SIBLEY'S CREEPY CRAWLERS - Thumbs Down!

Here is the story of my dealings with Ron Sibley. Those of you that are looking to deal with him can make your own decision based on what you think of my experience.

On Sat July 26th I met Ron at the Valparaiso In show and he was interested in the baby Taiwan Beauty snakes I was selling. I was looking for female ball pythons and he said he had 2 to offer. One of them was not in the best of condition small scars on her. I was told she was CB and that the marks I was seeing was just a bad shed. OK, I accepted that explanation and passed on that snake. After looking over the larger female which looked clean we agreed on a trade of 1.2 Taiwans for the larger female which he did tell me he had just probed before the show along with the other 2 balls he had. Taking his word for it I get home, put my new female in a quarantine cage as I do with all my new animals and left it until the next morning so that it would calm down from the stressful ride home. I get up the next morning and check on all my animals and decide that the new addition seems to be calm so I probed her and guess what I found out... yes, it was a male! OK now I'm a little upset at this point and I called and left him a message. Now when he calls me back he tells me that the guy he gets his balls from had probed them and must have made a mistake when he told him it was a female. That would be lie number one since he told me he had just probed them at the show himself. So now that I explain the situation to him he says he could get me another female but at this point I just wanted my animals back or cash for them. I was selling the 1.2 Taiwans for $75 a piece but told him I would go down to $50 each ($150) for the trio. He said he would have the $150 for me at the next Lee Watson swap in Streemwood, IL. Well I get there today and he starts telling me that there is a guy at the swap that is selling them for $70 a piece and that he could not spend $50 each on them if this guy was selling them for $70. First of all I did not understand this as he was looking at a $20 profit each if he sold them out right. As far as I was concerned he made a verbal agreement with me and then decided to back out as I am sure he just did not have the money.

Also, in conversation he says he has been doing this for 18 years and got on the subject of mites... he stated that he is not bothered at all if he sees that he has mites and that if someone says that they never had mites they are lying. He said that it just comes with the teritorry when breeding and feeding live rodents. Mites are to rodents as fleas are to dogs he said. My thoughts on this are simple. It is not OK to have mites in a collection period!

As for my thoughts on this entire pain in the butt experience is that I will NEVER do business with this company or persons assocciated with this company EVER!

VERY unprofesional, VERY shady and by that I mean he says what you want to hear. If you are looking for, lets say a CB FEMALE BALL PYTHON then poof... he has one for you even though the one he gave me was a big male!

I think this was a case of a seller thinking the buyer did not know better and also the fact that I drove in from out of state that he thought he would not have to ever see me again. Well I am not going anywhere soon and I feel bad for all the new herpers out there that will have to deal with people like this.

So two thumbs down From me on this guy and company.

This is only my opinion and I posted this all here so that you all can make your own decision PRIOR to spending your hard earned cash!

Matthew J Giandonato

Hi Matt. How did you resolve this issue w/Ron? Did he pay you for them or did you get your beauties back? The ones I got from you are doing great! Good luck.

I guess I should have added the outcome of this story. I did get the snakes back and made another deal with the trio.

I will avoid doing any busines with them in the future.

Matthew J Giandonato

I jump through here occasionally and I was quite surprised to see Ron Sibley's name appear in the BOI, particularly with a BAD review. I have dealt with Ron on several occasions and honestly can't complain about his buisness practices or ethics.
I also have never known Ron to probe an animal at a show unless he was going to purchase an animal or was requested to probe an animal for someone. Knowing that Ron can probe an animal why would you NOT request him to do so for you while you were present? I would assume any informed and experienced individual would do so.
I also have to question your opinion that he thought you would just go away (for whatever reason) ...... but he called you back? That makes no sense to me at all, if he wanted to blow you off why would he return your call at all?
As for the transaction itself ... on the sexing, PLEASE tell me you NEVER made a mistake, I'd love to meet a PERFECT human being. Second you stated yourself: "So now that I explain the situation to him he says he could get me another female but at this point I just wanted my animals back or cash for them". I don't think I"m alone in thinking that since you wanted to return the ball python (and rightly so) and he took it and returned your animals to you that you would be satisfied. You went back to where you started, no harm no foul.
Mites, they don't bother me either. If I see them, or signs of them I clean my cages and my snake room and treat my animals. Then again I treat my animals twice a year and completely break down and clean my cages every month. Water dishes and hides are sterilized once a month as well, not to mention the routine weekly cleanings AND impromptu cleanings when they evacuate. So, ask me again if mites bother me .... getting them is a risk that you take but with the proper precautions and maintenance they are NOT a problem ... notice I NEVER said that they were acceptable. I had a problem with mites once ... about 2 years ago, Ron actually came out to my house and helped me clean up everything. And I won't go into how many other times he has given me assistance, even with animals I purchased somewhere else ... how many dealers will do that?
You gave your opinion, so now I'll respond with mine:
First off, nobody knows for sure (but you and Ron) what was said about him probing the python earlier at the show ... it's hearsay ... carries no weight with me. Heck, I can SAY you promised me a breeding trio of piebald ball pythons for $2.00 .. but it isn't true. I'm sure this particular deal didn't end up the way you wanted it to, or you wouldn't be here complaining about it. I also believe that is the ONLY reason you have for complaining, you didn't get what you wanted out of the deal (i.e. CA$H). My personal opinion is you got your animals back, which you stated earlier was an acceptable option, but you wanted cash .... instead of being happy with getting your animals back and NOT being told to take a hike you come here and drag his name through the mud. Buisness is for adults, you make decisions and you deal with the outcome ... if you aren't smart enough or informed enough to find out everything you need to know before closing a deal you're usually screwed, YOU GOT A BREAK!!!! My advice is either learn about the animals your dealing with and about buisness in general or get out of it all together cause the crybaby thing really does nothing for me.

