| Author | Subject: Essex Pets - BEWARE!!!! |
| Marcia McGuiness | Posted At 10:05:07 01/13/2001
On December 8, 2000 I ordered a juvenile Jungle female Leopard Gecko from Alan at Essex Pets in Texas. She arrived via Overnight Mail in a small, styrofoam insuated box without a heat pack. I notified the breeder immediately that I was surprized that no heat pack was included, but the baby seemed fine. I kept in constant communication with him when she refused to eat after a week, and he assured me that there was no problem and that she was just stressed out. After 2 weeks, she was loosing weight rapidly and I started hand-feeding her with Hill's A/D diluted with Pedialite and had my Vet look at her. The little one died a few days later. When I notified Alan at Essex Pets, he was willing to replace her, but was somewhat sceptical about my honesty. I shipped the little dead baby back to him. On Thursday January 11, 2001 I received a replacement female Jungle Leo packed in the same type of box and again NO HEAT PACK! She was unconsious and barely breathing. I notified the breeder immediately by e-mail because I was too angry to call him. I gradually let her warm to room temperature for about an hour, and then put her in one of my incubators set at constant 85 degrees. After 12 hours she began "twitching" if I stimulated her foot, and I gave her some warm water and Pedialite from a dropper trickled slowly in her mouth. I let her stabilize in the incubator overnight. She had not recovered by the next morning, and I took her to my Vet who treated her for severe Hypothermic Shock with warm fluid injections, but the prognosis was extremely poor. This morning I found her dead. I find this whole ordeal to be completely unacceptable, irresponsible, unnecessary and most of all CRUEL AND INHUMANE treatment of these little creatures. Who in their right mind would ship living animals without a heat source in the middle of January? As a hobby breeder, I am disgusted, sickened and heartbroken that two such beautiful Leopard Geckos have died due to Essex Pets'lack of husbandry. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM! Marcia McGuiness "The Lizard Lady" |
| Trace |
Re: Essex Pets - BEWARE!!!! (Currently 0 replies)
Posted At 06:30:22 01/14/2001 This is one of the saddest things I have ever read. I can't believe a company that even I have heard of all the way from Canada would do something like this ...TWICE!!!! Well, I can guarantee that I will be spreading the word on this one. How sad for you, but especially the precious little ones that lost their lives due to their carelessness!!!!!! On a sidenote, thanks to Rich for making this Board possible so other people don't have to go through it as well. Trace gexfiles |
| Marcia McGuiness |
Re: Essex Pets - BEWARE!!!! (UPDATE) (Currently 0 replies)
Posted At 11:35:23 01/14/2001 The little girl is NOT dead!!! She is still in critical condition after nearly 72 hours although she is showing more signs of recovering. She peed all over me when I picked her up to give her fluids, so I know her little kidneys are functioning as well as her bowels. She tries to lift her head up and will open her eyes about half-way. Her eyes respond properly to light, and she "flinches" when I touch her. The best thing is...... SHE BIT ME!!!! She just sleeps most of the time, so I leave her alone for the most part and only bug her every 4-5 hours to administer warm water/Pedialite, and have her at a constant 85 degrees. God I hope she survives. Thanks to everyone for their support and input. |
| Tim Madsen |
Re: Essex Pets - BEWARE!!!!
Posted At 15:13:42 03/16/2001 I've known Allen for a number of years and find this very hard to believe. We have had numerous business deals and he's always dealt with me honestly. I'd like to hear his side of the story. |
| Alan Essex |
Re: Essex Pets - BEWARE!!!!
Posted At 13:38:21 03/17/2001 On Nov. 7,2000 Marcia McGuiness purchased 2 geckos, a large sub-adult male and a baby female. They were shipped Nov. 13 in a box constructed of corrugated cardboard and lined with 3/4 inch urethane insulation(NOT STYROFOAM) with an R-value of 5.4. Our tests had shown an inside temperature of 70 degrees could be maintained for 24 hours when exposed to outside temperature of 48 degrees. Field work was done because of concern that a 140 degree heat pack might actually cook the lizards when shipped in a small box. A Nov. 19 email from Marcia, 5 days after delivery, she stated that she and her friend were very happy with the 2 geckos, but that the smaller female would not eat. A fecal exam came back negative. Several other emails were received stating that the status of the female baby was not good. She further stated this was no reflection on the quality of our animals. We told her we would replace the baby at no charge and it was decided that an older, larger female would be sent. On Jan. 11,2001, the replacement gecko was delivered, in the same kind of box. On Jan. 12 Marcia emailed to say the gecko had arrived suspended.So we elected to refund her the entire purchase amount of the female gecko and shipping. On Jan. 30 an email stated "little Lorna" was normal and that she appreciated the refund and great service and concern. We shipped over 2000 lizards last year and this was our only complaint. It is not our intention to escape responsibility for not using a heat pack, but bad things also could have been said about us if the lizard had been received cooked by a 140 degree heat pack. Our new policy is--We will NOT ship live animals during extreme weather conditions. |
| Marcia McGuiness |
Re: Essex Pets - BEWARE!!!!
Posted At 21:02:16 03/22/2001 In response to Alan's post (Essex Pets,) I would like to say that the level of sincere concern, commitment and customer service he has provided since I recieved the little hypothermic baby has been superior. He allowed me to "go off" on him for a good 30 minutes, and even though I did not ask, he volunteered to refund the cost of the baby, and did just that. Because of this situation, he has changed his policy about shipping his Leos during extreme weather conditions in order to prevent future incidences. Marcia McGuiness "The Lizard Lady" [email protected] |
| John |
I received five of the nicest jungles from Essex
2127.html Posted At 13:04:38 03/29/2001 The five hatchlings I received from Essex were excellent quality and very healthy. Price was decent also. Just my two cents, John |