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Bad Guy Beware of Zach ashwood ( bad news )

I'm interested in hearing the necropsy findings.

The ball python I bought back from him is still in quarantine (just never got around to moving her back into the permanent racks), and your findings will tell me what my next move should be. She's shown no issues that I can see, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
 
*sigh*...This is sad...not only is he out for the vet bills, the cost of animal, the shipping, and let's not forget .. THE HALF OF A DAY's WORK..that he had to miss to take this animal to a vet. Kinda funny how "Zac is no longer posting" it's cause he knows what he did.

I was the one who mentioned IBD, and that he might want to get it tested for it. Cause theres a huge chance this snake could have had it, and he could give it to his other snakes..I don't want his other snakes to have the same fate, as this poor lil guy. :(

So does anyone in live in Texas....we might need your help.
 
I just wanted to add how very sorry I am for this poor baby and that you had to watch the baby suffer. He was a beauty.
 
MikeCurtin said:
As for everyone insisting Mike takes this animal to the vet, if he is able to find a qualified herp vet, this may still cause more stress than the visit is worth. High humidity, soaks, and some shed-ease should probably be tried first. Although the animal appears thin and dehydrated, it does appear relatively alert, and should come around with proper care. It is my opinion that its condition is not an emergency as of yet. Again, only my opinion based on experience.

Good luck, Mike.
Click to expand...

There was a lot of pressure on Mike to bring this animal to the vet. I personally would have tried other methods first, as I have dealt with rescues/dehydration/stuck sheds in the past. In my opinion, the vet trip exacerbated the situation by significantly compounding the stress the animal was under.

In my opinion, the seller should refund the full amount of the snake, as it would not have reached that condition with proper pre-sale husbandry. At the same time, the only reason I would expect veterinary costs would be if Zach put any pressure on Mike to actually take this animal to the vet....which he did.
 
zach hasnt returned my emails or my texts since I emailed him the actual vet bill not an estimate !! we all know the kind of person im up against .. the vet has marvins body and will have necropsy results in about a week .. he was kind enough to do it free of charge and he promised to have a medical report to me sunday as far as marvins health at the time of his treatment... allthough we all know what that will say .. the snake was sick long long before I got him .. this has been a very trying experience for me ..My snakes are my "friends" im not a breeder nor to i wish to get rich on my animals I always have had a snake as a pet since about 1982 it was very hard to see him in his last few hours i wanted to put him in the firdge and end it but I knew I couldnt being the prequil to this event .. I once again want to thank everybody for there wonderful support .. you guys ROCK !!!
 
I bought a snake from Zack before and the snake was in shed. He had discussed it with me before he shipped to me and i told him it was fine. He told me not to feed for a few days and wait till the boa had shed. He advised me on how to take care of the boa and i did just that. My boa is in perfect health. I have had boas for many years so i already knew how to take care of the boa. if was comporting that he would still advise me about the boa being in shed. That made it a little more peace at mind for me. If the person who bought the snake from Zach did not take his advise that is on the buyer not the seller. Zack advised him on what to do and the other guy still tried feeding and was handling the snake. I always wait at least 7 days before i handle a new snake and the snake is in quarantine. If the buyer did not fallow instructions from the seller the seller should not have to give the money back. Everyone knows when you get a new reptile you dont handle it. That is common sence. You need to let the reptile aclimate properly.
 
usmckmanning said:
I bought a snake from Zack before and the snake was in shed. He had discussed it with me before he shipped to me and i told him it was fine. He told me not to feed for a few days and wait till the boa had shed. He advised me on how to take care of the boa and i did just that. My boa is in perfect health. I have had boas for many years so i already knew how to take care of the boa. if was comporting that he would still advise me about the boa being in shed. That made it a little more peace at mind for me. If the person who bought the snake from Zach did not take his advise that is on the buyer not the seller. Zack advised him on what to do and the other guy still tried feeding and was handling the snake. I always wait at least 7 days before i handle a new snake and the snake is in quarantine. If the buyer did not fallow instructions from the seller the seller should not have to give the money back. Everyone knows when you get a new reptile you dont handle it. That is common sence. You need to let the reptile aclimate properly.
Click to expand...

