Ben and Brenda Howard of Fire n' Ice Geckos

Ben and Brenda Howard of Fire n' Ice Geckos are small-time Leopard Gecko breeders located in North Dakota.
Last fall I purchased an enigma morph leopard gecko from Ben and Brenda at Fire n' Ice Geckos. I was a young, rather excited buyer, as it was going to be my second leopard gecko, and I had a lot of questions. Before the sale was made they were very willing to answer my questions and talk to me about the gecko.

The shipping went almost smoothly (there was an issue with the delivery guy taking the gecko to the campus mail room instead of the house I was in, but that was no fault of the Howards, just the dumb delivery man). The gecko was well-packed, nice and warm, and looked great when she was taken out. Being an enigma gecko, I was worried about ES, though they had said she showed no signs of ES. She did not have any worrisome issues after shipping, which I know can cause a lot of stress, and has continued to not need any of the extra care that enigmas can sometimes need. She grew fast and has been very healthy, and she has grown into a beautiful gecko.

Afterwards I have sent pictures to them every once in a blue moon to keep them updated on the little cutie. Once I sent them a picture where it was clear she was on sand, and the Howards made a point to message me back telling me the dangers of the sand. Even though I knew about it by that time and was planning on getting her off the sand very soon, I appreciated their kind words of warning. They were not harsh or derogatory towards me at all, and to me their speaking up showed that they were still concerned about the health and safety of the gecko, which I very much appreciated. I also recently asked if they happened to have any hatchling pictures of my gecko as I was curious, and they responded in their usual timely manner and actually did still have a picture of her as a baby, which was awesome.

I highly recommend working with Ben and Brenda Howard. They were kind and friendly to an overexcited newbie before, during, and after the sale, their stock is beautiful, and they respond in a timely manner. Very professional people and I very much enjoyed doing business and my later correspondences with them. It was a great experience for a young gecko owner to deal with such nice people. The gecko they sent me is admittedly my favorite of the two, because of how pretty she is and how awesome her personality is. She is the one I can let even my most nervous friend hold without fear of her doing something to scare them, or them doing something to scare her. Good people with good geckos!

This is a second review of Ben and Brenda Howard.

Nearly two years later, I decided I wanted to buy another leopard gecko. During my casual searching, I saw that the Howards had obtained a young Total Eclipse Enigma for their breeding stock. Very cool looking animal, and I mentioned to them that I wanted a gecko like this and would be keeping an eye out. This animal ended up becoming a breeder male for the next season, and he produced several TEE offspring. On one of their photos, I mentioned again how much I wanted one, and they remembered my previous mentioning of it. In fact, I learned after my purchase that they had held off selling either one of their young TEEs to another person because they told her someone else had first pick (me, apparently). The second transaction with them went just as smoothly as the first, even when we had to suddenly had to have her shipped out due to a random break in the heat making shipping weather here perfect. The animal arrived healthy and happy. And I very much appreciate their memory on one of their customer's desires to such degree.

These are great people with great animals, and I continue to recommend them highly!

Thank you Meredith!

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

Ben and Brenda Howard of Fire n' Ice Geckos are small-time Leopard Gecko breeders located in North Dakota.
Last fall I purchased an enigma morph leopard gecko from Ben and Brenda at Fire n' Ice Geckos. I was a young, rather excited buyer, as it was going to be my second leopard gecko, and I had a lot of questions. Before the sale was made they were very willing to answer my questions and talk to me about the gecko.

The shipping went almost smoothly (there was an issue with the delivery guy taking the gecko to the campus mail room instead of the house I was in, but that was no fault of the Howards, just the dumb delivery man). The gecko was well-packed, nice and warm, and looked great when she was taken out. Being an enigma gecko, I was worried about ES, though they had said she showed no signs of ES. She did not have any worrisome issues after shipping, which I know can cause a lot of stress, and has continued to not need any of the extra care that enigmas can sometimes need. She grew fast and has been very healthy, and she has grown into a beautiful gecko.

Afterwards I have sent pictures to them every once in a blue moon to keep them updated on the little cutie. Once I sent them a picture where it was clear she was on sand, and the Howards made a point to message me back telling me the dangers of the sand. Even though I knew about it by that time and was planning on getting her off the sand very soon, I appreciated their kind words of warning. They were not harsh or derogatory towards me at all, and to me their speaking up showed that they were still concerned about the health and safety of the gecko, which I very much appreciated. I also recently asked if they happened to have any hatchling pictures of my gecko as I was curious, and they responded in their usual timely manner and actually did still have a picture of her as a baby, which was awesome.

I highly recommend working with Ben and Brenda Howard. They were kind and friendly to an overexcited newbie before, during, and after the sale, their stock is beautiful, and they respond in a timely manner. Very professional people and I very much enjoyed doing business and my later correspondences with them. It was a great experience for a young gecko owner to deal with such nice people. The gecko they sent me is admittedly my favorite of the two, because of how pretty she is and how awesome her personality is. She is the one I can let even my most nervous friend hold without fear of her doing something to scare them, or them doing something to scare her. Good people with good geckos!

I have nothing against Ben and Howard but ES is a genetic problem. It is very likely that you gecko would start showing signs of ES later down the road. They are great people,however the Enigma morph is risky to buy from anyone.

Originally Posted by The Magic maker

I have nothing against Ben and Howard but ES is a genetic problem. It is very likely that you gecko would start showing signs of ES later down the road. They are great people,however the Enigma morph is risky to buy from anyone.

I am well aware of this fact. However responsible breeding of enigmas helps reduce the chances of such issues in offspring. The gecko from the first transaction is just over two years old now and still shows no signs of ES, which typically can show up within the first three years of life. The second one is obviously still young, not even full grown yet. This thread is not about the risk associated with Enigma though, this thread is about my two very pleasant and issue-free transactions with Ben and Brenda Howard. They just happen to both involve enigmas. Lets keep this BOI thread focused on what is important.

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

I am well aware of this fact. However responsible breeding of enigmas helps reduce the chances of such issues in offspring. The gecko from the first transaction is just over two years old now and still shows no signs of ES, which typically can show up within the first three years of life. The second one is obviously still young, not even full grown yet. This thread is not about the risk associated with Enigma though, this thread is about my two very pleasant and issue-free transactions with Ben and Brenda Howard. They just happen to both involve enigmas. Lets keep this BOI thread focused on what is important.

we are keeping it on whats important the geckos..... They are great but no breeder can change that genetic in the enigma..

Thank you for your input Christian. Yes, the Enigma gene certainly makes for interesting discussions, but the Board of Inquiry is not the place for them. The BOI is a place for buyers/sellers to review their transactions with other buyers/sellers. If you would like to discuss morphs and genetics, there is a separate category on this site and others to do so. Facebook is another great place as well. I would love to talk about the Enigma gene and our experiences with it in a forum for such discussions.
We've had two very pleasant transactions with Meredith, and countless other conversations throughout. She is an excellent customer and friend, and would absolutely recommend doing business with her to anyone.

No one should have any questions about Brenda and Ben.

They rock, end of story.