Hi everyone. First of all, let me just say, I'm a new member here, so if I do anything that's out of line, I encourage you to let me know.
I have read the rules and stickys, though, rest assured!
Alright. Well, I wasn't sure if I should put this as a "Bad Guy" post or "Inquiry".. So I went with the first. My reason being was a negative experience with this vendor at reptile shows. I want to put this out there because ever since this experience I just haven't felt right about it..
So here's my story..
I went to the All-Maryland Reptile Show in November of last year with a very specific purpose. To bring home a fire skink! After searching far and wide, I came across a table absolutely LOADED with a vast array of reptiles. It was obvious to me that these guys were in it for the profit from the start. Tiny 6x6 boxes were brimming with lizards and snakes of all kinds. It wasn't long until I found what I was looking for.. A small cup with two fire skinks huddled together, no label, no price. I examined them and they were not skinny nor sickly in appearance.. So I excitedly hailed one of the vendors, asked the price, paid the $20, and whisked the deli-cup away.
Now, let me just say that when I take on a new reptile I do thorough research and ensure ahead of time I have a suitable set-up and that all requirements are met!
When we got home, I took him out of his deli-cup for the first time. He was calm, but wriggled a bit in protest to my handling him, a response I suspected, so I decided it would be best to let him adjust to his new home. I placed him in his enclosure and let him be until later that night. I went to check on him, he had burrowed himself down into the bed-a-beast. I took him out for a quick look before I went to bed.. He seemed very calm and complacent when I handled him. While concerning, I had hoped he was just stressed from his first day, and so I returned him to his enclosure and went to bed. I guess I shouldn't have been so optimistic.
The next morning I found him dead, stiff as a board. I know for a fact that even if there was any type of heating malfunction that my house did not go below 70 degrees that night! So, I cried, moped around feeling like it was my fault, feeling so guilty for his death, cried some more.. Then finally got up the courage to seek out the vendor that I had bought him from.
This is when I got to talk to Allen or one of the other lovely members of Reptile Kingdom.
I called and got right to the point. I explained politely to the man on the phone my situation, that I had given him optimal care, and that I would appreciate a refund. The man was unwilling to discuss the situation and tried to point the finger at me repeatedly, though I told him several times with the amount of time he was in my care, he could've survived in a freezer! He scoffed, he huffed, and was VERY unbusiness-like. Finally, he told me to come to his table at the next show and
maybe they could do something for me. I gave him my name and number, which I can PROMISE YOU he did not write down. He was very quick to hang up. I proceeded to send a few e-mails in the following weeks, none have been responded to.
Has anyone had a similar experience with Reptile Kingdom?