Terri Sommella Fire and Ice Dragons -- Nightmare

You know, I like stern as much as the next guy...but you have to post your full, and real, name here...and you are only re-iterating what we already know...thanks though !!
greg

Originally Posted by CheriS

Lawndart, can I ask how old that dragon is or how old in that picture, as that does not look like an adult at all... What is the size and weight of it?

The dragon is now 3 y/o according to Terri. I'm not sure how old in this picture, obviously a jeuvenile. I'm not sure as to her weight or size. I have been asked by Terri not to mess around with her unless I'm hand feeding so I have not yet measured her. The dragon is very beautiful in this picture


She looks nothing like this now. She is more white than my other "standard looking" dragon but mostly dark brown to tan. She does have clear nails which are mostly transluscent. I've been told repetedly by Terri that the dragon is stressed and to give her time to adjust. She has granted me a 3 month extension on her return policy which I have in writting, she sent it as an e-mail. She has been very professional with me but I have been very professional with her. I don't want to send this dragon back for fear of injury, loss, or getting ripped off but I must have faith for I have nothing else in this situation.

Richard,

Thanks for clarifying the age of the picture, I thought that picture was a juvie.

The color changes for the snow/leucistics from what we have seen are pretty typical as adults. As hatchlings and Juvies they are much whiter and then are darker more as adults. We have one that goes from a very snow white to a brown then gray color and its not just stress that is causing it as she has been with us for years now, but the majority of the time she is darker colors.

Here is her pictures in her lighter colors when younger and then below she is the dragon in the back in her darker colors. Drastic change huh?

I think that if it is common of luec/snows to darken to that extent, they should not be sold as anything special. If my snow or my orange snow turned like that...you're damn straight I'd be going back to the breeder!

Thanks for the comparison photo.

think that if it is common of luec/snows to darken to that extent, they should not be sold as anything special. If my snow or my orange snow turned like that...you're damn straight I'd be going back to the breeder!

I agree! How can someone sell a dragon one the basis of old pictures when it may be known that there is a color change towards the darker side with age? This is fraudulent when it is not disclosed at the time of purchase. I'm also an idiot for spending 650.00 on a dragon of any kind. All I wanted was a unique reptile to compliment my current dragon and I got a dragon that looks very similar. Scammed

She was not sold as anything special, and at a very modest price. We knew of her color changes before she came here as he was a honest breeder and let us know. She is much older than most out there and I have heard that the more recent snows are better at retaining their colors. I have been told (do not know if it is true) that each generation becomes better at retaining their whiter colors as they grow older.

She is not bred or represented as anything but a common dragon who can be very light at times. She is almost 7 years old now.

I just wanted Richard to see how one as a juvie appeared to be pure white, but what it can develop into as it ages. From the description of his now, it sounds like his may be this color also. I have seen some adult that are 2-3 years old and are still white. I know that Kevin Dunne has some older adults that have stayed white, so perhaps the gene controling that color are becoming more "set" in time. I also know people that have bought some of his leucistics(at half the cost as Richard paid) and are happy with their colors as adults.

Richard, did she send you any current pictures of the dragon that is 3 years old now or was the baby picture the only one you saw?

CheriS

Terri did not share any current pic's of this dragon. She stated that her camera was not working. I had not reason to doubt her.

Every time I hear that excuse "my camera is broken' I avoid further contact with that individual...there is no reason for that. If necessary, a digital disposable is for sale at any store nearby...and having owned a series of dig cams, and never broken one, I fail to understand...
If you have the time to post an ad for an animal, you have time to get a pic of it too...
greg

p.s. I do believe this also covers another excuse that is funny : " my usb port is broken, so I can't upload any images"...you have to be kidding me... that is as good as "I shipped him a lyre snake"...ah, the lies in 2005 !

Disclaimer (since I have read the BOI rules):

The following post is written out of opinion and personal experience. No slander is intended, just my opinion being expressed. Like it or not, this is what I personally think.

I haven't really posted in this forum. I'm the girlfriend who spent the money on the little dragon.

I haven't said anything so far because it has been a very trying and emotional situation for me, primarily because I was being made to feel crazy for expecting some normal conduct. I was yelled at over the phone for almost an hour. I didn't hang up because I was truly afraid the dragon would die. I'm not the reptile expert, Jonathan is primarily the one who raises all 20 of our reptiles. I was just hoping to get a nice pet. An animal I could spend a lot of time with, and like Lawndart, I wanted to have a rather unique animal I could raise myself.

I don't normally prefer to go into a business transaction thinking, "Oh, this person is going to screw me" because I'd like to think that people are honest when running a business where reputation is vital. There realistically was no information prior that we were aware of about Terri being such a con-artist. I DID think it was strange that she would not show pictures, but I'd previously known of a couple of reputable breeders who got really paranoid about email viruses. I realized if you run a big operation it's hard to monitor viruses and the like. I realize now that my logic was silly. But at the time it could have made sense to my ignorance.

