Lou Rodrigues, Designer Ball Pythons also on Kingsnake.com

Hello all I am not here to rant and rave but to express to you my situation. Most of you know the situation because out of my haste and displeasure i started a thread about it in the BP discussion board. I have gathered my information and thoughts to present this to you in the most appropriate manner. I purchased 800 gram spider male ball python from Lou Rodrigues after speaking to him for about a week making sure I trusted him and felt comfortable doing business with him since this would be my first attempt to breed ball pythons and purchase one. I had been making a transaction with another individual as well to receive a female snake and she came Wednesday April 7th in great condition. My spider was scheduled for the following day. I do not work on Thursdays so i am home to receive packages however I get an email around 9:30am from UPS saying that they had a failed attempt to drop off my package (Spider). I immediately called UPS telling them that I needed that package ASAP that I had been home all day. There was no ring, knock or note left on the door. Finally around 2pm the snake arrived and as I open the box I find the snake DOA, the snake is ridiculously hot. The temps in New Jersey were 90 degrees and there had been a heat pack in the box taped on the top right above the snake with no buffer between each other. I complain to UPS but that is a loss cause. I called Lou and told him that the snake had arrived dead and that I was doubtingly not home for the first attempt but they never bothered to actually attempt. I have had UPS do this before and tell me that they would not come down the street if it was covered in snow or ring my doorbell because my shipping address didn't say I lived on the second floor. Anyway, I asked Lou if he would consider refunding me the money and he said no you weren't there for the first attempt. Now first let me add that I understand if you aren't home for the first attempt then its the buyer who is at fault no doubt but I was home I knew I would be receiving an animal but no I was not waiting on my door step or looking out the window. I know some people criticized me for not doing this but i'm sorry I have a life to live If im home I am home and a delivery service needs to deliver a package by actually attempting to deliver. Lou said i'm sorry but due to you not getting it at the first attempt the snake stayed on the truck for 4 extra hours and died due to the heat, I asked him why he would put a heat pack in the box that is arriving in a hot climate. His explanation was that it had been 33 degrees in Chicago, ok fine i can understand that now from hearing from many other people opinions. However I had complained that a heat pack peaks at 115 degrees. The best he could do he said was offer me a 200 gram spider for $100 or a 1500 gram normal female. I told him let me think about it because at this point i didn't know if I wanted to pursue this project anymore with such a bad first time experience. I had made a thread in the BP discussion forum to see people opinion on the matter to my surprise I receive and email from Lou stating..........



How can someone offer you a replacement and just say they sold it when I never name dropped him in the thread and now he claims he sold the spider to a women who heard he offered it to me so she jumped on the opportunity. The next day goes by and I decide to cut my losses and throw away the box that the snake was shipped in as I turned I notice a second heat pack fall out of it that had been under the newspaper. When I first opened the box I didn't care to take everything out just the snake itself then got caught up in the resolve process. When I saw the pack fall out I looked in and noticed a third heat pack taped to the bottom in a medium sized box. So was it necessary for a heat pack yes, but THREE! Ket me remind you that this box when I measured it was 12''long and 9" wide He is claiming that heat packs peak at 80 degrees and until recently is denying putting 3 heat packs in the insulated box. Now I am without snake and $350 because he decided to take away the replacement snake.

I would like to conclude with saying I understand people's criticism with the alleged first attempt failure and not waiting on the porch ,which I find hard to believe everyone does, but to offer a snake then tell me that he sold it and come to find out 3 heat packs in a box was just ridiculous to me.

Pics of packaging and snake. Snake had been soaked in its own urine.

To me, the problem here is that the two of you didn't coordinate your shipping time accordingly. The snake was shipped from a place where it's 30 degrees to a place where it's 90 degrees? That's a 60 degree difference. How was this not discussed before the animal was shipped? You both should have waited until the temps in each city were closer to each other before having the snake shipped.

I have to say that hes right about the delivery attemps etc. That said, three heat packs is a bit ridiculous. Im not 100% on what exact temp they get to but I can say that they get more than 80 deg. If thats all they got to then it wouldnt make for a good "hand warmer" considering your body temp is 98 deg. It seems like he didnt take into account what the temps were in NJ before he shipped it. Irregardless of the temps on either side, a snake that size, in a box that small, with that many heat packs is a problem. IMO (as meaningless as it is...lol), thats the reason the snake died, not the extra 4 hours.

I dont necessarily have a problem with him selling the other spider. If you had agreed to take it and then he sold it that would be one thing but you said you wanted to think about it. From all accounts things arent selling as easily as it was a few years ago so if you have an opportunity than fine. Im not saying I would sell it from under you if I offered it, Im just saying I understand. I do think he owes you either a refund or a replacement. Id do it just for good customer service.

