Timo of Agama International

Sent him my paypal money today to purchase a lizard. anyone have any dealings?

Posting an inquiry after a purchase? Well, dont get your hopes up... It's not the same Agama International Bert L. was running. Timo is liquidating the stock at blowout prices because the farm is up for sale. I got a few tegus from him and a couple aussy water dragons... The dragons were in good shape, but a few of the tegus were basically beyond help (4/13 died) and one is super ill and has lost half its tail (I expect the 5th dead tegu any day) and I have been hearing bad reports of unhealthy tegus from other customers who have purchased them also. Now Timo didn't come across as a bad guy, but he made it pretty clear that he could care less about the stock/business and is liquidating the stock to move back to Europe. -Eric Lago

well thats not what i want to hear. I hope this guy is in good health or i will be so bummed. I worked hard for that money. What did he do about your dead tegus?

I find it very sad that the animals Bert loved so much are being sold below the standards that he would have upheld.

Lynda Bagley

I totally agree... As I said, I would not call Timo a bad guy, he just doesn't care about the business and pretty much made it clear that lizards are not his thing. To answer your question, I didn't ask him about the perished tegus; the first died a week after purchasing, the 2nd-4th 2 weeks after, and the present ill tegu is hanging by a thread but definitely going to lose its tail. All of this happened well outside of any company's guarantees, and they were so cheap that I didn't bring it up. -Eric Lago

www.msreptilianhibbyists.weebky.com

Funny, when I inquired about reds, the prices were higher than I expected. I was going to go pick one up, if I bought from him. No surprises in shipping that way. But after hearing this, and the prices he quoted, I probably won't bother.

It's very sad to see a long time legacy being parceled out and destroyed so carelessly.

Yeah i only know about Bert what I've read about him and he seemed to be a stand up guy but I only got into reptiles in the past 2 or 3 years. My jeweled did come. It ate about a dozen crickets today but was very dehydrated when it got here and i gave him water and he drank 146 sips of water and then 109 sips after i filled it back up so i was a little disappointed about that but he looks to be ok so I'm hoping for good results.

Gents

I bought 10 Tegus from Timo several months back and they are all doing great. I bought another 6 this weekend that dont look so hot but with the proper care should thrive. I am fortunate enough to live close enough to drive to the farm and hand pick my animals....the reds all look very good...the blk and whts look ok but are a little skinny.
The farm was still very well organized and maintained, Tegus require alot of attention and he is liquidating the stock as it is to much for the family to take care. Still alot of great animals at the farm and Timo and Hester are doing their best to keep up..

Dan

Dear Friends -

Bert Langerwerf was a good friend and I have been to AGAMA twice since his death in August. Timo and Hester both want to return to Europe and you can imagine what was dropped at their feet the day after Bert died. Bert did the work of a team of herpers every day to stay on top of things and even though Timo and Hester and some local friends work hard at the farm every day, I think it must be a challenge to keep up.

People forget or don't realize that when you buy from AGAMA, even when Bert was alive, you are basically buying animals out of "the wild". These are not terrarium-kept, tame, pet lizards. Most of the breeding stock was caught and/or produced by Bert and kept and/or raised in wild conditions in his large, outdoor enclosures. I think the missing toes, tail tips, "lean look", etc. are just part of what you will get from AGAMA and Timo knows the difference (and should be describing his animals accurately to buyers - he has to me and several of my colleagues) but since Bert cared little about esthetics and was more interested in the size, breeding condition, and locality of the animals, I think Timo thinks it is less of a big deal than it really is to have and offer "imperfect" animals for sale. Remembering too, that many of these animals, especially breeding sized animals, are available nowhere else.

Anyway, I just wanted to remind people that AGAMA was Bert's legacy and though Timo and Hester have worked at the farm for most of the last 20 years, they are not tireless, fanatical, passionate, daylight-to-dark "Gopher Bert" and they are just trying to do the best they can and get the animals sold in a horrible economy and when the market for reptiles is at its lowest in decades.

Russ Gurley

www.livingartpublishing.com

Awesome post Russ.