Victor Rivera at Reptiles Plus is Untrustworthy!

Kelli, I don't know what happened to the spell check, but it somehow changed the word customers to the work parasites. I was not intending to say you had great parasites, although if you did have parasites, I bet they would be great. Anyway, sorry for the misplaced words. Very odd.

Originally Posted by Ken Foose

Kelli, I don't know what happened to the spell check, but it somehow changed the word customers to the work parasites. I was not intending to say you had great parasites, although if you did have parasites, I bet they would be great. Anyway, sorry for the misplaced words. Very odd.

Thanks Ken!

Originally Posted by lanceheads

hmm, I thought the Lacey Act was a law enacted to prohibit the transportation of illegal or protected species across state lines?
Red Tail Green Rat snakes are a Cities III animal and trade is not prohibited anywhere in the U.S.

Randal Berry

You are correct on this, and I was mistaken. Lacey would not apply.

Lacey was amended last year to cover a wider range of activities for non-protected species, but it seems the broader powers only apply to plants.

Man am I glad this thread was here, I was talking to a customer today at work and they were getting reptile stuff, I asked what they had and they said they were getting a chamelleon from Reptiles plus. I told them about this thread and not to buy from them because most likely they wont arrive alive!

Hi Brian, hope all is well. I am surprised you waited so long to post the photos. Anyone with sense will know after seeing how they were packaged, and the fact that he knowingly sent them 2nd day, not to do business with this guy. I don't personally know him, but I do know he isn't doing the hobby any good. His actions speak for themslves.

Originally Posted by Ken Harbart

You are correct on this, and I was mistaken. Lacey would not apply.

Lacey was amended last year to cover a wider range of activities for non-protected species, but it seems the broader powers only apply to plants.

Dang! At least a Mod agree's with me on something!

Wow this is one of the funniest threads I have ever read.

...i am going to talk back! and i am not going to talk...

I would certainly like to see that trick.

this is between me and my customer!

Yeah probably your last customer.

...you guys are so good and holy.

Compared to you a rat is good and holy.

...i will leave ...with the wind! good nite!

What are you some kind of super hero?

Reptiles Plus: "We have the TOOLS to screw you"

I am not sure what to make of this. I just received a phone call from Victor. He started off speaking to my wife, acting as a potential customer. I wasn't available at that time. He called back. Again, starting off asking what my most valuable corn snake available was. He said how he was looking for a few new suppliers, and how he knew all the major importers in Miami. He then started asking questions about whether or not I "collect" from states such as Georgia, and I knew something was up. When I asked how to contact him when I did have corns available, he wouldn't give any info. He then asked if I knew about FaunaClassifieds. Then he started to tell me the story that this thread is about. Then I knew (or thought it could be)who this was, and what it was about. I had seen the photo of the snakes within a day or 2 or arrival, as Brian is a friend. //// just read a few other BOI threads concerning Victor, and am back////// I questioned his packing methods first. I had less than 10 min before McDonalds quit serving breakfast when he called, so I was very rushed. After hearing his side about how the styrofoam lining had been removed before the photo was took, I had to get off the phone.

Has anyone else who replied to this thread received a call from Victor? He was nice enough, just kind of an odd phone call.

This guy (Victor Rivera) constantly advertises in the free classifieds in the Tampa, FL area and I actually talked to him about animals, perhaps two or three months ago. I realized something was wrong when I said I'd prefer to drive the 35 minutes or so to pick animals up, rather than paying the shipping. He then proceeded on to tell me that he has almost been arrested for doing deals in parking lots etc etc and that he will not allow local pickup. He did not want to email back and forth, so I had him call me. Makes more sense now, no paper or email trail, no proof.

I was also inquiring about certain animals with certain traits, as I'm beginning to look for specific animals....he informed me that he goes to Miami once a week (I believe on Mondays) and "hand-selects the animals." Once I heard this, I gracefully ended the conversation, knowing that he probably just hits all of the importers getting fresh animals in.

This also explains why he took payments for animals which he could not provide, he must of figured that he could find the animals on his weekly trip.

He is quite entertaining when he gets angry.