That really sucks.3 heat packs are insane even with 33 degree temps at shipping point. I recieved a spider from NJ in Jan. it was like mid to low 40s and he was packed in the same box with ONE heat pack and arrived fine. If 3 packs were used even if you had gotten it on the "first attempt" it would have been DOA. Thats just too much heat. I have had proplems with deleveries before but not with animals, I pick up animals from the fed ex or ups office instead of shipped to my house. You get it when they open and no chance that crap happens because it does.

Eddie has kept me informed of this situation from the beginning.

I can only vouch for the type of person he is and seeing his home personally. I would never hesitate to do business with him, and have never had or heard of a problem with Eddie. Having said that the UPS situation really sucks, and the failed delivery I see as being UPS's fault, not that of the seller, or buyer. He lives on the 2nd floor in a multi family style house. I can't see expecting someone to sit on the step in front of the house, or wait inside the entrance way that others may be using. He has a doorbell with his name on it. I can understand leaving a note outside though on the door for future deliveries, I think that is reasonable. I also have an email from him, prior to him going to work and prior to him posting in his discussion thread about finding the heat packs, so I have no reason to think that was fabricated.

I believe it is the delivery company's responsibility to make a genuine attempt at the delivery, and who knows if that was done. I don't want to hear that these guys are pressed for time or they get xxx amount of time to make a delivery, it's their job to make the delivery and I work in a similar area that Eddie is in and I can tell you that I know of plenty of these delivery guys that have extra time in the day to hang out, as I see them doing this almost every day. The more I hear about this with UPS, the more I'm thinking about switching to Fed Ex, which is ashame because I have been really happy using them through SYR.

This is worst for the snake, this didn't have to happen, and agree with the above poster that shipping probably should have been done when the temps were not so drastic. Either way 3 heat packs for that snake in that size box is ridiculous.

I tried figuring out myself how a box like this should be properly shipped, given the temperature difference from the originating location, to the destination. That is a severe difference, and I honestly don't know how you would correctly package the snake for a 50+ degree difference. I also didn't understand from the beginning how a 4 hour delay would really effect a shipment, but I figured in the optimal setting(sitting in direct sun, or extreme heat) this may happen. I had shipped a dragon one time which was delayed for a day, in the middle of summer and it arrived ok! After hearing about the excess heat packs, that makes more sense now why the snake cooked. I have only once seen something shipped with 3 heat packs, and that was me receiving tegus in a large box (17 x 17 x 9) in 20 degree temps across the country practically.

As a seller, my first priority is making sure the person receiving gets the animals the way they should. Customer satisfaction should be of utmost concern, and I think that is lacking a bit here. I would love to hear the seller's point of view and outline of what occurred.

You probably already know I feel about failed delivery attempts so there is no need to go any further into that for me.

Can you post any emails or PM's that you have on this transaction? It will help anyone reading this to make an informed decision when they are looking to buy from him. I'm guessing that you have let the seller know that you posted this so that he can respond with his side of the story, so I should wait till then..... but.

IMHO this seller really needs to try to improve his shipping practices. He is not to far off, but is overdoing the heat pack thing. In a box that size you should not need more than one heat pack. If temperatures are so low that you feel you need more then you need to wait for a day with better temperatures.

It looks like he packaged it with the thoughts of the lows close to freezing with no thoughts on what the high temperatures would be at the destination. Shippers need to take everything into consideration when packaging a live animal for transport.

Originally Posted by chris allen

I tried figuring out myself how a box like this should be properly shipped, given the temperature difference from the originating location, to the destination. That is a severe difference, and I honestly don't know how you would correctly package the snake for a 50+ degree difference.

About the only reliable way is with a double box. Although it's always better to wait a few days till temps are better.

One heat pack taped on the lid was more than sufficient, three heat packs was just overkill which unfortunately resulted in a DOA and IMO Lou should issue Eddie][a full refund.

I was a bit upset to read of an unnecessary death and then to see the snake yesterday, so I may have come off as harsh; and for that I apologize.

I understand how when one is upset, details can escape our notice as we focus on one thing to the exclusion of all else, (I do that sometimes) but once we calm down..we start really paying attention to all the details.

Therefore, imo (for what it's worth)if the additional information is true, then a full refund would be in order.

Hi everyone This is Lou Rodriguez. I have kept out of this for the simple fact that everyone was doing a good job of seeing the facts. Now he is out right lying! I have never, ever put 3 heat packs in with an animal, even when shipping in cooler weather than it was this week.