conditions upon arrival and the URI. Once I stated that the snake was a female, I have received one brief email that was not helpful and have yet to hear back.
Thank you for reviewing this and I hope that maybe he’ll get back to me and resolve this.
You can view our email interactions below and I can add copies of the receipts and records if needed.
Thanks,
Nicole Belval