Bad Guy Samantha Walters / A&S Reptiles

((NOTE, this is my first post on fauna SADLY it had to be in this format and in this section.. that being said if there are any violations I will be more than happy to fix them after being addressed, also I am in NO WAY a professional breeder thus, I cannot say that I know everything including how to fix situations regarding problem feeders I know they exist.. and I know they suck, but its something you have to encounter/deal with in this hobby/profession))

On to the matter at hand...

In the middle of February (I would post MY screen shots of the text messages but I have since gotten rid of that phone).. my wife and I began to increase our snake collection in the process of working towards breeding projects. While searching through craigslist one day (have since became very wary of this website haha) we came upon a person selling a "2000+ gram normal female, for $150.00". After having just picked up a 1600 for $60.. thought this was a pretty good grab and went for it. Having been in contact with the seller for a week or two (I honestly don't remember how long it was) my wife and I made the decision to drive up to Flagstaff to pick up this female ball python. Upon arriving we were greeted by a very happy Samantha Walters who to us seemed to know what she was doing because she had some good ideas with heating the room the snakes were in instead of a direct heat (which to us was awesome, being in Phoenix its not hard to keep a room at a certain temperature, and cheaper) SO after a little bit of time and being partially rushed after a 2 hour drive we purchased the female for $160.00 because she didn't have change (no big deal, we got ourselves another girl for the collection). We drove all the way back home and put this new girl into a 41qt rubbermaid tub with aspen bedding at the time is what we were using, and into the quarantine room where she patiently waited for about a month, at which point we moved her into our racks because she showed 0 signs of health issues or mites (kudos for a clean snake IMO).. and then it began, this poor thing refused to eat. We began to seek advice from other breeders in Arizona asking for hints/tips/tricks to getting problem feeders to eat, we tried rats.. we tried mice.. we tried ASF's.. heck we even tried a gerbil (trick I heard works after having worked in a reptile shop) all this to NO avail. At this point I began to contact Ms. Walters and try to get more advice FROM the source figuring she would have a much more extensive experience with this exact snake. ((INCOMING LONG COPY AND PASTE))

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(((Welcome back)))

So after all of that, my question for Sam is since she can't seem to own up to anything, was this just a bum deal gone south? are you flipping snakes for a profession now? what's going on.. you repeatedly ask me what I've tried and I repeatedly tell you!

TO ALL THE FOLLOWERS OF THIS THREAD

we have had this girl for going on 5 months now, I DO NOT expect any sort of financial or monetary reimbursement, I do not give up on MY snakes that easily, I will keep this girl till the end.. HOWEVER what I am looking for is some sort of an explanation on the apparent flip done by Ms. Walters as well as some sort of public owning of what has happened. IF that doesn't seem too far fetched, opinions.. thoughts?



((Again, if I have violated any terms or rules please feel free to let me know so I can fix them asap.. I'm not trying to burn anyone at the stake, I would just like to see more people in this hobby take accountability for their actions, as I am not too fond of getting the preverbial shaft))

((EDIT EDIT EDIT.. sorry it's not BAD GUY.. it should be BAD GAL?))

What I really can't understand is all the time jumbling that is going on here, clearly she states in the second attachment that the longest this female has ever gone without eating is 5 months, now I'm going to assume that this isn't 5 months of being under Sams ownership, but then she goes on later to tell me that she only had this girl for 6 months and that she ate 3 times before we picked her up.. each 1 time 1 week, a small rat.. no matter the time, I've never heard of a BP gaining 1000 grams in a period of 6 months on small rats.. eating off and on and not regularly??

This is ridiculous. I'm getting a bad guy because I sold a problem feeder? Having her for 6 months is not flipping. I bought her and another normal that was a proven breeder from the breeder Dan Solis. Both ate fine in his care. Then the smaller normal (the one you bought) hadn't eaten. She gave me problems and being a college student I didn't have time for it. I wanted her to go to somehow who had the time and resources to get her to eat regularly. Flagstaff is a small town and it takes 10 minutes to drive from one end to the other. I don't have access to mice or asf. Hence selling her. I don't understand how I am getting a bad guy thread for selling a snake I didn't have the resources for. And no, Dan Solis will not be involved in this. But we bought them In August/September and the other girl is currently back on feed from her clutch a month ago.

