Notices |
Hello!
Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.
Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....
Please note that the information requested during registration will be used to determine your legitimacy as a participant of this site. As such, any information you provide that is determined to be false, inaccurate, misleading, or highly suspicious will result in your registration being rejected. This is designed to try to discourage as much as possible those spammers and scammers that tend to plague sites of this nature, to the detriment of all the legitimate members trying to enjoy the features this site provides for them.
Of particular importance is the REQUIREMENT that you provide your REAL full name upon registering. Sorry, but this is not like other sites where anonymity is more the rule.
Also your TRUE location is important. If the location you enter in your profile field does not match the location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected. As such, I strongly urge registrants to avoid using a VPN service to register, as they are often used by spammers and scammers, and as such will be blocked when discovered when auditing new registrations.
Sorry about all these hoops to jump through, but I am quite serious about blocking spammers and scammers at the gate on this site and am doing the very best that I can to that effect. Trust me, I would rather be doing more interesting things with my time, and wouldn't be making this effort if I didn't think it was worthwhile.
|
Board of Inquiry® This forum is provided exclusively for the discussion of specific persons or businesses in the herp industry. |
05-27-2016, 04:42 PM
|
#1
|
|
Mike Matson (Mike's Phat Frogs) sold me a WC snake as CB
I met Mike at Phoenix Repticon on 4/2, where I purchased a female Madagascan Giant Hognose snake from his table for $170. I asked him directly whether it was captive-bred or WC, and he said CB with no hesitation. My boyfriend was with me at the time of purchase and can attest to that.
A month after purchasing the animal showed bumps and lumps on her body. The vet diagnosed her with a heavy intestinal and subcutaneous parasite load, and that she was most likely WC. On that first visit he removed 6 adult worms from under her skin, and we started deworming treatment. I took her back two weeks later for another round of dewormer.
Unfortunately she passed away on 5/19. The necropsy showed that she had eleven adult parasitic worms in her body. These worms caused systemic inflammation and fluid buildup around her heart, finally causing her heart to stop. The vet said she must've been pretty heavily infested when Mike sold her.
She was my first and only reptile, if he’d been honest with me regarding her WC status I would not have purchased her. I did roughly 6 months of serious research before going to the show and was not looking for a WC animal.
After her death, I emailed Mike to explain what happened, and to ask for a refund since he had lied to me about her. He denied having ever said she was CB, even insisting that he told me of her WC status. I can guarantee that did not happen; he was quite happy to say the snake was CB to make a sale.
Regarding his statement that no Malagasy Giant Hognoses are produced in the US, there are a couple of ads for CB snakes on this forum alone. There was no reason for me to not believe him at the time.
I only had Skittles for 1.5 months. I did what I could to bring her health up. I've attached her vet reports, the necropsy report, and the email convo. Hopefully this serves to warn others looking to buy "CB" snakes from him.
|
|
|
05-27-2016, 04:43 PM
|
#2
|
|
I've decided to attach the email in one post for continuity.
|
|
|
05-27-2016, 05:54 PM
|
#3
|
|
I've read nothing but bad things on the BOI about this person. This is so incredibly sad.
|
|
|
05-27-2016, 05:56 PM
|
#4
|
|
Mike Matson has a lot of old BOI posts as to how dishonest he is. Too bad you did not know this about him before spending so much money on a sick animal, and even more on the Vet bills.
|
|
|
05-27-2016, 07:33 PM
|
#5
|
|
My condolences on the loss of your pet's life.
|
|
|
05-27-2016, 08:54 PM
|
#6
|
|
How very sad.
I hope you won't let this tragic start dissuade you from trying again. There are some good sellers and breeders out there and the Fauna BOI is a great place to find them, as well as to find out who to avoid.
I wish you the best of luck.
|
|
|
05-28-2016, 12:51 AM
|
#7
|
|
I hope you know there ARE ethical breeders out there. I've had amazing experiences so far, but I've done my research.
This guy FLAT OUT LIED to you. That's disgusting. (I wouldn't want a WC animal either if I'm honest for...well, sadly for the exact reasons that this girl died. You just do not know the health status of a WC animal.)
|
|
|
05-28-2016, 01:59 AM
|
#8
|
|
Howdy. I have been following your experiences on reddit and was curious if you ever had a follow up regarding this?
I'm also very sorry your otherwise healthy looking snake passed away a few days after you had taken this photo. I just strongly feel that it could have possibly been something that happened at the vet. Dr. Bjornebo and Dr. Johnson are fantastic vets, but sometimes things just... happen.
I did speak with Mike Matson at the Phoenix Repticon back in May. I also sat at a booth right next to his for a significant part of Saturday and Sunday. I do distinctly recall him saying that his Madagascar Hognoses were imports/farmed.
Here is a screenshot of a previous post he made and he does state that they are farmed:
I believe this may have just been a miscommunication/misinterpretation. I understand that Mike seems to have a not-so-fantastic reputation on Fauna, but the two Tokay Geckos I purchased from him, that he made sure that I knew were wild caught, are still thriving and eating.
|
|
|
05-28-2016, 02:02 AM
|
#9
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by SynPlus
I have been following your experiences on reddit and was curious if you ever had a follow up regarding this?
|
Apologies, I completely missed the follow up necropsy. It does look like you did a follow up necropsy with another vet. Did they tell if you the hemorrhaging was due to the previous procedure?
|
|
|
05-28-2016, 02:04 AM
|
#10
|
|
Thanks everyone for the support. Mike obviously read this thread, because he sent me this extremely professional email.
Regarding the proof he wants, well before Repticon I didn't know he existed, nevermind the contents of his facebook. The only proof I have is my word, and that of my boyfriend's. He told me at Repticon, without hesitation, that she was captive-bred.
I won't be replying to him since I already wasted too much time thinking about this, but anything he sends me I'll be sure to post it here.
|
|
|
Join
now to reply to this thread or open new ones
for your questions & comments! FaunaClassifieds.com
is the largest online community about Reptile
& Amphibians, Snakes, Lizards and number one
classifieds service with thousands of ads to look
for. Registration is open to everyone and FREE.
Click Here to Register!
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:59 AM.
|
|