IslandReefNReptiles Steve/Shaun Field

User modf1000 posted a sale ad on fauna:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=464590

I purchased this chameleon and received it yesterday. He came to me with an extremely disfigured nose, where there were huge lumps on his nostrils, and as a result, his lower jaw extended beyond his nose. To me, it appeared as though it was a sinus infection. Coming out of the box, he was very weak and making wheezing and popping noises while breathing. I sent a text message to the seller, asking if he has ever been taken to the vet's or had a fecal exam - he avoided the question repeatedly (answer was no). I asked him if he has had previous chameleon experience, as I thought maybe he was a newbie who didn't have the knowledge to recognize an ill chameleon. Instead, he told me that he has had over 30 of them. If that's truly the case, this nose deformity should have clearly stood out to him and raised red flags. I told seller that he would need vet treatment. Reply received was, "good luck."

I immediately took him to the vet the following day. My suspicion was confirmed: respiratory and sinus infections. Unfortunately, the chameleon didn't make it. Attempted to communicate to the seller via paypal (method of payment), asking to at least receive a partial refund to cover the cost of the vet visit.

Reply I received from the seller was that I was trying to scam him, and that he suspects that I have a friend in on the scam with me, pretending to be a vet. He said that the chameleon was fine in his care for 6 months, and that I must have killed him overnight. He then said that he posted a picture in the ad and that I should have noticed his nose deformity from that. He just contradicted himself there. First, he said that I was scamming him and lying about his death and vet visit. Then, he said that my poor care must have killed him overnight. Then, he tells me that I should have noticed the nose deformity from the photo of him that I posted, which suggests to me that he knew about it.

He said that he offers absolutely no guarantee because once they receive the money and the animal leaves their care, they are not responsible.

It appears as though they knew that the chameleon was in bad shape, didn't want to spend the money on a vet, and didn't want to lose money on a dead animal. Therefore, they quickly sold him and made money off of a very sick animal. Because he died in my care, they are claiming that they are not responsible, and took off with the money. The animal wasn't cheap, either. They were asking way more than most sales on here, but I had been looking for an RBYB and jumped on it when I saw this one, which clearly worked in their favor.

I will try to post a photo that I had taken upon receiving the animal, which I sent to the seller, which shows his nose deformity.

Be it known that this is who posted negative feedback for The Panther Company because the chameleon they received was aggressive :
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...archid=3523082
They have opened up a new account of modf1000 for this sale, but their paypal email address to which I sent my payment is islandreefnreptiles. Clearly, the same people.

Oops, the links are as follows.

Seller's sale ad of animal in question:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=464590

Seller's negative feedback for The Panther Company for an aggressive chameleon:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...dreefnreptiles

Originally Posted by sergei

User modf1000 posted a sale ad on fauna:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=464590

I purchased this chameleon and received it yesterday. He came to me with an extremely disfigured nose, where there were huge lumps on his nostrils, and as a result, his lower jaw extended beyond his nose. To me, it appeared as though it was a sinus infection. Coming out of the box, he was very weak and making wheezing and popping noises while breathing. I sent a text message to the seller, asking if he has ever been taken to the vet's or had a fecal exam - he avoided the question repeatedly (answer was no). I asked him if he has had previous chameleon experience, as I thought maybe he was a newbie who didn't have the knowledge to recognize an ill chameleon. Instead, he told me that he has had over 30 of them. If that's truly the case, this nose deformity should have clearly stood out to him and raised red flags. I told seller that he would need vet treatment. Reply received was, "good luck."

I immediately took him to the vet the following day. My suspicion was confirmed: respiratory and sinus infections. Unfortunately, the chameleon didn't make it. Attempted to communicate to the seller via paypal (method of payment), asking to at least receive a partial refund to cover the cost of the vet visit.

Reply I received from the seller was that I was trying to scam him, and that he suspects that I have a friend in on the scam with me, pretending to be a vet. He said that the chameleon was fine in his care for 6 months, and that I must have killed him overnight. He then said that he posted a picture in the ad and that I should have noticed his nose deformity from that. He just contradicted himself there. First, he said that I was scamming him and lying about his death and vet visit. Then, he said that my poor care must have killed him overnight. Then, he tells me that I should have noticed the nose deformity from the photo of him that I posted, which suggests to me that he knew about it.

He said that he offers absolutely no guarantee because once they receive the money and the animal leaves their care, they are not responsible.

It appears as though they knew that the chameleon was in bad shape, didn't want to spend the money on a vet, and didn't want to lose money on a dead animal. Therefore, they quickly sold him and made money off of a very sick animal. Because he died in my care, they are claiming that they are not responsible, and took off with the money. The animal wasn't cheap, either. They were asking way more than most sales on here, but I had been looking for an RBYB and jumped on it when I saw this one, which clearly worked in their favor.

I will try to post a photo that I had taken upon receiving the animal, which I sent to the seller, which shows his nose deformity.

Be it known that this is who posted negative feedback for The Panther Company because the chameleon they received was aggressive :
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...archid=3523082
They have opened up a new account of modf1000 for this sale, but their paypal email address to which I sent my payment is islandreefnreptiles. Clearly, the same people.

Sorry you got taken by this creep. Can you file a claim with paypal? I will be shocked if he comes here to defend himself. If he does, my first question will be where the hell did he manage to find 30 friendly chameleons???

Thanks for the sympathy, Chris - much appreciated.
I'm wondering if I should file a claim with paypal or a chargeback directly with my bank. I'm not sure if paypal has a buyer protection policy for live animals. I know they don't cover intangible, electronic items (like concert e-tickets).

And didn't you know that chameleons are all supposed to be friendly? It's a scam if you sell a temperamental one. Duh, you should know that. lol. He was so weak upon arrival that I didn't even get a chance to make sure he was friendly and that he didn't scam me by selling me a mean, aggressive one. He scammed me with a sick, dying one instead.

Go to your bank or wherever the funds were processed from, paypal likely would say they see a shipment to you, no matter if it was on deaths door or not, you got something. Sucks to get an animal like that from someone, at least you did your best by taking it to the vet.

charge it back directly with your bank if done via paypal alls they have to say is live animal and disputes are closed also he might have seller protection the bank dispute should void his seller protection

Im sorry this happened normally wouldnt comment but our names are very close and he also lives on Long island,New york so please dont confuse my company Island Reptiles with his.

Good luck I hope you get your money back

Thank you. I called the bank, and they told me that PayPal transactions aren't covered, and that I have to file a dispute directly with PayPal.

Besides photos of the abscess on his nose, how could I prove that the animal was sick prior to purchase? Vet statement and bill? I have a feeling that PayPal doesn't cover live animals...


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wow im shocked the bank wont dispute it we use chase and they have never had a problem going after our money

you can try paypal but they dont cover live animals or live anything I wouldnt mention it in the dispute

The bank (BoA) said that they won't cover it because the debit card was one that I had linked to PayPal (isn't that what most people do?). They said that because I added the debit card to PayPal in agreement that they would automatically deduct the funds from my bank account if I didn't have enough funds in my PayPal account.


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Just curious...what was the weather like on the night he was shipped? How was he packaged? Seems that shipping a chameleon with lows around 30 degrees and highs in the low 40s on both ends was probably not a good idea.