BEWARE OF RANDY MCDOWELL.. AKA THE SNAK SHOP. LAS VEGAS NAVADA

Originally Posted by RavenSpirit_360

It was not a flea market??? It was in an indoor swap meet which is nothing like the swap meets that you are obviously thinking about.... And Annalisa who started the snake shop put so much care and love into the reptiles she sold. She also rescued many reptiles and brought them back to health. Her and Randy ran the shop by themselves with no help back then until Annalisa got sick from cancer and it eventually took her away from this world... Randy, her husband, tries his best to uphold things in a way that she would approve of. It isn't always easy on him and things do happen. I have seen how upset he gets when things aren't being done around there like she would have wanted. He loves her, the shop, and the animals that come through there. He is very passionate and caring, he is a good person underneath it all... It kills me to see such a good place drug under the bus like this when it is nothing like its being accused of being... I do agree that the situation was not handled in the best of ways... But not everything being said here is accurate to what the shop really is. I am glad things are being worked out for you and I hope everyone recovers from this all...

Post a picture of the "shop" and swap meet, so we can get a better idea of what it really is and the accusations "flipper," "doesn't care," etc...will more than likely stop in the face of factual evidence (if the picture is already here, I may have missed it).

However, his sad story is no reason to feel sorry for him, or support him in THIS situation. It's obvious that lies were told and sick animals sold and that's the basis of this complaint, not how hard the seller has it since his wife died.

Some of us have had SOs die and haven't let businesses go to he!! or some of us have had the sense to know that we need to STOP selling if the animals are suffering because of neglect, cheap purchasing tactics, etc.

Some people are just suckers for sad stories, and they are usually the next to be gypped. Lying, selling sick animals, etc...are conscious DECISIONS.

Originally Posted by RavenSpirit_360

I It kills me to see such a good place drug under the bus like this when it is nothing like its being accused of being... I do agree that the situation was not handled in the best of ways... But not everything being said here is accurate to what the shop really is. I am glad things are being worked out for you and I hope everyone recovers from this all...

Originally Posted by TheSnakeShop

Josh Bigham is not a co-owner he is a 15 year old volunteer. The snake he is talking about is a Emerald tree boa that is under our vet's care due to a tooth that came in sideways. Due to the fact this snake had been sold we wanted to make sure it was safe to ship him so our vet took him and he is being treated for precautions. Never once did we state the emerald looked like it was going to die! In fact the emerald is fine and is being re-turned to us this Thursday. The owner of the snake has been kept well informed about this matter. The Aru was eating fine for us and was checked by our vet before it was shipped and no problems where found. This Aru was shipped out to him well over a month and half ago. So after such a long time how are we the snake shop reasonable for the condition of his snake now? The Biak was also checked and again nothing found now 2 weeks after he had the snake he told us it passed away. Again how our we to be held reasonable for this? We have all our snakes checked by our vet and we pay for that our self's,

Nice try on putting a good spin on this disaster. But the post above shows that the Snake Shop was saying that the snakes were fine, vet checked, yada yada yada. There are two separate, although related, issues here. The first issue is the shipping out of what appears, judging by descriptions and pictures, to be sick snakes. The second is the lying that went on in an effort to whitewash the first.

Good to see they are trying to make good.

Unfortunately, regular veterinary check would be seriously cost prohibitive for a flipper such as this. Not only that, but most folks with the knowledge and concern for the animals which they sell would know enough to be able to decide what is sell-able, and what is not. The conditions of these animals were deplorable, and the cavalier attitude with which both buyer and seller discussed the vector parasites which snake mites are is equally disconcerting. They compromise immune systems and can spread disease.

I once sold animals that were found to have mites. They came from a used rack that I had purchased, but the fact that animals slipped out with them was so outside the realm of what I consider acceptable, I immediately sent a 50% refund(voluntarily) on principle alone, and my entire collection went on lock-down until they were eradicated. That's how business should be done....standards must be set.

Selling animals in the condition which we saw posted, The Snake Shop is obviously a company that would require a 6-9 month quarantine period before ever accepting an animal from them. In this day and age, there are enough decent sellers not to have to deal with that risk.

I am not trying to downplay this incident with the OP at all, just saying, as someone who goes to the shop often, its not how its being portrayed here at all.... I bought my first snake from them 8 years ago and have went back to them ever since, even just to hang out as there is a little family there with the people that work there and the customers that come to hang out. I have a few pictures of my daughter a few years ago at the shop while it was still in the Swap meet.... It is now in its own retail location OUT of the swap meet.. I have lots of photos of the shop but most of them have people in them and I do not want to post their pics without permission... I also have lots of pics of reptiles that were there for sale if anyone wants to see what the condition of the snakes usually is... I agree though, a snake that is not in the best condition should not be sold until it is healthy. That is why I always ask for pictures if I am ordering a snake online to see its condition with my own eyes... I have seen a few snakes for sale online and though wow that snake is skinny etc.. But I guess for the avg person who know little about snakes, they would not know what to look for.. But once again, I am not here defending them in this case with these snakes in this thread, but more here to say that this is not typical of what they usually have....

Originally Posted by RavenSpirit_360

not typical of what they usually have....

I do not believe this.

It isn't simply that they shipped snakes out that appeared to be ill, (and one died). The big issue is that they lied about it, saying they checked the snakes, their vet checked the snakes prior to shipment and the Shop maintained they were healthy.
When you get caught in a whopper like this, everything said subsequent is suspect.

