Terri Sommella Fire and Ice Dragons -- Nightmare

Yeah, that is exactly how I felt. I honestly wasn't skeptical of her and her dragons at all until she showed such reluctance to providing me with a picture.

I just don't understand people these days. Oh well. I already was provided with a local Florida breeder that I am looking into.

Originally Posted by fsurf02

I just don't understand people these days.

Just be glad that you dodged a big bullet by not ignoring the glaring red flags that seem to be the hallmark of any interactions with Fire and Ice. In the future, do yourself a favor and search the BOI before dealing with anyone. Whether it be her pitiful approximation of customer service, or her questionable ideas about what constitutes proper dragon care, there's more than enough information here on Terri Sommella to send any sensible person running for the hills.

Originally Posted by Fangthane

Just be glad that you dodged a big bullet by not ignoring the glaring red flags that seem to be the hallmark of any interactions with Fire and Ice. In the future, do yourself a favor and search the BOI before dealing with anyone. Whether it be her pitiful approximation of customer service, or her questionable ideas about what constitutes proper dragon care, there's more than enough information here on Terri Sommella to send any sensible person running for the hills.

Oh I definitely am glad I dodged that one. Someone on here has already pointed me to another reptile breeder and I plan on doing my homework on her just as you suggest. I'm still pretty new to all of this and had no idea what I was getting myself into lol. But I love the breed and hope to learn all that I can about them. Thanks for your reply.

its unbelievable that businesses like this still exist. I would ever mke a purchase online without updated photos of the animal I wanted to purchase

I also had a horrible experience with Terri. In the mid 2000's, I was for the first time the general manager of a local pet store. We sold all kinds of animals, including the animals I was most passionate about, reptiles. I wanted to do something important with my new found "power," to do something cool that big competitors like Petco weren't doing. I decided that we should breed, in store, our own line of our most popular reptile, the bearded dragon. I wanted the most colorful breeders, and I wanted to keep them in the most prominent display cages that could be seen just by walking by the store. After lots of convincing, my boss agreed that this idea could work, and that I could have a fairly large amount of money to execute it. I already knew how to house and breed bearded dragons, so the first step was to make sure the window cages would work for them, and with a few changes, it was determined that we would. Next step, find the breeders. I was very aware of who was producing the most colorful dragons in the world, and one of the first breeders I ever reached out to was Fire & Ice, specifically for the citrus line. I sent an email to Terri, explaining to her that I wanted to purchase the best male she had available, no expense spared. I told her my pet store wanted a few outstanding breeder dragons, that these animals would receive lifelong homes with us, have professional care around the clock, have the best caging we had, and become ambassadors for reptile pets in general, showing the public just how beautiful a friendly lizard can be. I even sent her a few pictures of the palatial homes we were preparing for these special dragons.

Yeah, I know that some people who are serious about reptiles hate all pet stores. I thought that if I explained just how passionate we are about the care of our animals and our hobby, maybe she'd be as excited as I was. I was sooooo wrong. She sent me one of the longest emails I had ever received about how evil pet stores are, how evil I am for working at one, insulting me personally, really ripping me apart. She also said that she would contact every notable breeder of bearded dragons that she knew, which of course was everyone, and personally warn them that I was a horrible person and their animals would suffer terribly in her care. I was stunned that she would trash my personal reputation that way without knowing anything about me. I was relieved that I hadn't given her the name of my store, so she could not deal damage to our business and ruin any chances I had of being successful in making reptiles more important there. I didn't respond to her in any way, but she sent me several other angry and personally insulting email, some of which described in graphic detail the torture that I was surely inflicting upon animals. I should of saved these as proof of how unprofessional she was, but honestly, I was much younger and more vulnerable back then, and even thinking about having these on my computer made me feel bad.

After recovering for a while, I decided to reach out to Sandfire, since I knew they did wholesale and therefor probably didn't hate pet stores. I thought of misrepresenting myself as a private hobbyist just to get the animals, but in the end, I wanted to give my store's hard earned money to a company that shared our values. Anyway, Sandfire was extremely excited by this idea, so much so that they offered to sell me three Sandfire x Blood subadults that they had intended to keep and breed themselves. These amazing animals became the cornerstone of our breeding project. They did great in the window units. People would come to our store just to see the cool lizards in the window, and the dragons would come up to the glass and ham it up. Everyone loved these animals. Their offspring sold like hot cakes, and many individuals who bought them later bought other reptiles as well. In the end, this experimental idea of mine was my first ever unqualified success as a manager of anything, despite the close-minded and hurtful treatment I received from Terri Sommella.

PS: I asked some higher-up people in the reptile community, whom I had met and knew who I was, if she ever warned anyone about me, and I never heard of any evidence that she had, thank God.

