rgurley
Member
Dear Friends -
I sent some really amazing animals to Raul Gonzalez (Shells n Scales) in Harlingen, Texas last year. They were:
1.1 Acanthochelys pallidipectoris subadults
1.1 Podocnemis vogli (but one apparently died a few days later) adults
1.2 Chamaeleolis porcus breeding adults
1 female Blue Rock Lizard breeding adult
I sent these animals to Raul after speaking with him for a few months on the phone and hearing about his successes with breeding lizards and because I thought all of these animals would do great in his area of south Texas (turtles and Blue Rock Lizard). I also met Raul a couple of times in person at Texas shows and felt he was trustworthy and eager to build a nice collection of animals. I also felt he had more time in the evenings to give these animals more focused care. I travel a lot and most of my animals are larger animals that don't need daily spraying and drips of baby food (Chamaeleolis), etc.
He eagerly accepted the animals and sent me an update a few months later that he had already hatched some Chamaeleolis porcus from the adult trio I sent him. He eventually hatched eight to ten or more C. porcus. He contacted me early this year (or late last year) and asked if he could trade a pair of babies for a pair of Chamaeleolis barbatus and I agreed.
About six months ago, he and his girlfriend split up (very publicly on Facebook, etc.) and he sort of dropped out of sight.
Around this time, a couple of friends and I discovered that Raul had taken many of the animals he had taken in on breeding loan and sent them out on breeding loan to other people. This was done without the knowledge of any of the owners of the animals. Apparently, most of the animals stayed in Texas but at least one animal was taken in on breeding loan and then sent to Arizona without the owner's consent. I contacted Raul and told him that the reason people send out animals to someone is because they trust them and trust that their care will be excellent so that both parties can enjoy splitting babies from successful reproduction. I tried to explain that this is the foundation of a successful breeding loan and that this was definitely not cool.
After no contact over the last few months, I became more and more anxious about my animals (many which have relatively short breeding lives - the Chamaeleolis, a female Petrosaurus, etc.) and have tried many many times to contact him and find out what is happening.
I discovered that the three turtles had been given to a breeder in Houston and when I explained the situation to this breeder, he immediately shipped the animals back to me. Robert Lemire - GOOD GUY / Turtle Breeder in Houston!!!
At this point, I have no idea if my lizards are alive or dead. I have no idea where in the country they are located. I have decided to make this public because I know that there was a time when Raul talked to nearly every hobbyist in the country and he was adament that he was going to become one of the top turtle and lizard guys in the hobby. I am hoping maybe someone has some insight into what happened to my animals or that it might spark Raul to contact me and let me know what is going on.
Thanks for reading this. I have been in this hobby for many years and I pride myself in being honest, hard-working, and thoughtful. This has been very frustrating. I saw today on Facebook that he and his girlfriend were painting each other's toenails pink and I just couldn't take it any more!
Russ Gurley
* Here are the e-mails that have gone unanswered by Raul since May of this year. They begin on May 3rd when I heard from a friend in Arizona that Raul was sending animals that didn't belong to him to other people on breeding loans.
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2011 8:39 PM
Subject: RG - help us
Hi Raul -
Just a note to see what's going on. I have gotten two phone calls and a couple of e-mails today asking about you and some crazy *$%# going on. People trying to find you and pumping us for information. I hope you get it cleared up and get these people off of me and Drew.
If you need to send me back all the animals from our breeding loans to help lighten your load and get out from under some $$$ debt, no worries. I am here every day from now until June and you can send them here.
Please let me know what's going on - Drew and I are defending you 100% but we need to be informed.
Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2011 10:29 PM
Subject: RG - breeding loan update
Raul -
What's the plan? As of right now, I think I have these animals still with you:
1.1 A. pallidipectoris
0.1 P. vogli
0.1 P. thalassinus
1.2 adult C. porcus
1.1 C. barbatus (I think I only own half of this pair from a baby porcus trade with Alec Feldman)
5-6 baby C. porcus
* I'm really not interested in spreading these animals around to other people at this point. I really sent them to you and if you aren't able to keep them now, I'd like to get them back. When you get settled in somewhere, we'll look at doing it again.
Let me know. THANKS -
Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 5:08 PM
Subject: Fw: RG - lizards
Any update for me?
RG
I need:
1.2 Chamaeleolis porcus adults
1/2 of the baby Chamaeleolis porcus (four or five or more now?)
1 of the C. barbatus (from the trade you did with two of our baby porcus)
Female Blue Rock Lizard
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2011 10:58 AM
Subject: RG - lizards
Hi Raul -
Any update on the lizard breeding loans?
Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 5:31 PM
Subject: RG - lizards
Hey Raul -
We missed you at EXPO. Saw Robert but didn't get to hang out like we would've liked. I was by myself at my tables and couldn't walk around much. I did manage to sell some Blue Tegus and buy a few odds-and-ends. You should've seen the amazing Abronia that Jason brought to the show!
I think maybe you and I should square up our breeding loan stuff. Why don't you send me:
1.2 adult C. porcus
1/2 of the baby C. porcus (four or five or more now?)
1 of the C. barbatus (from the trade you did with two of our baby porcus)
Female Blue Rock Lizard
and we'll start fresh once you get back into herps, get going with college, and other stuff.
I don't want the animals just sitting at your place when I can sell them or send them out on breeding loan to someone with more time on their hands.
No hard feelings I hope - It's just that Chamaeleolis don't live a long time and I don't want them to get too old to really produce well.
We are HOT now, but expecting a break in the weather early next week. We are 70 F at night and in the 90s F on Monday and Tuesday. Please add a cool pack and I will of course reimburse you for it. Drop me a tracking number when you have one.
Thanks - More soon.
Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 8:03 PM
Subject: rg - animals
Well, since you haven't responded to my last two or three e-mails, I have to assume that my animals are either dead or you sold them.
Let's make this simple. . .
PLEASE return to me the following:
1.2 adult Chamaeleolis porcus
5 juvenile Chamaeleolis porcus
1 Chamaeleolis barbatus
0.1 Blue Rock Lizard
Please ship them to me via FEDEX or UPS overnight in a safe, secure manner to my "home address" or you can send me $500 each for the C. porcus adults, $100 each for the C. porcus juveniles, $100 for the C. barbatus, and $400 for the female Blue Rock Lizard. That is a total of $2,500.00. That is definitely below market value for them and it would take more than that to replace them.
I could use the animals or money soon to buy some supplies I need for this Fall and Winter. You can PayPal it or send a check or money order . . . whatever's easiest for you. Let's put a deadline of October 12th to get this all taken care of.
I hope you will take care of this. I will give you two weeks - until noon on OCTOBER 12th - and then I am going to start e-mailing, writing, posting, blogging, facebooking, tweeting, and whatever it takes to get your attention.
Russ
I sent some really amazing animals to Raul Gonzalez (Shells n Scales) in Harlingen, Texas last year. They were:
1.1 Acanthochelys pallidipectoris subadults
1.1 Podocnemis vogli (but one apparently died a few days later) adults
1.2 Chamaeleolis porcus breeding adults
1 female Blue Rock Lizard breeding adult
I sent these animals to Raul after speaking with him for a few months on the phone and hearing about his successes with breeding lizards and because I thought all of these animals would do great in his area of south Texas (turtles and Blue Rock Lizard). I also met Raul a couple of times in person at Texas shows and felt he was trustworthy and eager to build a nice collection of animals. I also felt he had more time in the evenings to give these animals more focused care. I travel a lot and most of my animals are larger animals that don't need daily spraying and drips of baby food (Chamaeleolis), etc.
He eagerly accepted the animals and sent me an update a few months later that he had already hatched some Chamaeleolis porcus from the adult trio I sent him. He eventually hatched eight to ten or more C. porcus. He contacted me early this year (or late last year) and asked if he could trade a pair of babies for a pair of Chamaeleolis barbatus and I agreed.
About six months ago, he and his girlfriend split up (very publicly on Facebook, etc.) and he sort of dropped out of sight.
Around this time, a couple of friends and I discovered that Raul had taken many of the animals he had taken in on breeding loan and sent them out on breeding loan to other people. This was done without the knowledge of any of the owners of the animals. Apparently, most of the animals stayed in Texas but at least one animal was taken in on breeding loan and then sent to Arizona without the owner's consent. I contacted Raul and told him that the reason people send out animals to someone is because they trust them and trust that their care will be excellent so that both parties can enjoy splitting babies from successful reproduction. I tried to explain that this is the foundation of a successful breeding loan and that this was definitely not cool.
After no contact over the last few months, I became more and more anxious about my animals (many which have relatively short breeding lives - the Chamaeleolis, a female Petrosaurus, etc.) and have tried many many times to contact him and find out what is happening.
I discovered that the three turtles had been given to a breeder in Houston and when I explained the situation to this breeder, he immediately shipped the animals back to me. Robert Lemire - GOOD GUY / Turtle Breeder in Houston!!!