That is the worst attack on The OP ever. NO SNAKE will look like that in 5 days because it was held or being offered food. Zack as a very long way to go when it comes to snakes and Customer Satisfaction.

So please refrain from posting that Zack was in the right here as he was Completely not.
 
usmckmanning said:
I bought a snake from Zack before and the snake was in shed. He had discussed it with me before he shipped to me and i told him it was fine. He told me not to feed for a few days and wait till the boa had shed. He advised me on how to take care of the boa and i did just that. My boa is in perfect health. I have had boas for many years so i already knew how to take care of the boa. if was comporting that he would still advise me about the boa being in shed. That made it a little more peace at mind for me. If the person who bought the snake from Zach did not take his advise that is on the buyer not the seller. Zack advised him on what to do and the other guy still tried feeding and was handling the snake. I always wait at least 7 days before i handle a new snake and the snake is in quarantine. If the buyer did not fallow instructions from the seller the seller should not have to give the money back. Everyone knows when you get a new reptile you dont handle it. That is common sence. You need to let the reptile aclimate properly.
Click to expand...

There is a difference between being in shed and a snake being 3/4 dead. Your snake may have been in shed but this one was near death before Zack even shipped it out. Zack clearly ripped this guy off. I don't even see how you could possibly defend Zack. If you think what Zack did is o.k., then you are no better then he is.
 
RichsBallPythons said:
That is the worst attack on The OP ever. NO SNAKE will look like that in 5 days because it was held or being offered food. Zack as a very long way to go when it comes to snakes and Customer Satisfaction.

So please refrain from posting that Zack was in the right here as he was Completely not.
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I think the poster has a valid argument. Yes, the snake was thin. Yes, it was dehydrated. Could additional stress from feeding attempts, handling, and a vet trip compounded the existing problems? Absolutely. Does this absolve the seller of any responsibility? Not in my opinion.

Before trying to shut down discussion by asking that he not post an opinion you disagree with, even though it was based on his experience, why don't you offer a valid counter argument. One such argument would be that the OP displays good husbandry as evidenced by the other animals he posted photos of, and that he acted in what he thought was the best interests of the animal in question.
 
MikeCurtin said:
I think the poster has a valid argument. Yes, the snake was thin. Yes, it was dehydrated. Could additional stress from feeding attempts, handling, and a vet trip compounded the existing problems? Absolutely. Does this absolve the seller of any responsibility? Not in my opinion.

Before trying to shut down discussion by asking that he not post an opinion you disagree with, even though it was based on his experience, why don't you offer a valid counter argument. One such argument would be that the OP displays good husbandry as evidenced by the other animals he posted photos of, and that he acted in what he thought was the best interests of the animal in question.
Click to expand...
Im not here to argue. Any responsible breeder would of long ago refunded the money before it got this far.

Simple as that, snakes dead and Zack knew it was healthy there for REFUND. And anyone here to support him that he did right should stay out of this as they can see he wasnt due to the death of a snake.
 
RichsBallPythons said:
Im not here to argue. Any responsible breeder would of long ago refunded the money before it got this far.

Simple as that, snakes dead and Zack knew it was healthy there for REFUND. And anyone here to support him that he did right should stay out of this as they can see he wasnt due to the death of a snake.
Click to expand...

Wasnt
 
RichsBallPythons said:
Im not here to argue. Any responsible breeder would of long ago refunded the money before it got this far.

Simple as that, snakes dead and Zack knew it was healthy there for REFUND. And anyone here to support him that he did right should stay out of this as they can see he wasn't due to the death of a snake.
Click to expand...