Originally Posted by elena

I also had a horrible experience with Terri. In the mid 2000's, I was for the first time the general manager of a local pet store. We sold all kinds of animals, including the animals I was most passionate about, reptiles. I wanted to do something important with my new found "power," to do something cool that big competitors like Petco weren't doing. I decided that we should breed, in store, our own line of our most popular reptile, the bearded dragon. I wanted the most colorful breeders, and I wanted to keep them in the most prominent display cages that could be seen just by walking by the store. After lots of convincing, my boss agreed that this idea could work, and that I could have a fairly large amount of money to execute it. I already knew how to house and breed bearded dragons, so the first step was to make sure the window cages would work for them, and with a few changes, it was determined that we would. Next step, find the breeders. I was very aware of who was producing the most colorful dragons in the world, and one of the first breeders I ever reached out to was Fire & Ice, specifically for the citrus line. I sent an email to Terri, explaining to her that I wanted to purchase the best male she had available, no expense spared. I told her my pet store wanted a few outstanding breeder dragons, that these animals would receive lifelong homes with us, have professional care around the clock, have the best caging we had, and become ambassadors for reptile pets in general, showing the public just how beautiful a friendly lizard can be. I even sent her a few pictures of the palatial homes we were preparing for these special dragons.



Yeah, I know that some people who are serious about reptiles hate all pet stores. I thought that if I explained just how passionate we are about the care of our animals and our hobby, maybe she'd be as excited as I was. I was sooooo wrong. She sent me one of the longest emails I had ever received about how evil pet stores are, how evil I am for working at one, insulting me personally, really ripping me apart. She also said that she would contact every notable breeder of bearded dragons that she knew, which of course was everyone, and personally warn them that I was a horrible person and their animals would suffer terribly in her care. I was stunned that she would trash my personal reputation that way without knowing anything about me. I was relieved that I hadn't given her the name of my store, so she could not deal damage to our business and ruin any chances I had of being successful in making reptiles more important there. I didn't respond to her in any way, but she sent me several other angry and personally insulting email, some of which described in graphic detail the torture that I was surely inflicting upon animals. I should of saved these as proof of how unprofessional she was, but honestly, I was much younger and more vulnerable back then, and even thinking about having these on my computer made me feel bad.



After recovering for a while, I decided to reach out to Sandfire, since I knew they did wholesale and therefor probably didn't hate pet stores. I thought of misrepresenting myself as a private hobbyist just to get the animals, but in the end, I wanted to give my store's hard earned money to a company that shared our values. Anyway, Sandfire was extremely excited by this idea, so much so that they offered to sell me three Sandfire x Blood subadults that they had intended to keep and breed themselves. These amazing animals became the cornerstone of our breeding project. They did great in the window units. People would come to our store just to see the cool lizards in the window, and the dragons would come up to the glass and ham it up. Everyone loved these animals. Their offspring sold like hot cakes, and many individuals who bought them later bought other reptiles as well. In the end, this experimental idea of mine was my first ever unqualified success as a manager of anything, despite the close-minded and hurtful treatment I received from Terri Sommella.



PS: I asked some higher-up people in the reptile community, whom I had met and knew who I was, if she ever warned anyone about me, and I never heard of any evidence that she had, thank God.

Wow. So sorry to hear about that but it sounds like you persevered and more importantly your idea worked out even better than you could imagine! Good for you.

You are correct, there is something not quite right with Terri. I am still floored how poorly she treated someone basically ready and willing to purchase a dragon from her. I haven't even posted the latest exchanges where she has told how she thinks I will end up with a cheap and unhealthy dragon and know too little about dragons so it will be dead within a few months without her wisdom and guidance. As if no one on this earth has successfully raised a dragon to adulthood. Like I said, she has lost it.

And I'm afraid she may be trying to do the same with me (blacklisting me with other breeders) as I haven't heard back from a pretty prominent breeder suggested to me on here after reaching out earlier today. I hope I'm wrong and this breeder just hasn't had a chance to get back in touch with me. I guess we will see.


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As time goes by and I think about it, I realize I perhaps shouldn't have been as afraid of Terri's wrath, because if all these other important breeders know her so well, perhaps they also know that she is off-balance.

she was about 6 months old @md reptiles

Originally Posted by Rhegaldragons

she was about 6 months old @md reptiles

Fatty liver disease at 6 months old? Holy cow!

Originally Posted by Lucille

Now THAT is not a good sign. I would never, these days, do biz with someone that does not post pics of what I am getting or let me make a selection. I hope she comes on board to explain all this stuff......

She still to this day does not allow you to make selections. I purchased a girl from her earlier this year and ended up blocking her about a month ago. I like my girl but I do not like Terri and how she conducts business she makes the choice for your and tells you to look at what was previously produced. I only paid 200 for my girl so I didn't think it was a major issue till after getting my girl and having to fight with Terri about her for months. She didn't like this or that wanted my tanks plain no hammock etc just basic stuff but the health of my girl is fine. I wouldn't purchase another dragon from her or suggest anyone else does.