TNSREPTILES

Looking to buy a boa from him and just wanted to cover my bases by checking here first. Thankyou for your time, Adam Cooperman

Apologies about reviving an old thread, but I have some info about TNS Reptiles.

TNS Reptiles is based out of New York City and is a rather larger importer of ball pythons. It is run by a man named Michael Brooks according to the name tagged to his TNSReptiles666 email address (address omitted for privacy's sake).

I have not actually purchased any snakes from him, so perhaps someone else who is more informed can add some valuable input. However, he did do a slap-on-the-hand no-no by posting a "Gravid Ball Pythons for Adoption" ad on at least two different craigslists in the New York area recently. I emailed him because the location he listed on craigslist was only about 30 minutes from my house, and I prefer to buy snakes locally if I can. I sent him the following email expressing my interest:

Originally Posted by Vanessa Lane

Hello!
>
> I saw your ad on craigslist about 2 gravid ball pythons. I am a ball python and gecko breeder. My cousin and I share an incubator, so we have all the gear required. I currently live in Georgia and I'm home for the holidays, but my cousin (who is taking care of my Graziani pastel female and normal male until my field seasons for my PhD are completed) lives in Kingston. She will be the one hatching the eggs and taking care of the babies until I can properly care for them myself.
>
> I'm interested in taking a female, but I have a few questions.
>
> 1. Who was the sire? I'm assuming a normal.
> 2. Is this their first clutch?
> 3. What are the snakes currently eating (frozen/thawed or live)?
> 4. Are they finicky feeders?
> 5. How old are these girls?
> 6. How big (in grams, preferably) are these girls?
> 7. How far into term are they?
> 8. Are these the only two girls you have for sale?
> 9. If this isn't their first clutch, how many fertile eggs were laid before?
> 10. Are these captive bred snakes or imports? If captive bred, do you know the breeder who produced them?
>
> One female has extensive blushing and an almost pastel hue to her. They're both spectacular looking snakes. You can check out my old business website (www.geckolair.com) if you'd like. I haven't updated it in over a year since I had to sell the majority of my collection for graduate school, but I used to have a rather successful gecko breeding hobby. Living out of a tent for four months of the year makes it a bit challenging to have any pets, unfortunately.
>
> Also, is there a price break you could give us if we decided to purchase both snakes?
>
> Thanks!
> Vanessa Lane
> PhD Candidate in Forestry
> University of Georgia

He replied with the following:

Originally Posted by TNS Reptiles

They are imports from Africa im a direct importer, not a wholesaler. i import them and pick the animals up from the airport. To any of those questions i dont have answers for you, they are gravid so they dont eat, sire???no idea could be a lucy for all we know, I have about 200 of them for sale anything over 5 girls they are 100 each 2 snakes i can do for 175 each etc..etc...I live on long island but will deliver or ship , these are nice lookking snakes they are farmed girls so they're really not W/C per say...they keep them until a certain age and let them go inthe bush for breeding then re-colllect so they look good as adults. if you want you can call me direct @ 631-732-4233

To which I replied:

Originally Posted by Vanessa Lane

Thanks for the info, but we're not interested in imported ball pythons.

You may want to consider renaming your ad. It's false advertising and not exactly appreciated on craigslist (or anywhere, for that matter), and apparently your ad was flagged while I wrote my email to you. Having ads in at least two different craigslist locales also isn't very kosher (yes, I saw your post in the Albany craigslist as well, I do live pretty much smack dab in the middle of the state so I check 3 craigslists regularly).

If you've got balls to sell, that's fine, but you shouldn't have to be sneaky about it. It doesn't speak well for your business ethics. I recommend advertising on www.kingsnake.com or www.faunaclassifieds.com. Kingsnake charges about $30 for 3 months last time I checked, and fauna is either free or only $10 for a year subscription. You'll get more traffic with a kingsnake.com account, although I like the community on fauna more.

Happy New Year,
~Vanessa

First off, I applaud him for being very honest with me in the email. I'm hoping that his misleading ads were just to get people talking with him instead of deliberately trying to noose an uniformed and ignorant reptile hobbyist in. I worry that had I not asked the right questions that he might not have been so open. Still, kudos for honesty. However, placing an identical ad in at least two craigslists and lying about the actual location of his business (each craigslist ad had a different location listed), not to mention that these snakes are hardly for 'adoption' if he's a business owner, makes me very wary about actually purchasing anything from him.

Maybe I'm wrong and maybe he's a great guy, but first impressions mean a lot to me in the reptile industry and this kind of turned me off. Hopefully either he or someone else who has done business with him will be able to shed more light upon his character.

~Vanessa Lane
http://www.geckolair.com

The following message is his response and this concluded our email banter.

Originally Posted by TNS Reptiles

Venessa, there is nothing sneaky about posting in more then one place....# 2 it sounds like your a person with a little too much time on your hands. Gravid ball python is not false advertising, they are gravid....have a nice day and enjoy your new year

Apparently he didn't think that having the ad labeled as '2 gravid ball pythons for adoption' wasn't being sneaky, or that he lied about his location on two craigslists. Needless to say, I won't be purchasing anything from him in the future.

#1 it's not sneaky to put up different ads in different areas of craigslist because WE all know you can only post one AD in ONE area. I dont see how that is sneaky???? There are more then kingsnake and fauna to post ads on and yes putting them up with an "adoption fee" is the only way to sell animals on craiglist just like 100,000 other poeople everday...i supposed im guilty of that...you got me im a scumbad ha
#2 I labeled my ads exactley what they were and was 100% honest with you.
#3 Anyone who does importing knows how snakes are let go after laying eggs and then collected again on the same properties and most considered them farmed in certain areas as well as babies, but i told you they were W/C and was 1000% percent honest with you.
#4 If you're going to speak bad about someone really have a good reason.

#5 there is not one person in America that I have sold a BAD snake too or not given them there money......, I've been scumbagged, but I've never scumbagged one person with the animal they received from me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike Brooks
TNS Reptiles
Long Island,NY
631-732-4233