Again this is just my opinion and everyone can take it for what they will, but I'd rather do buisness with someone honest enough to admit they made a mistake and make it right than deal with someone that doesn't get their way and throws a tantrum ( I have a 3 year old for that).

Good luck to all and happy herping

Sibley's...

I've been doing the Indy show for 8+ years on and off, and let me tell you - that guy is a sad excuse for a vendor. Shady??? I'd say. I've personally witness him BS his unknowing customers on poor husbandry/care info, watched him flat out lie about animals origins (CB/WC) ie: saw him do a trade...20 minutes later a customer comes up asking about the animal, he lies straight to his face "I've had the animal for 6 months, feeds great on yada yada yada" I was thinking to myself "what a D**K and he's bragged and bragged about how much $$$ he's made. Bottom line - he got in the biz setting up @ show's, buying - selling - trading - whatever and will occasionally pick up a decent animal or two, but what I have witnessed FIRST HAND is a deplorable collection gradually show an increase in cleanliness and quality to a somewhat tolerable display, but overall he's a sneaky kind of guy who acts like he's a pioneer in the hobby but is nothing short of a flea market reptile dealer, with little expertise.

Oh yea...the reason he called him back is because it was OBVIOUS he would have to deal with him sooner or later, he figured "deal with him now - or deal with him in front of a couple hundred 'could be' customers". Mites?? Hmmm...they don't bother you either?? The a parasite that feeds off of the animal causing extreme stress and even death - but I'm sure you know that already. Sibley's Creepy Crawlers (what the heck is a Creepy Crawler?? My 2 year old doesn't even call them that!!)

Matt...the whole mites to snakes/dog with fleas reference sounds just like something that would come out of his mouth!!!!! Glad you got your animals back. That's one thing I will say...when he screws somebody, whether it's lying about the animal's history, or the sex, or whatever - he will settle with you...because when you're a regular vendor @ shows, things can come back to haunt you...in public...very quickly. I've seen it happen.

Don't take what I said about the mite thing as a stab, I skimmed over your reply, and didn't read it through. You obviously keep your collection in proper conditions. I just read over it quick, and thought it was another "mite guy" post. So my apologies. I can only speak what I have seen, and when I see mites on animals for sale at a show...I pass...quickly, and his "wisdom" on mites in general that he gave Matt was a crock of s**t. Well, anyways, sorry if I hit a nerve, it was not my intention

for the "cry baby" poke you put on Matt...lol

I just read through your whole reply, and I think you crossed the line with the whole "tantrum/cry-baby" thing...and I felt it necessary to point out while although he did make it right (for obvious reasons covered in my earlier reply) he sold him a MALE and guaranteed him a FEMALE - if he had ANY doubts he should have volunteered a "double check" PERIOD. His "Ball Python Guy"?????? What the heck does that mean??? My theory on this whole Sibley thing...you came here to back him up, conducted yourself in a semi-appropriate manner, saying Matt was throwing a tantrum, being a crybaby, and needs to learn about the biz or get out...that sounds like a typical Sibley DIE-HARD. That's why I spend my money with BREEDERS/COLLECTORS not vendors.

Matt called Ron a liar ... his opinion, I never denied him that or told him he needed to appologize.
I called him a crybaby .... I will not do what I refuse to ask of another. You think I'm out of line for saying it, I think you're out of line to ask me to recant my opinion ... so, we're even there.
Reread my post ... I said he needed to learn about buisness in general ... not "the biz" as you put it ..... hey, if you want a guarantee ... get it in writing man, common sense on that point. If you don't feel you can take someone at their word, don't deal with them ... if you question a product as a buyer ... ask .... PERIOD!!!

I will not take back anything I have said, but I will summarize it in a shorter format .....
I personally have had nothing but good experiences in my dealings with Ron Sibley .... this is my personal experience and I will continue to deal with him until I have personally had a bad experience with him. As for being a DIE-HARD, I'm in this for my collection, not to advance anyone elses reputation, career or anything else .....

This is a format to give feedback on our experiences, that is what I did. If you see the way I do it or how I word it as appropriate or not is of no consequence to me .... did I come in whining that he called Ron a liar? NO .... ooops .... I said whining ... hope I didn't offend you. [this is where I"d put an appology if I thought one was warranted]. As I said before, everyone is entitled to their own opinion (even me)... I stand by that therefore no apologies will be given or implied.

you seem to have a serious opinion on all this .... and that is fine .... but I have to ask, with as strong a stand as you are taking in this particular issue ...... how far away from them were you standing when you heard the agreement and the gender guarantee you mentioned? just curious.