just bought a deformed Leachianus...

Hello, just wanted to share my recent experience with Kyle Hiner of Winter Haven FL. I saw his ad for a pine leachie on this forum in the classifieds section. I contacted him and ended up buying the animal. Here's what I got:







notice the miniature deformed front right leg? and the deformity continues up the neck and through the skull and the mandible. She can't even turn her head to the left?!? I have extensive experience (raised 30+ leachies) and I know this is a case of secondary hyperparathyroidism (MBD) I know the breeder who produced the animal in question and have contacted her. It was sold in perfect condition as a baby. I also have other healthy animals from the same dam and sire that produced the animal in question. Kyle claims that it there is nothing wrong with the animal, and accuses me of trying to scam him. Here are the emails:

Sent: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 10:30 am
Subject: RE: Pine leachie?


just got the little one...was she deformed when you got her? her front right leg is about half as big as it should be, and the deformity is even evident through her neck, skull and mandible??? I'm trying to figure out if the problem is nutritional, or husbandry related or genetic??? to me, it looks like she has been fed baby food and/or kept too dry...just trying to figure out what to do with her. She can't even turn her head to the left. Since I can't ever breed her...I'd like at least a partial refund.

Talk with you soon,

Brian Grussing

and his response:

Subject: Re: Pine leachie?
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:35:10 -0400
Hey sorry Im getting back so late had to pull a double today, That is my first leachie, and I did get it from vikki, and it looked perfectly fine to me when I sent it out, ive done numerous deals in the reptile world so I always take the time to look at my animals before I send them out. I have never done anyone in the reptile community wrong and im not trying to do you wrong its just that I looked at that gecko yesterday and didnt notice the deformities you are mentioning nor am I seeing them in any of the numerous pics I have of her.................Sorry.......................Ky le

my response:

Sent: Thu, Jun 24, 2010 9:44 am
Subject: RE: Pine leachie?

Take a closer look...I included some shots of my Pine from the same parents, that is the same size--so you could see what she would look like if she wasn't deformed--no twisted bone structure, no miniature limb. Their front feet are supposed to be almost as big as their back feet, and their legs are supposed to be symmetrical...

the first 6 pics are of my healthy Pine from the same parents (Vicki), the rest are of the animal you just sent me...we need to talk

Brian Grussing

his response:

Sent: Thu 6/24/10 11:20 AM
Sorry I dont see the deformities you are talking about. I took good care of this gecko and I will not be screwed over again, I have had people send me back screwed up animals after I sent them a perfectly healthy gecko, how do I know you didnt just take pics of one of the deformed geckos you got from another breeder, or your could just photo shop to make them look uneven, go ahead and post on the BOI and I will post my response and the 30 some odd people ive done transactions with in the last year...................Thanks...................Ky le

I can't help but worry about any other animals Kyle may be "taking care" of...maybe he just doesn't understand, but this is a serious deal breaker, if an animal isn't in perfect health and condition, then it is a "rescue", not a sellable animal...

You'll have to repost this with the business name and/or person's name in the thread title.

forgot to add--the deformity is so bad; she is always stuck looking to the right. There is so little bone mass in her right side, arm, neck and skull, that she is permanently "kinked". When you manually straighten her out, you can really see how deformed her skull is...I'll do my best to take some better pics as soon as my schedule allows.

Sorry for your misfortune but this post probably won't last too long on here! You must include the sellers name in the title of the post!

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