The matter where Terri is taking the "high road" with her silence (as posted in her email) seems to be a way to rationalize that she knows these customers are beyond dissatisfied, and in fact, feel cheated. I reallllly really do NOT understand the need to lie, hide, avoid, and not come clean on your word. Being in a business where reputation is EVERYTHING (the music industry), this concept is a bit alien to my ethic. Plus, uhm... George Washington?? Come on! She is not a president with matters of state and let's face it, those were far larger fish to fry with far more than A bearded dragon at stake!! She is a poor business person who hasn't honored her OWN guarantee when it was suddenly acted upon. Rather petty in comparison to George Washington I'd think, no?

It saddens me deeply that the animal seems so skittish and scared of normal human presence, when she's been around us for several months now and has had regular handling from both of us. I sometimes feel bad that the juvvie savannah monitor I got a few weeks ago is calmer than the beardie. And this savvie STILL needs to be tamed, since it doesn't seem like it was handled so much. But this to me, is pretty normal and not out of the ordinary at all since he was given to us for free in a deal where Jon got his tegus from a PHENOMENALLY helpful owner. (BTW, HE ROCKED). The savvie is coming around within a matter of weeks. The beardie won't even tolerate much handling, or us entering the room before getting all spazzed out.

I managed to acquire Terri's address from Discover on a copy of the airbill. We were SO stupid for not keeping the box after the first few months. The address on the bill was:

Fire and Ice Dragons
310 Schottie Road
Littlestown, PA 17340-9748

I don't know if this is her address or not. I honestly have no idea. But we should have just not listened to her and sent the animal back with the things in place that Jon mentioned: letter preceding arrival of animal, vet bill of health and then shipped the animal back and have it signed for.

I'm really burned on this experience because I feel responsible for trusting when I shouldn't have. I don't feel I ever want to deal with this situation ever again. I'm 563.00 dollars out for the animal, plus bills for 2 weeks of boarding, and feeling like a complete idiot after everyone has told me this is animal is sub-par. I don't know what I will do with the animal. I may raise her up and trade her to a breeder we know who is awesome with his word and business. He always goes the extra mile to help someone out, like East Bay Vivarium (bless their hearts) even though they didn't even sell the animal originally.

I hope Terri realizes some day she's doing a lot of harm by selling animals and not respecting her own terms when things don't work out. I hope she realizes that losing her temper and screaming at a person already in tears who is worried sick an animal will die is NOT good customer service.

Where do these people come out of anyway? And why do they have to breathe my air?

That is really sad, I am so sorry you had this happen to you, if I had any babies right now, I would make sure you got an incredible unique dragon for your collection... just a shame

Here is some info if it helps anyone

Domain Name: FIREANDICEDRAGONS.COM

Administrative Contact:
Sommella, Terri (YVQPMSFDNI)
12 Inverin Circle
Timonium, MD 21093 terri@sommellamarketing.com
US
410-252-6687

Orignal contact info when they started the site was in Sept 2002 was:

Contact Info:
Terri Sommella & Adam Seltzer
Fire and Ice Dragons
410-252-6687
this area code is MD

It changed to the a 717 (PA) area code in 12/2003, she also has said she had two other partners, but they are silent. I assume one is the Adam Seltzer above and the other is Dan Clontz who some of the photos are copywrited to with Terri on older websites. Some other names would should keep in mind when purchasing in the future.

I thought I would check on the marketing Email she had then also in the domin registry and its

Sommella Marketing
12 Inverin Circle
Timonium, MD 21093
US
Domain Name: SOMMELLAMARKETING.COM
Meta Description: SMS is a marketing consulting firm for CPAs specializing in increasing the return on marketing investments.

Some might want to read about her "other" business
http://www.sommellamarketing.com/about.htm and the contact info on that site says in the about us, which is only about her:
Terri Sommella
Sommella Market Strategies
12 Inverin Circle
Timonium, Maryland 21093
(Voice) 410-252-6989
(Fax) 410-252-1017

INTERESTING? I think someone figured out how to increase the return on those investments


Lawndart,

thought you might like to see this, its your baby on her banner from the September 2002 website, same photo she sent you recently to buy the dragon from, she was called Beth. The dragon was suppose to be several months old there in that photo and it was there in at least 9/2002 http://web.archive.org/web/200209220...andicedragons/

2-3 years is a long time to have a broken camera, especially when your suppose to be a marketing Wiz... or is that whiz-bang?

Did she tell you if this dragon has been bred and how much/often during the 3-4 years she had to have had her? Seriously, the more I find and read about this lady... if she would refund you ANY money I would take it and run!