The BOI was designed to report on good and bad dealers in the hobby. It's also here to hash out problems through the exchange of opinions and fact. If that process is stifled, it will likely cease to exist as designed.

99% of the posters on this thread support the OP, myself included. However, there is no reason Mr. Manning should have been asked to leave. He has an opinion relating to who's responsible. I disagree with him, but he has every right to post it here. If I'm wrong, someone please let me know.

This is the last I'll post regarding this, as this is starting to get off topic, but I'd be more than happy to discuss it through PM or perhaps on another sub-forum.
 
Originally Posted by usmckmanning
I bought a snake from Zack before and the snake was in shed.
Click to expand...
Any responsible, caring keeper will not ship a snake in shed, IMO.

The photos Mike F. posted (not the post mortem ones) clearly show a snake in distress ... a snake that was very thin and dehydrated. And that snake did not get that way in just 5-6 days. Any animal already suffering the consequences of disease, substantial injury or poor husbandry may well rapidly decline with shipping and even medical intervention stress. A healthy animal will obviously not.
That snake did not die as a result of Mike's handling or a vet visit or not following instructions. That snake was already ill and died as the result of either disease or prior inadequate husbandry, that yes, could have been exacerbated by Mike's honorable & responsible attempt to save it's life.
 
I gave the seller the benefit of the doubt early on based on my own experience with young boas with bad looking sheds, but it is very clear now that there were other health issues. Disturbing the snake with excessive handling, feeding attempts, and a vet trip may have contributed to it's decline, but in my opinion only because the snake was already ill, a healthy snake should have been able to handle it. A full refund of the snake's price, shipping, and vet bills are in order, though I doubt the seller will man up and do what's right.
 
I read through this entire thread quite extensively.

While neither party acted completely professional at all times, some of that is understandable.

However, the conclusion I have come to is that the snake was -absolutely- in no condition to be sold, let alone shipped.

There is NO way a snake, no matter what species of snake it is, could get like that in 5 days time.

Everyone here knows snakes can fast for WEEKS and would not look like that.

With all the evidence that was provided, it seems the seller sold the buyer an unhealthy snake and constantly lied to the forums and the buyer.

LEAVING OUT all of the back and forth arguments, the MAIN POINT here is the fact that over 5 days time, this snake could not get like this. The seller needs to refund the buyer his purchase price AND the vet bills.

If not, this should be taken to the proper authorities.


Signed -Kyle Dolan
 
I preface this by saying that I am not a vet and tho I've had boas in the past my primary experience is with balls - these were just some random thoughts that were nagging at me.

It is possible for a snake with a full body stuck shed to decline in a matter of days. When the skin is not shed it constricts the snakes and compromises the organs to the point of kidney and liver failure sending the snake into a rapid decline. Yes this can happen in just a few days especially with a snake that is compromised.

That the op would have gotten a snake that looked as bad as it did in the day 5 photos and taken "it will be fine" without questioning it or taking a bunch of pictures and passing them around for second opinions makes me wonder just how bad it actually looked coming out of the box. :shrug01: I really wish he'd taken pictures on arrival. :yesnod:

It would certainly seem to me that the snake was compromised going into the box how bad and whether someone like Zack would recognize it as a problem :shrug01: and certainly the snake was further compromised by the shipping and everything that followed.

And as I said in my earlier post I really don't understand why a vet would put unnecessary meds into a snake that was in such a poor state and could well have kidney failure just seems odd to me. :shrug01:

I'm not pointing fingers at anyone or laying blame but there seem to have been balls dropped on all ends of this transaction.

Certainly Zacks customer services leaves a lot to be desired. :ack2:
 
Wow. That was a long read.

Zack bite the bullet and refund the man his money plus vet bills. The snake is dead. And if you dont handle this accordingly, so are most of your future dealings with customers. What a tragic thread.
 
I hope all this silence means something is being worked out with the OP.

And just out of sheer curiosity, wasn't the vet supposed to be shedding the snake while he was kept there overnight?
 
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