Neil Gubitz=Good Guy

rolf...
i was just surfing the web and came across this pic from a yahoo search
and i would imahine this is what most of neils animals look like or at least the ones in his freezer LOL
LOL of course this is pure speculatiion but with all this talk of dead snakes i would imagine its not far off

Originally posted by robin d.
ROFLMAOOOOOOOOo

i have a three year old camera i bought for $199 and i can get pics100 times better than neils... i dont think its a coincidence his pitures are bad

Not only does she have and old cheap camera, but a serious visual acuity problem as well. Sometimes i think she can see better in the dark than with the lights on, I worry that there's something strange about her, reminds me of a bat.

She may not be able to see, but seems rather intuitive about what's going on around her.

Her Huband, the Jersey yankee.
Russ Struck.


PS. Neil, It's rather sad that she takes much better pics than you considering.

WOW venomous responses.......ooooooppppppsssss didnt mean to let the cat out of the bag!!! He did the right thing on my accord so thats that. PERIOD

Now I have banned Neil from this site a couple of times, and called him out on some issues, so no, I am not here to defend him specifically.

But I do believe this thread is getting out of line. If you have some new information to add in relation to the topic of this thread, then by all means go ahead and add it. If you are simply rehashing old information mentioned elsewhere on this forum, then simply provide links and get on with your lives.

You are welcome to say your piece, but please don't make a career out of it in any particular thread.

Well.... against my better judgement.... here's what happened....

In MHO what I believe was against Neil better judgement was:

1. Fail to thoroughly inspect animals upon arrival to his place. In his ads he claims his animals "have never seen a mite" (for those that have never seen one, they are really minute creatures ), although he failed to see a whole flap of skin hanging from one of his GTPs.

2. Ship animals w/o having undergone an acceptable quarantene period. As stated in this thread ..."I had them a whole week before I sold them"..... This period of time is unacceptable as quarantene.

3. Ship animals w/o checking them. Even if they were flawless upon arrival to his place an unfortunate event could happen during that week. They should be checked again before shipping.

4. GTPs and ETBs have lower metabolisms, and thus digest feed slowly when compared to other constrictors. Feeding and shipping within a week's time could lead to regurgitation problems.

5. Asking to post this experience as a "good guy thread". Yes, he asked a friend of his to send a replacement animal and that's commendable, but he sent a sub-standard animal to start with, which died a few days after arrival. I'm still wandering what the cause of death was (undigested feed maybe?).

But I would have to agree with what others have said, there is definitely an improvement as there hasn't been a bad guy thread for a while.

Regards.

Before anyone starts.... I'm not defending Neil, just pointing out facts.. GTP's can be sexed by "experienced" herpetologists or breeders. NOT BY PROBING!!! If you take your time and are careful you can get a hemipene to evert with light thumb pressure. Do not stretch the tail or force it! There are other ways as well. I.E. calcium deposits however, young animals have very little. I don't recommend it but, it can be done. I've sexed and bred GTP's at least a 6 times. Second if the person you are working with is someone you know you can trust, where is the problem with drop shipping? I have sent out over 35 GTP's this year with one loss and it was carrier error. Yes, it was me Neil called and I shipped it to his customer. It never went to Neil's place. I'm sure Neil deserves what he gets most of the time but, these two points should no longer be an issue here. The rest of the points brought up are between you guys!!! LOL's Thanks Ray G. HBR

I'm not defending Neil, just pointing out facts.. GTP's can be sexed by "experienced" herpetologists or breeders. NOT BY PROBING!!! If you take your time and are careful you can get a hemipene to evert with light thumb pressure.

Huh...

"There are several ways to determine the gender of your chondros. Everting the hemipenes of male neonates by applying pressure to the base of the tail is a common practice with many species of snakes. Due to the very fragile vertebrae of baby tree pythons, it is strongly recommended that this technique not be used on them, or in fact on chondros of any age. Probing, done by an experienced person using sexing probes made for this purpose, is a far safer way to sex your animals. Probing to determine the gender of chondros should be done only after the animals are a year old. Again, this will help avoid damage to the fragile vertebrae of young animals." -Greg Maxwell

Guess he lacks "experience" eh?

Not that he is the only source that will confirm the danger inherent in popping young Chondros, but this is an easy and accessable quote from someone widely reccognized for their "expertise"

Lemme know when your book comes out Ray.

One other thing...

Neil stated that the GTP with the flap-gash was from someone else's stock too... Might that person have been you Ray or were you only responsible for the replacement?

By no means do I consider myself above Greg Maxwell in regards to GTP's . However, just as here... opinions vary. I've worked with herps for over 30 years... I've been in business for 25 years. I've had 7 of the first time captive breedings in the U.S. to my credit... I founded the Northern Virginia Herpetological Society. I am the founder and current president of the St. Lucie regional Herpetological Society. I have published 26 articles in numerous publications. I have been working on a book and have several areas of interest. However, I have at any given time 300-400 specimens to maintain.... I spend a great deal of time doing field work in S. Fla. I have collected and studied herps in Honduras, Costa Rica, Andros, Puerto Rico, Peru, Nassau, Haiti, Trinidad and the most of the U.S. I have a degree in biology from George Mason University and specialized in Herpetology. (post grad studies in Great Falls on Clemmys Insculpta) I conduct numerous lectures and talks for educational purposes. I run a reptile and amphibian rescue which adopts specimens out at no charge to schools and educational related institutions. I'm putting together a junior college course entitled, "Modern aspects of Herpetology and Herpetoculture". (we'll see how that pans out?LOL's!) I'm sure I can go on but, it would be irrelevant. Etc. Etc. Do I need a pat on the back? By no means! Do I think i'm perfect? Absolutely not! Do I have more to learn? I learn something new everyday. My animals are my best teachers. Do I make mistakes? Yes! (Too may as far as i'm concerned but, we are our own worst critics!)
Have I made mistakes with GTP's? Yes, many years ago when they were rare and little was known about them. I can guarantee that none of the neonates that I've supplied have any broken vertabra in the tail. Do I recommend sexing them at an early age? No. However, i'd be more fearful of an inexperienced person probing them! Last but, not least.... No I did not supply the specimen that had to be replaced. I guess it was worth your shot but, I have not had any specimens from that locality nor did I sell that particular pair to Neil. Neil wanted a good quality specimen to send to a customer and rather than have it shipped twice, he asked if I would send it to his customer. Simple. I knew nothing of the situation with Neil or his customer. If you wish to continue attacking Neil, by all means do so. Do I think you are correct in doing so? Considering the past he has it coming. However, I was simply pointing out two areas in which the facts were incorrect. In regards to sexing and breeding any species of reptile.. It varies breeder to breeder. Each person has techniques which work for them. I've seen specimens with thousands of dollars invested in the design of their habitats which never showed breeding activity. I've seen very crude designs which produced numerous viable neonates. You go with what works. Same for sexing. Guidelines are just that..guidelines. Oops! This is going way off thread! I hope this is a satisfactory explanation. LOL's!! Thanks Ray G. HBR

Bud,

How did Niel defeat me?

I still have a store, A new location closer to home but it does very well.

I still sell, trade and ship animals and make a good living at it.

Plus I still have all my breeding stock here at my home.

Bud, do me a favor, Do a name search here and see how many people posted that I sold them a dead, dying animal or ant type of bad deal. I know of only one with a guy named Ron.

If there is anyone that Neil defeated it is himself. He shot himself in the foot.

To everyone else,

I was going to stay clear of posting in this thread but once Bud posted my name in it I wanted to answer, sorry for the rant.