J&S Reptiles / jandsreptiles

This is a review about J&S Reptiles / Joe & Scott / fauna classifieds username: jandsreptiles

On September 24, 2011 I attended the Oaks, PA Reptile expo. There I met Joe & Scott of J&S Reptiles. They were charismatic and friendly. I didn't know it at the time, but it turns out Scott is a good friend of someone I know. Underneath the review you will find copies of the e-mail interactions we had.

I bought from them a 2011 male albino ball python, and my cousin bought a 2011 male anery sand boa from them. They both looked to be in perfect health when we bought them. We were assured that both were great feeders. I have a somewhat mixed review about them, so I will separate them:

The male anery sand boa
After my cousin took the sand boa home, it was refusing to eat. After the a few attempts, I e-mailed the breeders to tell them about it. They recommended she buy a live pinkie to entice the little sand boa to eat. The only place my cousin could buy live pinkies from was a 30mins drive each way. She made the trip, but the sand boa refused to eat the pinkie she left with him overnight. I e-mailed the breeders again and asked if they would take the little sand boa back. So after a few weeks, after some coaxing, the breeder agreed to take the little sand boa back, we returned him, and received no refund. We were offered a deal: we could buy another anery sand boa for $20, but we would not receive a refund because it had already been more than 2 weeks since we had bought it. We did not take him up on the offer because my cousin was worried about getting another sand boa as young as the first, and possibly running into more feeding issues.

The male albino ball python
The ball python, on the other hand, is a different story. I bought the little male albino ball python at a really great price, and I was instantly in love. The little guy ate for me 4 days after coming home, switched right over to f/t rats without a problem, and has not missed a meal since. He has a wonderful temperament, and has beautiful coloring and a lovely pattern. He is growing fast and he is in tip-top shape. It is evident that this ball python was well cared-for, and in great health.

The E-mails
Below I will copy-paste the e-mail interactions I had about J&S Reptiles regarding the baby sand boa.

October 10, 2011
Hey Scott and Joe
A few weeks ago my cousin and I bought 2 snakes from you at the Oaks PA show: 1 male albino ball python and 1 male anery sand boa. The ball python is healthy, wonderful, active, and eating like a champ. The sand boa on the other hand...is not. He has refused every meal. We have tried daytime, nighttime, overnight, f/t, live, in cage, and out of cage combinations. She has all the right set up and the right temps and all, hasn't handled him so as to not stress him out, he's in an area with little to no traffic, and no obvious reasons for stress. When we picked him up he weighed 7 grams, which is the weight of a newborn sand boa... NOT the weight of a sand boa that had eaten 3-4 times as we were told. I'm going to be at the Hamburg PA show this Saturday and if the sand boa doesn't eat this Wednesday, I was wondering if I could bring him back to you. If you have an slightly older sand boa that's on a better feeding schedule, I'd be happy to trade him. My cousin (who has the sand boa) is a first-time snake owner (she's not a kid; she's 21), has done everything possible, and is getting pretty disheartened and afraid that he'll die because he's not eating. It's stressing her out a lot and doesn't want to keep up the fight to find a sad ending. We're going to be looking for either a slightly older sand boa (that's 2 or 3 months old) or a rosy boa. Please let me know if you will accept him if we bring him back.
Thanks!
Alessia

October 10, 2011. I get a quick reply:
U should of let us know before two weeks, now on Saturday it will be three weeks he hasn't eaten. I can't to an exchange. I have two left, did she get an anery or Orange. I had several to pick from, they were all health. I can sell her one for 20 if she wanted another one, that's the best I can do.

October 10, 2011. I reply soon after:
She got the male anery sand boa. How old are the sand boas you have now? Do you have any more anerys? Are they feeding f/t or live?
If you can't take the little sand boa back, what am I supposed to do with it? Neither my cousin or I are equipped to handle a baby sand boa that's not eating... we're not breeders or experts. I'm more worried that the baby will die if it doesn't eat soon, and neither of us can handle force-feeding at any point in time. We certainly don't want it to die with us; We would prefer if he was with someone who can take care of him properly. Would definitely appreciate some advice as to what to do with the little ksb now... not sure what to do. I'd be fine to buy a new one, but we would prefer if you took the little ksb back since you are probably the best person to take care of him. We just can't keep him and wait until he dies... we'd both be heartbroken if that happened simply because neither of us could help him...

October 11, 2011. His response:
I can sell u another anery for 20, give me yours back and I will see what I can do, if he then starts eating u can get him at the next show.

October 11, 2011. My final e-mail:
That sounds great. Thanks so much!
See you Saturday!
-Alessia

I happily returned the little sand boa to them. As you read in the e-mail, my cousin and I just felt we were not equipped to handle such a young sand boa that wasn't eating. I'm not concerned that I didn't get a refund, I'm just glad that he took the sand boa back into his care. I never heard back from him as to whether or not the little sand boa ever started to eat again (and I haven't e-mailed him to find out).

Conclusion
I would definitely recommend J&S Reptiles. Their reptiles are in good health and look great (see photo below). They were quick to respond to all my e-mails, and we found a mutually agreeable resolution to the sand boa situation. I would not hesitate to do business with them again.

Here is a photo of the beautiful albino ball python they sold me:

Forgot to sign my name at the end of the post!
-Alessia Bachrach