A "bad guy" for selling a problem feeder and not making it known to the buyer at the time, sadly I don't have the same phone that I had at that time or I would take screen shots and post them, however I can tell you that we (my wife and I) have no recollection of her being a problem feeder made aware to us.. I personally wouldn't have made the 4 hour drive and paid extra money on top of the selling price for another snake that I would have to pull my hair out with.

Funny because me and my boyfriend Aaron remember exactly telling you that she was a sketch feeder over text and in person. We were totally going to give you her feed card but sadly we forgot and Aaron was in a rush and he was late for work because he wanted to meet you two. Ask any person I have sold snakes to, I give them their feed cards. Even shipped one with a snake before. We just spaced out yours and I apologize. As I said we were in a rush getting Aaron to work on time. Over those 5 months I didn't considering her "feeding" because she had a rat here and there. That's not feeding in my opinion.

I have been in this situation a couple of times, being sold a non-feeder or sporadic feeder and was not told so. The thing of it is, who WANTS to buy a non-feeder? Other than people that buy them to get them for a discount...you should have told him up front. And I agree there is no way she gained 1,000 grams on a few small rats in 6 months...you didn't tell the buyer everything he needed to know, straight up lied to him, and danced around him with a bunch of different explanations and dates...it's all very confusing. Doesn't seem like a very good seller to me.

A&S Reptiles said:

Then the smaller normal (the one you bought) hadn't eaten. She gave me problems and being a college student I didn't have time for it.

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are you not trying to sell a butter female Sam?.. Another problem feeder that you take the time to shove food in her mouth? is the quality of one snake not as important as the quality of another snake when they come from YOUR name.. YOUR business.. YOUR reputation? I appreciate meeting your BF, he was/is a nice guy. However you say you made it aware, and as someone has already said most people dont usually buy problem feeders unless they are at discount, I would've remembered being told about a problem feeder.. all we were told is that she didn't miss meals and ate fine for you, why on gods green earth would anyone want to spend $160 on a normal female.. on top of a tank and a half to get to there and back?

BTW, does this apply to problem feeders? do you guarantee that they are going to continue to give problems to the new owner? or how's that work exactly? Just curious...

http://aandsreptiles.weebly.com/terms.html

Guarantees

We guarantee the health, sex, and eating habits of the snake. We also guarantee live arrival. If your snake is dead on arrival you must notify us within an hour of receiving the snake. The health guarantee is good for one week. After one week we are not reliable for any deaths. If the animal you received is sexed wrong we will pay to ship it back and either refund you or replace it.

A&S Reptiles said:

This is ridiculous. I'm getting a bad guy because I sold a problem feeder? Having her for 6 months is not flipping. I bought her and another normal that was a proven breeder from the breeder Dan Solis. Both ate fine in his care. Then the smaller normal (the one you bought) hadn't eaten. She gave me problems and being a college student I didn't have time for it. I wanted her to go to somehow who had the time and resources to get her to eat regularly. Flagstaff is a small town and it takes 10 minutes to drive from one end to the other. I don't have access to mice or asf. Hence selling her. I don't understand how I am getting a bad guy thread for selling a snake I didn't have the resources for. And no, Dan Solis will not be involved in this. But we bought them In August/September and the other girl is currently back on feed from her clutch a month ago.

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I'd say it's valid, who wants that? Are you kidding me right now, some of the stuff outta your mouth is just wrong. You should not be owning snakes girl!

Samantha, I don't suggest a space-heater'd room. Recipe for disaster is what's on the menu with that!

Sell a snake that hasn't eaten in 5 months. Holy Christmas!

A&S Reptiles said:

Funny because me and my boyfriend Aaron remember exactly telling you that she was a sketch feeder over text and in person. We were totally going to give you her feed card but sadly we forgot and Aaron was in a rush and he was late for work because he wanted to meet you two. Ask any person I have sold snakes to, I give them their feed cards. Even shipped one with a snake before. We just spaced out yours and I apologize. As I said we were in a rush getting Aaron to work on time. Over those 5 months I didn't considering her "feeding" because she had a rat here and there. That's not feeding in my opinion.

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I can not believe your suggestion was to sell her Samantha, I am shocked that I just read that. That snake needs some help. It sounds like you are juggling too much in your personal life; College and Home Depot Cashier? I think you should seriously consider, maybe letting your animals have a better life with someone else? Just my thoughts.

