Okay - so this post is very long overdue. Back around the end of May, I was following a post on the FB BOI that seemed fishy, and began to do some digging (along with the help of other individuals in the reptile world). Tyson Finnigan/Shuler was accused of first selling an animal that died, then replacing it with a "surprise" snake that later died of what is presumed to be belly burns. I will link all three BOI posts (2 on FB and one on the main site) that describe everything related to those transactions, as well as several stolen photos Tyson claimed were his, when in reality, they were Mike Wilbanks photos.
After the post blew up, I received a PM from one of the store employees from Bobcat's pets, asking for help. They had believed that Tyson was a knowledgeable keeper, when in reality many animals were failing and dying at the store as a result of improper husbandry, lack of knowledge on individual species, and buying from wholesalers with negative reputations.
Because Tyson claimed to have sold his stake in the store, and I was under the impression that he had abandoned any and all animals with people unfamiliar with their needs, I agreed to drive the 7 hour one-way trip to Eugene to see if I could help the animals. I asked my friend Stephanie to join me, as she has a great deal of knowledge with larger animals, like the retics we were anticipating seeing.
Tyson was not made aware of the visit prior to the morning of, as I did not feel it was relevant, as he was no longer going to be working at the store or keeping animals. However, he did find out the morning of when he asked why I had the champagne ball python he was sending me (to prove his animals were healthy) returned to the original owner.
By the time we arrived, you could tell that some changes were in the process of being made, and Tyson stated that he wished we could have shown up after he made changes, to prove he was trying to make things right. I explained that the purpose of the visit was to make things better for the animals, not hide the issues that were already there.
At first glance, things were not completely unusual conditions for a pet store. There were stressed chameleons on display with no area to hide or camouflage themselves, and I recommended blacking out three sides of the enclosure. There were very large bearded dragons in the equivalent of 15 gallon tanks, two young juvenile gtps with visible ribs in an open tank, being fed in the same enclosure at the same time, but overall, nothing I haven't seen at pet stores before. Alicia, the manager, and Bob, the owner, were SUPER receptive, and taking notes on all recommendations we made. I have such respect that the two of them were willing to ask for help, admit that things needed improving, and ask how they could do so.
Tyson was very interested in showing off animals. He left shortly after Stephanie and I arrived, and we were able to explore more. There was a large tank of 3 adult ball pythons in the reptile section, and it was the same tank that the bumblebee and champagne discussed in the BOI posts were housed in. The cage had an UTH plugged in, and placed IN the tank with the animals. There was no temperature regulator, and there was a red bulb on the tank as well. My IR temp gun gave me a reading of 146 degrees. We immediately removed the UTH, and waited to see what would happen. Of the three animals, the one in shed was doing VERY poorly, and had visible stomatitis as well as an advanced RI. The other two were very thin, and had foul smelling urates.
In the baby rack/room, a new 6 qt rack system had been built, presumably that morning, before we arrived. Tyson gladly showed us his higher end thermostats, but failed to mention that he had plugged the heat tape directly into the wall, as the thermostat did not appear to be working the first time he attempted to set it up. I was inspecting the animals (several normals and a few morphs - some VERY small) and noticed the tub bottom was hot to the touch. I IR temp gunned that at 126. We immediately unplugged the unit and properly installed the thermostat TO the rack.
It was around this time that an employee showed us a blood python that was doing VERY poorly. It was housed in an orange critter keeper on reptile bark with no heat source. It was audibly popping, and had loose skin folds from dehydration and emaciation. The employees were very clearly upset by the condition of this animal, and made us aware it needed help. We immediately put the small blood python in a warm soak, where it quickly drank and urinated. Stephanie agreed to take the little kid home, as she owns and knows more about bloods than I do.
We were getting ready to leave, and Alicia asked us to take a look at the boas/retics. They were housed in a completely different area of the store, and we hadn't realized that we had overlooked them. The cages the snakes were in were highly inadequate for any large constrictor, as they were made of blacked out particle board with a small storm window as the only access point in or out of the enclosure. To pull an adult female retic through an 8x12 inch window, without any idea where it is in the cage, at face level is super dangerous. They also had inadequate heat, as the radiant heat panels showed a temp of no more than 84 degrees in any cage. Upon further inspection of the animals, including the "breeding pair of retics" and "breeding boas" - we noticed a severe mite infestation. It was at that point that Tyson was called, and returned to the store.
I explained to him that it would be physically impossible to remove mites from those enclosures, and that they should be burned and replaced. I was told that they had soaked the snakes, and were surprised that they still had mites. Stephanie and I explained the need to completely TREAT every animal in the store, the enclosures, etc. Surprisingly, the mites seemed contained to that room.
As I prepared to leave, I took the two skinny adult males that were in the previously 146 degree tank, as well as a skinny pewter male ball python hatchling that had bite wounds and stuck shed. I brought the animals immediately to my friends house, where I have a QT rack for cases like this. By the next morning, both adult males were visibly struggling to breathe, and I called my vet to have them seen. By that evening, when I bagged them up to go to the vet, the one male had passed. I took the other two boys with me, as well as the body of the leopard-looking male. After speaking with Alicia and Bob, the store paid for the necropsy for the one male, as well as the vet visit for the others. The fire/vanilla looking boy was in very bad shape, and the vet said she had never seen an animal with that degree of mouth rot and RI still alive. She also noted several broken ribs, and inquired further about the store. It was at that time that I provided her with Tyson's name, the store address, and she filed an animal abuse notification with the Oregon AC.
After aggressive antibiotics for several days, the other adult male passed away. That same day, we received our culture and sensitivity reports, and necropsy reports. Luckily for the pewter, he was able to be placed on the right antibiotic, and the cause of death for the two adults was advanced septicemia and pneumonia. Chandler, the little pewter, is finally coming into his own, eating consistently, and has cleared QT.
I kept Tyson on my friends list because I hoped that he would prove me wrong. Several times, he asked me to explain how he could make this better, and never did he take my advice. Instead, he started a new page, with a new name, and continued to deflect any and all blame to others. It is NOT Pamela Hudson's fault she was sent a snake that was severely underweight and burned. It was not her fault that he had a G-Stripe listed for sale that died mysteriously (this recent "it was old" is a new story line).
I hoped that when Tyson said he was done with animals, he meant it. I have never been anything but open and honest, and have called him out here and on previous threads. It is not anything personal, it is what I have seen, and it is what is fact. He can do what he likes - ban me, whatever. The reality is, TYSON is in the wrong, TYSON does not know what he is doing. He constantly mislabels animals and morphs, sells animals that he cannot getting eating well as they are housed improperly, etc. For instance, who sells an albino RTB at 37 grams???? So, yes - here it is. My side. I've tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I'm done.
**NOTE - BOBCAT'S PETS AND ALICIA GARDNER WERE EXTREMELY RECEPTIVE TO ANY AND ALL ADVICE - THIS POST IS ONLY DIRECTED AT TYSON SHULER/FINNIGAN**
Below are before and after pics for the pewter, as well as pictures of the two snakes that died.
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=474516
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...=341602&page=2
https://www.facebook.com/groups/boir...6497390087273/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/boir...7241090012903/
Tyson Shuler / Tyson Finnigan
Tyson Shuler / Tyson Finnigan
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