Excel Dragonz - Aaron Flores

It's with a heavy heart that I make this my first post here. I've been struggling with doing this for days but I really feel something has to be said and people deserve to know the truth.

I, Brandice Fletcher purchased the dragon seen advertised below from Aaron Flores on December 18 2017. http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=642890

I paid $445 with shipping. Due to the holidays he shipped her out after new years and she arrived via overnight on the 4th of January.

When I opened the box and pulled her out she had feces stuck to her in various places even though she obviously hadn't gone in the bag. She was also clearly dehydrated and covered in retained shed. I quickly went to warming her and cleaning her up so I gave her a bath, cleaned her up and let her drink. She perked up a little bit and ate a small meal. I was able to get a stool sample to the vet and she tested positive for pinworms and protozoa. I notified Aaron immediately so he could test and treat his animals. Instead he continued to send dragons out.

The day after she arrived she started digging into everything so I set her up with a lay box. She dug hard for a day and a half (minus night time). After several days of no progress with digging and no obvious signs of eggs, not eating on her own and just getting weaker I took her to the vet. The prognosis was shocking. She was extremely constipated (we believe this to be the reason for the digging). Guessed to be from a lack of proper heating by the vet. Early mbd, seen by uneven mineralization in the toes. Fighting a few parasites. Retained shed. Long term dehydration. I sent Aaron the vet report with not a single response out of him. No answer for the obvious neglect he'd given to this poor animal.

Eventually Aaron did refund me the money I paid for her but he showed no concern over the dragon at all. Just apologized for the situation. At several points he was flat out ignoring my messages, continuing to remain active on Instagram. The reality is I've been fighting to keep this dragon alive since she showed up at my door! Between medicating, baths twice a day, forced feedings. He hasn't even bothered to ask me how she's doing. In my opinion this is a young man who is only into breeding dragons to make a quick buck.

To make matters worse he not only continues to send out dragons but he's now selling his dirty, probably contaminated cages.

Apparently my pictures got lost sorry

Wow. Hopefully, she will improve with your love and attention. I'm glad he refunded the purchase price, but I am concerned that he is still selling animals, especially since there is a known issue.

Have you notified him of this thread?

I haven't notified him directly as he blocked me on Instagram. I did made a post on Facebook FBI feedback and inquiries for reptiles that he has responded to.

Sorry to hear what you and the dragon are going through. I'm glad that she's with you and getting proper care. And I'm glad that he refunded you, but it's still not acceptable to ship out a sick animal. Is he getting out of dragons, and hence the cages for sale?

So you have the dragon + money. He refunded you in full correct?

I’d venture to guess that you received a picture of this dragon prior to shipping? Because I can see the MBD from that picture you posted, arms look swollen, typical for early stages of MBD where the bones in the arms tend to break down in an attempt to supplement itself with vitamins lacking in diet / habitat.

Regardless, this animal does not appear to be on deaths door, is it at all possible he was unaware to the extent of its issues? This does not appear to be a case of extreme neglect, more than likely just improper husbandry. Also you state “extremely constipated” yet vet wrote “dehydrated / possibly constipated”. See my issue? An animal can exhibit early signs of MBD in a very short period of time. Your vet states that it is most likely reversible. A vet would not state this if it was not a mild case. I’ve received animals with mild – severe MBD, and a vet will not state it is reversible if it is not mild, as most of the times you can stop the progression, but the issues are not reversible.

Also, the fecal exam that produced tested positive for pinworms and protozoa, are either of those even something serious? I am not an expert with bearded dragons, but animals all have some sort of colonization of bacteria / bugs. Some are not treated unless there is an issue. Are these deadly bugs for dragons? I am not sure.

I mean this has been a mega pain in your butt, and I am glad you were very responsible and brought the dragon to the vet, but how much are you out $ wise? Did you get prophylactic treatment for your other animals? Are you considering bringing any of the other animals to the vet? Or did you isolate properly to prevent that?

I am not entirely concerned with Aaron selling animals until he weighs in on this. I also do not think he should be crucified until his side is articulated. There are two sides to every story, and he did refund you. Maybe he completely disagreed with you, but did the right thing because you did the right thing and brought it to a vet.

I guess my question is, what more could he have done for you? You have the money and animal… Did he need to show extreme empathy? Give you $1,000 on top of the refund? Pay for the vet bills and give you a free animal? Halt all animal sales to give a global announcement that all his animals have a clean bill of health? I am just confused.

Originally Posted by BeardieBrandice

I haven't notified him directly as he blocked me on Instagram. I did made a post on Facebook FBI feedback and inquiries for reptiles that he has responded to.

He is a member here, I sent him an email.
Brandi could you please post screen shots of the emails between the two of you? There must have been some communication as you say he did refund you.

When one side stops communicating, it can also be because of the tenor of the communications of the other party. You say he is not concerned with the critter, and only with making money, please show that in the emails.

He does seem to sell a lot of dragons and many are fairly expensive. I'm hoping that others with feedback will post on this thread.

Last Activity: 01-17-2018 03:32 PM
Current Activity: Viewing Thread Excel Dragonz - Aaron Flores


Aaron it appears you are viewing the thread right now, please post your side of this transaction, along with screen shots of emails if needed.

She already posted this story on facebook. If you’d like to see the whole thing go to Facebook FBI - Feedback and Inquiries for Reptiles. This whole thing is already discussed about, so please everyone be my guest. Not doing this twice.

Originally Posted by Michael Brown

I’d venture to guess that you received a picture of this dragon prior to shipping? Because I can see the MBD from that picture you posted , arms look swollen, typical for early stages of MBD where the bones in the arms tend to break down in an attempt to supplement itself with vitamins lacking in diet / habitat.

I agree with most everything you have said, except the part bolded; not everyone can see the early stages of MBD. So even if the OP received pictures, it's possible that they didn't have the knowledge to see the swelling.