Originally Posted by TheSnakeShop

The Aru was eating fine for us and was checked by our vet before it was shipped and no problems where found. ...The Biak was also checked and again nothing found

I believe those pictures are posted in order to get us sidetracked about talking about children and large reptiles, those photos have been discussed before on this site. I'm not taking the bait, this thread is about The Snake Shop and how they shipped out sick looking snakes and then lied about their condition.

Shop owners, swap-meet participants, it doesn't matter by which name they are referred.

What matters is right here, right now, they have sold sick snakes...not one...but TWO and to the same person twice. So, since you are saying this is not 'usual' for this business, I can only infer that it was a "special" incident.

So, what was the incident? Did the seller need money since his wife was dead and he needed to make a sale? Did he need the money so badly that he had no problem setting aside morals (if he has any...doubtful) and honesty? If he would do so to someone else, what do you think would be done to YOU, if he felt the need?

No matter how you try and slant it, you are DEFENDING him and by doing so, aligning your own character and morals with his. Good luck!

Wow!!!! So you are assuming that I am posting those photos to 'sidetrack' you? Nice assumption.... And what about children and large reptiles?? I have been taking my daughter up to the shop since she was 2, she is now 10.... She loves reptiles.. Thanks to her experiences with these animals she will now be a positive influence in the world to teach others that they are not bad. She already does so.
And yes I can say that as far as I know this is not normal for them. I go into the shop often and I look at all the reptiles in their cages and hold some of them.. I look at their condition as I do this everywhere I go. I cannot speak on the issue of these two snakes as I did not see them personally. I am speaking from experience about the snakes I have purchased there. I am not saying they were right or defending 'this' incident, I am telling you what I know about the shop from going in there.....

And you saying I am aligning my morals with someone elses? No... I am just telling you people what I see and what my experiences are with this reptile shop... I am one of the most peaceful, loving, caring and non-judgemental people in this world and I really don't think that me sharing my knowledge and experience of a certain place makes my morals the same as theirs or anyone else..??

And the reason for me posting the photos of my daughter is that you can see the shop in the background...

Originally Posted by RavenSpirit_360

Wow!!!! So you are assuming that I am posting those photos to 'sidetrack' you? Nice assumption.... And what about children and large reptiles?? I have been taking my daughter up to the shop since she was 2, she is now 10.... She loves reptiles.. Thanks to her experiences with these animals she will now be a positive influence in the world to teach others that they are not bad. She already does so.
And yes I can say that as far as I know this is not normal for them. I go into the shop often and I look at all the reptiles in their cages and hold some of them.. I look at their condition as I do this everywhere I go. I cannot speak on the issue of these two snakes as I did not see them personally. I am speaking from experience about the snakes I have purchased there. I am not saying they were right or defending 'this' incident, I am telling you what I know about the shop from going in there.....

And you saying I am aligning my morals with someone elses? No... I am just telling you people what I see and what my experiences are with this reptile shop... I am one of the most peaceful, loving, caring and non-judgemental people in this world and I really don't think that me sharing my knowledge and experience of a certain place makes my morals the same as theirs or anyone else..??

You don't see it? OK, I'll try once more.

If I had a friend or knew of a shop-owner that had been PROVEN to have sold animals in the condition revealed in this thread, who had also been proven to be a liar when caught in the act of deception and theft, there is no way I would have tried to attempt to JUSTIFY the issue by gossiping about the shop owner's life. The fact that you perceive how he lived or was impacted by his life issues as a justification (as seen by your use of the word "usual" implying that he normally doesn't behave that way and his animals are normally healthy and you love going there and the implication that you will continue to do so, in spite of the truths revealed here), show me (at least) that as long as YOU are happy, you do not care what happens to others.

The referenced transaction (this thread) alone, if done by a "friend" or "acquaintance" of mine would have me shut up . Because there's just no way that a good citizen can condone these types of actions. I just can't see how. Lots of people have bad things happen in their lives and they don't resort to lying, stealing, abusing animals, etc. AND the people that attempt to find/explain away the reprehensible behaviors revealed must either have those same types of morals (passing them off as "non-judgemental" ) or has a bigger finger in the pie than revealed.

But the above is only MY opinion. Which you are free to ignore.

Originally Posted by deborahbroadus

You don't see it? OK, I'll try once more.

If I had a friend or knew of a shop-owner that had been PROVEN to have sold animals in the condition revealed in this thread, who had also been proven to be a liar when caught in the act of deception and theft, there is no way I would have tried to attempt to JUSTIFY the issue by gossiping about the shop owner's life. The fact that you perceive how he lived or was impacted by his life issues as a justification (as seen by your use of the word "usual" implying that he normally doesn't behave that way and his animals are normally healthy and you love going there and the implication that you will continue to do so, in spite of the truths revealed here), show me (at least) that as long as YOU are happy, you do not care what happens to others.

The referenced transaction (this thread) alone, if done by a "friend" or "acquaintance" of mine would have me shut up . Because there's just no way that a good citizen can condone these types of actions. I just can't see how. Lots of people have bad things happen in their lives and they don't resort to lying, stealing, abusing animals, etc. AND the people that attempt to find/explain away the reprehensible behaviors revealed must either have those same types of morals (passing them off as "non-judgemental" ) or has a bigger finger in the pie than revealed.

But the above is only MY opinion. Which you are free to ignore.

Curse the inability to revise posts!!!

I don't usually need to explain to posters, in such detail, how their actions can be perceived or interpreted by readers. But this interpretation of your story (the indication you presented of feeling/believing that past life events are in any way a justification for future behaviors) is the basis of my opinion. Someone else may think exactly like you...and feel (FEEL) that life events can be used as justifications for reprehensible actions. However, I do not.