Inquiry Fred KIck

I see many topics related to Mr. Kick, but many seem to be very old and\or revisited.
Can anyone giv me some info on their recent experience(s) with Mr. Kick and the condition of his animals?
Also, I am looking at some Hets and wondering as to his reliability anf honesty when it comes to Hets actually being Hets.
Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Gary Ricks

The Kick brothers really only have one thing in mind when it comes to their animals... Make as much money as possible as quickly as possible.

I would avoid doing ANY business with them at ANY cost...

As far as their "honesty" goes... Years ago, i purchased a snake from them that they guaranteed was healthy, and guaranteed that if anything went wrong within 10 days they would gladly refund my money. The snake died within 24 hours, and when confronted about it they refused to do ANYTHING to make the situation right. As far as I'm concerned, if they are willing to act as such in person, why would they go out of their way to be MORE honest to anyone that they are NOT standing right in front of?

In regard to the conditions of their animals... they have store in my general area. Every time I have entered their store in the past 2 years, there have been dead animals on display, the majority of the living animals were ill, and being kept in filthy conditions, and the few healthy animals that WERE still there were overcrowded at best... Even at the shows that they set up at, They are one of the few vendors that I have seen which have snakes on display that I have actually SEEN mites on without even taking them out for inspection...

They have had the SPCA as well as the NY DEC raid their facilities in the past, and I am certain that their practices have not improved since then...

Bottom line, They are right up there with the worst in my book, and I am certain I'm not the only one who feels that way...

If I were you I would looks else where. There are plenty of good breeders out there that have what you are looking for. Ive been to their store several times and as Jason has stated its filthy in there. Ive also seen him at shows, they clean up a little for the shows but its the same animals and the same people selling them.

Thanks for the info guys!
It has been very helpful in making our decision!

I agree-with the Kicks, it's BUYER BEWARE!!!

I agree-with the Kicks, it's BUYER BEWARE!!!

I'm right along with these guys! Will NEVER do business with them again!
They shipped me a snake and upon recieving it I KNEW there was something up and called them. They gave me the run around and it died the next morning. They refused to replace/refund/do anything.
I'll NEVER do business with them again!

My experience with Fred Kick has been satisfactory. He quickly answered all my inquiries and questions. We agreed upon a 4 week payment plan, which went smoothly and as agreed. Upon receipt of the last payment, he shipped the snake the following Monday and I received her today.

The snake was properly packaged in a clean, sealed but ventilated and insulated 7x7x7 box. She was cushioned with shredded paper and in a knotted snake bag. The box and bag were just a little small for her so she couldn't move much. But otherwise the packaging was great.

She appears to be completely healthy with clear eyes, healthy mouth, clean vent, and she has no mites. There are no mites present around her eyes or in the snake bag or box.

The only discrepancy is that the ad 4 weeks ago stated her weight was 875g, and upon arrival this morning, she weighed 763g. According to her feeding card she last ate 08/24/10. She is an 08 ball python, 100% het for Bell Line Caramel Albino. I hope to bring her up to weight for use late in this coming breeding season depending on how well she feeds. Time will tell if she proves out.

Overall my experience working with Fred has been pretty good. Thank you Fred

Linda Folston

linktlife said:

The only discrepancy is that the ad 4 weeks ago stated her weight was 875g, and upon arrival this morning, she weighed 763g.

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That's a fairly considerable difference in weight... I don't know if I'd go so far as to say "Misrepresentation"... but... I wouldn't put that past the Kicks... that's for sure...

I truly hope she proves to actually be Het. for you... but don't expect a refund if she doesn't... I highly doubt that this is a snake that they produced themselves... Did they happen to send any genetics paperwork with the snake?

I am a little disappointed about the discrepancy in weight, but perhaps she went off feed. According to her feeding card it looks like she eats 2-3 times per month and once a month during the winter months. Genetics paperwork was not provided. I have my fingers crossed she will prove out. If she does not, I will give Fred the opportunity to make it right and hope we can work out something mutually satisfactory.

Linda

linktlife said:

I am a little disappointed about the discrepancy in weight, but perhaps she went off feed. According to her feeding card it looks like she eats 2-3 times per month and once a month during the winter months. Genetics paperwork was not provided. I have my fingers crossed she will prove out. If she does not, I will give Fred the opportunity to make it right and hope we can work out something mutually satisfactory.

Linda

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Did you mention the weight discrepancy to them? Even if the snake went off feed for a few weeks, I wouldn't expect over 100g to just disappear... especially prior to adulthood... I for one would be a little more than a LITTLE upset about such a situation... That amount of a weight difference could easily be the difference between breeding next season or having to wait an entire year... (but then again, that is if you purchased her with the intention to breed in a given time frame).

Did you request any kind of genetics guarantee or documentation from them regarding the Het.? Anyone selling any snake as a 100% Het. should be willing and able to produce documentation that outlines the genetics of the snake, and a guarantee should also be offered...

Hopefully they would make good on it if she does not prove out, but from my own previous experiences with them, I wouldn't hold my breath...

