Craig Martin - proceed with caution

Had the snake been returned and the snout issue didn't exist I would agree that a refund isn't warranted and trade/credit would be reasonable but the snout was not disclosed therefore in this case I believe a refund is fair.

The retic's face almost looks like a middle school kid that's like super dorky smiling huge for the camera

Originally Posted by MCMB-2

I'm not sure how that can be viewed as a minor cosmetic thing and brushed off as something that all retics have, that's pretty major IMO. I wouldn't buy a snake with a face pushed back like that, and I sure as heck wouldn't sell one like that and not even mention it. I understand that it happens but that doesn't mean you shouldn't tell the buyer.

To the OP: retics are very cool snakes and my favorite species that I've worked with so far, but they have a very aggressive feeding response and will literally try to eat anything. If you're not used to handling large snakes I would highly recommend starting with hatchlings or yearlings and raising them so that you can learn their behavior before they're quite so large.

I just wanted to add in defense of the seller - the face smashing is normal, regardless of what some people may say it happens a lot and is MOST of the time correctable. You can feed them a big meal, and it will sit and not push. Also, the pushing shown here should correct itself after a couple big meals, and any bent scales should look normal again.

I'm not commenting on the attitude of the entire thing. This is just a clarity post for the face pushing issue. It should not effect the snake in any way unless he never stops pushing and ends up forming a rip / leading to an infection which can happen. . .

Originally Posted by juliasara

Had the snake been returned and the snout issue didn't exist I would agree that a refund isn't warranted and trade/credit would be reasonable but the snout was not disclosed therefore in this case I believe a refund is fair.

the extent of that snout damage could VERY easily have happened while it was stuck in a 41qt tub or while it was in the bag pushing during transit.

Originally Posted by reptileexperts

the extent of that snout damage could VERY easily have happened while it was stuck in a 41qt tub or while it was in the bag pushing during transit.

I've never seen that happen in such a short period of time. I don't have a ton of experience with retics but I did rescue one who had a massive hole in his gums from pushing and using a screen top like a cheese grater on his face. It eventually healed up and only looked a little dorky but that was something that had occurred over a long period of time, not 48 hours.

Sent from my N9132 using Tapatalk

I have seen retics with "dorky" faces, they seem to have very flexible facial scales. It may have occurred in transit. Regardless, I still want to know why the snake's demenor, size, and age keep changing on every ad

I'd like to hear from the seller as well. Has anyone notified him this thread exists and people are awaiting his response?

I sent him a PM now in case he wasn't aware.

Been watching his ads, he came out of nowhere with a ton of retics (and some others) for sale which was curious to me.

Looks like on 7/10 Craig also listed this snake up sans photo and mentions the face pushing although it doesn't appear to be mentioned in the other ads the OP posted.

I think the very first thing to ask (as I did on FB) is whether this person, who, as April said, came out of nowhere, even has the proper USARK affiliation to ship retics out of state in the first place. The OP has indicated elsewhere that she does have the membership, as she also shipped the snake.
Either way, one person has both the animal and the money.

Noelle

Originally Posted by reptileexperts

the extent of that snout damage could VERY easily have happened while it was stuck in a 41qt tub or while it was in the bag pushing during transit.

Exactly. OP also stated that she didn't inspect the snake's mouth closely right after she removed him from the shipping box.

She also has every right to be worried about the genetics since this male's age and size has changed from the ad where she purchased him to his ad now, especially since she owns that male's offspring and she wanted a retic that would mature under the 10' limit imposed by her county.