Beware of Reptile Depot

I'm not one to blog or complain for that matter, there never really seems to be a point. This however just seriously pissed me off!! Im a major fan of "keeping things local," buying from mom and pop pet stores, trading or buying captive bred animals from friends or people from the reptile forums, etc. This time I really didn't have a choice, I had to buy what I needed from a major store. About six months ago I purchased a beautiful baby Frilled Dragon and put her in a 20 gal long cage, knowing I'd have to get her a much larger cage soon. On Sept 16, 2009 I finally decided that she couldn't stay in the 20 gal anymore and I had to make a choice. Either build her a new cage, (which I've done for all my other animals,) or buy a pre-made one. Unfortunately I was feeling lazy and didn't want to bother with the time and expense of building another large cage. After looking around on the net, it made more sense to buy one. The Reptile Depot offered the cheapest price for the cage I wanted. On Sept 18, 2009 I placed my order online with the Reptile Depot and just assumed I'd get my cage within a week to 2 weeks max. The website stated that orders are usually shipped out within 48 hours. Two weeks goes by and nothing, no cage, no email, no phone call. So I call the main store and ask about my order, I was told that I needed to speak with the shipping manager and he wasn't in. I left my name and phone number and asked that he call me back. Two days goes by and no returned phone call, so I call again, still the shipping manager was still not available. I asked to speak with a manager, I was placed on hold for over 15 minutes. Finally someone, not a manager picks up and asked what this was in regards to. I tell him and he replys, "Oh that cage has been out of stock for over a month, were not expecting to get more of those cages in till next week." Now it's October 2, and he's assuring me that the cage will be sent out the following monday and I will be receiving an email from Fed Ex that evening. I calmly agree to wait a little longer. Monday evening arrives and no email, so I call the store again. Now from another person I am told that the cages won't be coming in for possible another 2 weeks. This time I tell the clerk that I want to cancel the order and I want a refund. He says no problem the refund will be issued in about 2 days. Of course 2 days goes by and no refund. I call the store again, this time I get through to a manager where he proceeds to inform me that they do not issue refunds in instances like this, they only offer store credit! Now I blow up, I seriously lost my shit on this man and ripped him a new a-hole. Trying to calm me down he starts offering me all these random free things to make up for the situation. I agree to keep the order and he agrees to send some free jungle vines with my order. He also assures me that the cage will me mailed out on Oct. 8. On Oct 8, I get the shipping confirmation email with the expected delivery date of Oct 14. Ok, basically a month waiting for this cage, at least I'm getting some free vines for the long wait. NOT The cage arrives by itself, no vines, and the box is damaged. Immediately I start thinking about how if the cage is damaged I'm going to have to fly from New York to California so I can kill every single employee of that store, chop them up and feed them to my lizards!! Thank god the cage was not damaged, only the bag of screws ripped open and there were screws loose in the box. I didn't even bother calling the store to complain, I just decided NEVER to purchase anything from them again. And to go onto every reptile forum I belong to and inform other pet owners of my dealings with them. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU DO NOT SHOP WITH REPTILE DEPOT!! Once they have your money they could care less about customer service, and they renege on their promises. By the way this wasn't my first problem with them, several months ago I ordered florescent light bulbs and didn't receive them until about two and a half weeks after the order was placed. I should have learned my lesson the first time!

Thats messed up. Id be the same way.

dustin draper

Well i will steer clear of them. But atleast you did get the cage, and it wasnt damaged. There have been instances where people loose all their money and don't recieve anything either.

It sucks that they did you that way, but the part about killing all their employees and feeding the chopped up bits to your lizards was a bit much...

Glad you got your cage though.

Anya Makashova

I had the same problem with them at about the same time. I ordered some deli cups and shipping supplies in early August and after about 2 weeks I called and askes where my order was and they told me they were out of white deli cups and expecting more the following day, so I waited another week and they said they were still waiting. I finally got the stuff locally and cancelled the order but they said they would only give me store credit. I've called several times and they always say they'll have the shipping manager call me back and he never has. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time this has happened to me with them and I will never order from them again. Their communication is horrible and their customer service is even worse.

Immediately I start thinking about how if the cage is damaged I'm going to have to fly from New York to California so I can kill every single employee of that store, chop them up and feed them to my lizards!!

Wow. That seems like an awful lot of work, not to mention really gross and messy. Just for one cage. Also seems kind of dumb & immature that you would actually put something like that in a forum post ... over one cage.

That said, they did the same thing to me several years ago ... once. I just never ordered from them again and certainly would never recommend them to anyone.

Hope your Frilled thrives in her new cage, though.

Originally Posted by LauraB

Wow. That seems like an awful lot of work, not to mention really gross and messy. Just for one cage. Also seems kind of dumb & immature that you would actually put something like that in a forum post ... over one cage.
That said, they did the same thing to me several years ago ... once. I just never ordered from them again and certainly would never recommend them to anyone.

Hope your Frilled thrives in her new cage, though.

Randal Berry