No genetic paperwork was promised. If it were available, I would like to have it. However I am not going to worry about it until an actual problem arises. I bought a 100% het albino 2 years ago without paperwork, and she proved out producing 3 gorgeous high contrast babies this year.

I would like to breed this girl late in the upcoming season, but if she doesn't feed well, I will have to wait another year. That was a gamble I took when I purchased her since even at 875g she isn't big enough to breed. The important thing to me was her age since I have a chance to breed if she feeds well for me.

Fred was fair with me and aside from the weight discrepancy the entire deal went off without a hitch.

Linda
Green-Eyed Exotics

I also purchased ball pythons from fred. He seemed okay, the transaction was smooth and he packed the snakes good. He provided feeding cards with the genetics and the clutch they were from, which was more than I have received from others. He also explained who the parents were. They are doing very well.

I got a Kick ball and he's in great shape and it all went smoothly. If I had known about his dubious nature I would not have bought from him. I didn't know about this BoI at the time. The snake has been here two weeks and is eating great. He was well packaged.

I just bought 2 pinstripe females and a
Pastel female from him about three weeks ago off
Kingsnake. I didn't even think to see if he had anything on here as far as boi.

Everything went well I even was able to do a payment plan with him and all the ball python are in good condition and the communication was excellent. Just my two cents. Lol.

But I wouldn't have bought from him if I had seen this stuff. Lol.Does he have a fauna profile?

Well it seems as if they are trying to turn their name around and establish a good new name for themselves and that is great to hear!!! and I am glad everyones transactions have worked out smoothly, everybody's happy it's a win win!

Let's not dwell on the past, but they have quite a negative track record, give them a search on here and see what you can pull up, not a lot of good. But as I stated people can change for the better, and again that is wonderful to hear!

Kicks have great prices and sale lots of reptiles. If you buy a snake for less then half of what a breeder charges it's up to you to check it out. You are taking the risk. If they sale me a adult black headed python for 350 bucks it my job to make sure it in good shape. If they sale it to me for 1200 it's there job to make sure it's perfect. See my point
Why do you think your getting such good deals. So far all the snakes purchased are a live and well but I checked them out really well before buying. They also tell you if they are eating or not. So it is up to you buy or walk away.

what is below i posted in another thread about them maybe a month ago, so its current just copied and pasted here, i also tried to edit out the curse words so no one gets their panties in a wad

My experiance witrh the Kick brothers. The first bad transaction I ever had in reptiles was with them this was 20+ years ago.I was a teenager and new to the hobby, they took advantage of that and IMO ripped me off and with what I witnessed last weekend at hamburg they havnt changed at all.

I went to the Hamburg show, traded them a trio of kingsnakes and some cash for an adult female red blood. The animal was sold to me as CBB, it was supposed to be perfectly healthy, feeding etc. I knew to ask the ?s is it CBB, healthy, feeding, etc but didnt know what to look for inspecting them for ticks mites etc. Also I asked how to set them up and was basically given instructions like a colombian boa. I had only been keeping reptiles for several months at this point was still learning.

Anyway we do the transaction and I take off, on the way home I stop by a buddies place to show him what I got, he had kinda taken me under his wing, I was learning alot from him. First thing he notices is the animal is all bitched up, obviously wild caught, then he starts finding ticks and then come the mites. So he helped me clean the animal up, then started telling me how to set them up,needless to say the care info i was given by Kick was a line of crap to get a sale. Of course the animal didnt eat and 2wks later rolled over dead,had necropsy done it had heart worms.

Now flash foward 20yrs as I was happening by Kick brothers stand at hamburg this past weekend, theres a decent size crowd infront of their stand. Im working my way through it and theres pretty little teenage girl talking to one of the kicks about some torts they had. Same bullcrap and lies, to anyone of us with experiance the torts were without a doubt wild caught. But to this inexperianced niave teenage girl they had her convinced they were CBB and the most wonderful tort in the show.Wouldnt suprise me if they had her convinced it was pooping diamonds. This isnt the first time over the years Ive witnessed them missleading people either. But regaurdless 20yrs later they are still doing the same crap

i honestly wouldnt buy from them if they were the last reptile vendor on the planet, the kick brothers need to do us all a favor and KICK the crap outta each other

What?!?!

alex bleas said:

Kicks have great prices and sale lots of reptiles. If you buy a snake for less then half of what a breeder charges it's up to you to check it out. You are taking the risk. If they sale me a adult black headed python for 350 bucks it my job to make sure it in good shape. If they sale it to me for 1200 it's there job to make sure it's perfect. See my point
Why do you think your getting such good deals. So far all the snakes purchased are a live and well but I checked them out really well before buying. They also tell you if they are eating or not. So it is up to you buy or walk away.

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It is always up to the seller to make sure the customer is getting a good healthy in perfect shape animal in my opinion. No matter what the price is.

Who agrees on that?

Also how did you really check them out? Did you use to live around those parts? Just curious.

scarnicom said:

It is always up to the seller to make sure the customer is getting a good healthy in perfect shape animal in my opinion. No matter what the price is.

Who agrees on that?

Also how did you really check them out? Did you use to live around those parts? Just curious.

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i agree 100%