At this point, I have no idea if my lizards are alive or dead. I have no idea where in the country they are located. I have decided to make this public because I know that there was a time when Raul talked to nearly every hobbyist in the country and he was adament that he was going to become one of the top turtle and lizard guys in the hobby. I am hoping maybe someone has some insight into what happened to my animals or that it might spark Raul to contact me and let me know what is going on.
Thanks for reading this. I have been in this hobby for many years and I pride myself in being honest, hard-working, and thoughtful. This has been very frustrating. I saw today on Facebook that he and his girlfriend were painting each other's toenails pink and I just couldn't take it any more!
Russ Gurley
* Here are the e-mails that have gone unanswered by Raul since May of this year. They begin on May 3rd when I heard from a friend in Arizona that Raul was sending animals that didn't belong to him to other people on breeding loans.
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2011 8:39 PM
Subject: RG - help us
Hi Raul -
Just a note to see what's going on. I have gotten two phone calls and a couple of e-mails today asking about you and some crazy *$%# going on. People trying to find you and pumping us for information. I hope you get it cleared up and get these people off of me and Drew.
If you need to send me back all the animals from our breeding loans to help lighten your load and get out from under some $$$ debt, no worries. I am here every day from now until June and you can send them here.
Please let me know what's going on - Drew and I are defending you 100% but we need to be informed.
Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2011 10:29 PM
Subject: RG - breeding loan update
Raul -
What's the plan? As of right now, I think I have these animals still with you:
1.1 A. pallidipectoris
0.1 P. vogli
0.1 P. thalassinus
1.2 adult C. porcus
1.1 C. barbatus (I think I only own half of this pair from a baby porcus trade with Alec Feldman)
5-6 baby C. porcus
* I'm really not interested in spreading these animals around to other people at this point. I really sent them to you and if you aren't able to keep them now, I'd like to get them back. When you get settled in somewhere, we'll look at doing it again.
Let me know. THANKS -
Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 5:08 PM
Subject: Fw: RG - lizards
Any update for me?
RG
I need:
1.2 Chamaeleolis porcus adults
1/2 of the baby Chamaeleolis porcus (four or five or more now?)
1 of the C. barbatus (from the trade you did with two of our baby porcus)
Female Blue Rock Lizard
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2011 10:58 AM
Subject: RG - lizards
Hi Raul -
Any update on the lizard breeding loans?
Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 5:31 PM
Subject: RG - lizards
Hey Raul -
We missed you at EXPO. Saw Robert but didn't get to hang out like we would've liked. I was by myself at my tables and couldn't walk around much. I did manage to sell some Blue Tegus and buy a few odds-and-ends. You should've seen the amazing Abronia that Jason brought to the show!
I think maybe you and I should square up our breeding loan stuff. Why don't you send me:
1.2 adult C. porcus
1/2 of the baby C. porcus (four or five or more now?)
1 of the C. barbatus (from the trade you did with two of our baby porcus)
Female Blue Rock Lizard
and we'll start fresh once you get back into herps, get going with college, and other stuff.
I don't want the animals just sitting at your place when I can sell them or send them out on breeding loan to someone with more time on their hands.
No hard feelings I hope - It's just that Chamaeleolis don't live a long time and I don't want them to get too old to really produce well.
We are HOT now, but expecting a break in the weather early next week. We are 70 F at night and in the 90s F on Monday and Tuesday. Please add a cool pack and I will of course reimburse you for it. Drop me a tracking number when you have one.
Thanks - More soon.
Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: Russ Gurley
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 8:03 PM
Subject: rg - animals
Well, since you haven't responded to my last two or three e-mails, I have to assume that my animals are either dead or you sold them.
Let's make this simple. . .
PLEASE return to me the following:
1.2 adult Chamaeleolis porcus
5 juvenile Chamaeleolis porcus
1 Chamaeleolis barbatus
0.1 Blue Rock Lizard
Please ship them to me via FEDEX or UPS overnight in a safe, secure manner to my "home address" or you can send me $500 each for the C. porcus adults, $100 each for the C. porcus juveniles, $100 for the C. barbatus, and $400 for the female Blue Rock Lizard. That is a total of $2,500.00. That is definitely below market value for them and it would take more than that to replace them.
I could use the animals or money soon to buy some supplies I need for this Fall and Winter. You can PayPal it or send a check or money order . . . whatever's easiest for you. Let's put a deadline of October 12th to get this all taken care of.
I hope you will take care of this. I will give you two weeks - until noon on OCTOBER 12th - and then I am going to start e-mailing, writing, posting, blogging, facebooking, tweeting, and whatever it takes to get your attention.
Russ