Samantha, since I met Tom a year and a half ago, I stay home full-time with Tom's animals; it's insane what I have to go through to make sure everybody "clicks like a clock" he always tells me. It's insane! Ball Pythons can give you a run for your money! I'll vouch for that! If you ain't got time, money, patience, passion, if you don't have the access to an abundance of various types of rodents.... don't even bother sister! Tom freaks out at various snakes, at various times of the year, I have learned a lot from his stress! You will get drilled into the ground by a colony of Ball Pythons is what I have learned. Any snakes for that matter Tom is constantly telling me. He tells me Kingsnakes and other types are even more maintenance, I couldn't handle it, and I am full-time, stay at home, mommy to 50 adults or so.. It's rough stuff! Kudos to those who make it happen.

Daniel, Tom offered to help you properly, I suggest you get him that snake for what he suggested, ASAP. I have seen Tom fix some severely injured animals, and some on deaths door, for sure! And, he will do it for free, I'm sure!

I do have to say...Samantha, the way your information adds up, is kinda wonky.

The whole small prey cuz she refuses anything bigger....but she eats big enough meals to gain 100 grams after 3 feedings, just doesn't seem right.

So basically you had her for 6 months....but she was off food for 5 of those months? or am I just confused...lol

gain 1000 grams**** bah

Brandy Pecanic said:

I can not believe your suggestion was to sell her Samantha, I am shocked that I just read that. That snake needs some help.

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I agree 100%....you are fairly new to this game right Samantha? The fact that your solution is to sell the snake when it is in need of some help, is NOT a good way to start in this hobby.

Willow said:

I do have to say...Samantha, the way your information adds up, is kinda wonky.

The whole small prey cuz she refuses anything bigger....but she eats big enough meals to gain 100 grams after 3 feedings, just doesn't seem right.

So basically you had her for 6 months....but she was off food for 5 of those months? or am I just confused...lol

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I am super confused too Willow! Something is definitely not right.

Here is a link to some other antics of Samantha. She is definitely a problem in my book:

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330346

Heated rooms are not a bad thing, Done properly regulated with thermostat will not be a disaster waiting to happen.

Some forget the big guys keep the rooms 88-90 all year long. it actually cuts down the cost of running heat tape and other heating elements when room temps are cool.

Excuse me Daniel but you haven't talked to me about 5 months besides when you asked what the girl was eating. The butter is eating just fine on her own. Hence my ad saying slamming rats. I'd take a video of her eating but honestly? Not worth my time. You are the only disgruntled customer I have ever had. Everyone else is happy.

Willow I have owned ball pythons for 5 years now. No I am not new. The snake would have suffered more in my care not having access to mice or asf. So I should have kept her and hoped for the best? Tons of people sell problem feeders.

Brandy, I don't really care if you are a stay at home mommy or not. Good for you, do not tell me how I should live my life or care for my animals as plenty of people have seen my snakes. So you can just stop commenting now as this has NOTHING to do with you or Tom unless you guys talked Daniel into posting this. Since you guys are friends and all.

CJ Hall, Pedro Soto, David Graf, Ceribdis Cree, Tiffany Haas and Amanda Lynn Snyder are a few happy customers of mine. Ask any of them. And I keep in touch with about half of them, which are the local people. Even get happy updates and such. Besides this, I'm doing just fine with my snakes and nobody has the right to tell me I should get out of them and "give them better homes".

People disclose information about problem feeders when they sell them. Your attitude here isn't going to help you any either. The information you texted about this snake seems to be false as well.

Didn't eat for 5 months...so gained 1000 grams in 1 month of feeding small meals???? This information seems very very unlikely.

You say in your texts that she ate every now and then during the 6 months...but then you say she has gone 5 months straight without eating...so which is it?? You cannot have it both ways

So maybe you should relax and explain yourself with a little less attitude, because atm you are coming off as a liar trying to cover their tracks.

I'd like to say I know no one involved in this, nor have I bought from anyone that has posted here...even tho I am in AZ...I am totally unbias to this. The way you handled yourself in those texts leaves much to be desired, and your suggested solution to one of your customers who was asking for help, is pretty distasteful as well = /

Eating once a month for 5 months is not a feeding snake in my opinion. So when he asked how long she went, I said 5 months because it was on her terms. Which for her was roughly once a month. It's his word against mine. I told him she was not a consistent feeder. Whether he remembers that or not is not my fault. He is just frustrated because he can't get her to eat. At least she ate about 8 times in my care over 6 months. She ate three times in a row before we sold her. Which is what baby ball pythons starting out eat, three times before being shipped. So if a baby ball stops eating its the sellers fault?