Double Post......Mardi Snipes and Delta Dash...

Ordered a boomslang from Mardi, well represented, beautiful male......a little jumpy, but that's expected from boomslangs I guess......

Delta Dash.......personally I think this is THE ONLY WAY to ship animals. &nbsp;Mardi shipped the snake last night and it arrived at the airport this morning at 11<img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':0'>0, well, that's when they called me anyway.......
Box was clearly labeled "Live venomous reptile," and rather than being nervous around it, the guys at the airport actually wanted us to take it out right there and show them (don't worry, we didn't) &nbsp;This is the fourth shipment I've received from DD, and I must say, the proffessionalism at the PIT airport is astounding. &nbsp;They are truly curious about everything we get in (in a good way), never had a problem personally.

I see all these people complaining about different ways to ship snakes and lizards, well, my friends, suck it up, pay the extra money and pick the #### things up yourself and you won't have any problems. &nbsp;It's not illegal, they'll gladly ship them, and you're assured a good delivery. &nbsp;I honestly think that if you don't use Delta, you have no room to complain, venomous or not............I mean think about it, most people with quams about shipping animals or getting animals shipped use illegal means of transportation, then have the NERVE to complain when something goes wrong....DUH....

sorry I'm a bit harsh, but hey, Delta will never let me down....
Todd Evans

Both Mardi snipes and Delta Dash made this transaction a beautiful experience......will DEFINATELY order from Mardi again, maybe even next week (depending on how this weekend's show goes........)

#### emoticons.........11:00 AM was when the snake arrived........do the math people, according to Mardi he boxed and sent it at around 9:00 PM......that's only 14 hours of in box time......

Mardi is a great guy, and if you are going to purchase a venomous snake - he's your man. spam_He has a fantastic selection of quality animals. spam_Highly recommended, ...just don't get bit!!!

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I've been to Mardi's place many times, and it is always clean and well kept with animals housed appropriately for their size and species. (Which is more than I can say about a lot of other dealers) &nbsp;:< &nbsp;Mardi is knowledgeable and takes good care of his snakes. &nbsp;He takes the time to research his animals and give proper care to them, including basic veterinary procedures when necessary. That impresses me.

A lot of dealers either don't care or are too scared to actually do hands-on medication on venomous snakes, which really makes me angry - if you can't handle them, I don't think you have any bloody business keeping or selling them. &nbsp;But Mardi is a very skilled handler who takes the time and effort to give care to the snakes that he brings in. &nbsp;If a pissed-off king cobra comes in with a retained eye spectacle that needs removing, in the tube it goes. &nbsp;

Mardi is definitely a good guy and always honest about the snakes he is selling. &nbsp;You are unlikely to be disappointed buying from him. &nbsp;But please keep in mind that whenever you buy a wild caught snake, there are attendant risks no matter how good a guy the dealer is. &nbsp;Speaking from a lot of experience doing fecals on newly imported snakes, you can be pretty sure that any wild caught snake is going to have a nice load of endoparasites. &nbsp;That includes snakes you pick up from your own backyard. That's just how it works out there in the wild. &nbsp;Ask about what medications you'll need to give your new import, or if it's been medicated already. A parasite load that wouldn't be problematic in the wild can become an issue in captivity for various reasons, so ideally you want "clean" snakes.

It is generally a smart idea to keep newly acquired snakes in quarantine and send a fecal sample to a vet (or check it out under a microscope yourself, basic floats aren't that hard). &nbsp;Or else buy captive bred, or long term captives with known health records - Mardi often has some of those in stock also, and he will be honest with you about which is which.

Good luck,

TanithT &nbsp;

PS - Hey Todd, good luck with the boomslang, if it's the green and black male, I know that snake well and I'm sure you will love him. &nbsp;<img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=''> &nbsp;An absolutely savage feeder on dead mice right from the tongs. &nbsp;I'd suggest heavy gloves when handing him mice on tongs as he's rather a handful and strikes out wildly after anything that vaguely resembles food. &nbsp;I've got three of them over here and they are lots of fun, but not recommended for the inexperienced handler!

I have met Mardi a few times in the last couple of years, and he seems like a great guy.

Tanith, it is the large black male that you must be speaking of....he IS a handful.......we fed him a LIVE mouse just to see what he did (we do it with ALL of our animals just to see them in action) &nbsp;Needless to say, he went BALISTIC....I posted about it on the rear fanged forum, check it out...BGF also has the same experiences with his boomslangs. &nbsp;Anyway, the animal is beautiful, MArdi did a wonderful job packaging him and Delta as usual did a great job delivering him. &nbsp;I am still happy about my purchase. &nbsp;As far as handling him.....we haven't really tried it yet. &nbsp;He hasn't deficated as of yet....a little bit of urine on the tank glass, but we just wiped that off a bit. &nbsp;I'm sure within the next week, we'll find out what it's like to have a boomslang loose in the room.....kidding, we take ALL precautions and will be absolutely careful....bleeding from every orafice doesn't sound like too much fun to me. &nbsp;We've had some practice with the black forest cobras, but nothing as fast as the boomslang yet. &nbsp;Should be interesting though. &nbsp;He does seem REALL calm in his new enclosure. &nbsp;It's a 40 gallon bowfront aquarium with a bottomless 30 gallon tank inverted on top of it. &nbsp;The inside is decorated like good ole Africa complete with a fake termite mound.....he likes resting on it. &nbsp;There are many places for him to climb and check out what's going on outside of the cage in the room. &nbsp;This guy will definately be in our collection for a long time. &nbsp;

Thanks for the aggreements......
Todd