• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Andre Gennaro, [email protected]

Andre, don't get me wrong, I see nothing bad about trying to raise money to buy some snakes... but like others have pointed out, certain ads and circumstances raise a few eyebrows. Heck, you're not even old enough to be a legally paid employee in Wisconsin, so it's not like you have a lot of options for saving up $ to afford what you want. I have to give you some credit for finding a way to make money, and if that's picking up some equipment for a price lower than what you can sell it for, then that's what you've gotta do.

Anyway, I'm sure you know there are plenty of 'scammers' out there looking for their next victim to take advantage of. Unfortunately, your ad for the cages appeared similar to ones where a product is advertised for sale even though the seller doesn't actually have it in his/her possession. That's probably why you were asked for a picture. When it comes to avoiding getting ripped off, pictures really are worth a 1000 words since they offer proof and validate the content of the ad. So, it just so happened that your ad might be looked upon as suspicious by someone who's been around for a while, and knows what to look for in a bogus ad... that's all.

I apologize for the remark about mowing my lawn, it wasn't fair. Besides, Appleton is at least 2 hours from Madison. ...but the guy that's currently mowing my lawn does indeed leave a lot of room for improvement ;)

Good luck with your endeavours.
 
HA HA!! You guys are all hella funny!!!

Really you all should take a good look at your childish behaviour. I couldn't believe some of these posts. The kid is 13. There is a right and a wrong way to teach our youth and this thread certainly shows the level of maturity and lack of compassion you "adults'' have.

If you want to be a successful business person you can have ethics and be honest at the same time. You don't have to be cruel idiots to teach that to a 13 year old kid.

You can blast me all you want.....I am getting real sick of way some of you folks act. THERE IS A RIGHT WAY AND A WRONG WAY OF CALLING FOLKS OUT! Some need a little more snap and crackle with the whip but this kid isn't a Sal, Serpentboy or any other tard. He's just a young kid that doesn't know any better.
 
"Jesus guys, lay off him. Some of you are acting like you are the 13 year olds."

It only took 9 pages for someone to realize who is the "real" 13 year old.
 
Andre, I figure I could contribute a bit since I started all of this.

I do have some advice for you:
1. Change your user profile to show that you are 13 years old so people can know whom they are dealing with right away.
2. Do not try to sell any items until they are in your possession.
3. If you can, get someone over the age of 18 to 'broker' the deals that you make.
4. Keep interest in herps.... because they are awesome :D

You seem like a good kid and from some of your other posts on this site you seem to really be interested in ball pythons (ha...especially pastels). Sorry, I did not intend for you to be 'treated like an adult' by some of the people here. I am glad to see some are trying to help you understand the way to conduct business. Good luck in your endeavors.

--Daniel
 
Well I ahve had a run in with this little guy just this past week. I asked for proof of age over and over again and he would not give it to me.. RED FLAG!! Then he posts about me on here that I will not sell to him...hahahaha NOPE SURE WILL NOT LITTLE HOBBIT!!!
 
justcage said:
Well I ahve had a run in with this little guy just this past week. I asked for proof of age over and over again and he would not give it to me.. RED FLAG!! Then he posts about me on here that I will not sell to him...hahahaha NOPE SURE WILL NOT LITTLE HOBBIT!!!

Matt, that was a very insensitive remark....not at all fair to hobbits!
:raspberry
 
albinoballpythons said:
so you wont sell to me even if i have my mom talk to you?
After you posted a half truth about him in the form of a bad guy I would not blame him one iota if he blocked your e-mail address permanently. But heh, I'm not Matt.
 
albinoballpythons said:
so you wont sell to me even if i have my mom talk to you?


With your track record so far I would suggest one of your parents supervise any and all transactions you make. You could try having your mom call Matt and see what happens.

Also it might be a good idea to have a proof of age image scanned somewhere on your computer for easy access. That way you can send it to them along with a statement from your parents saying that you have permission to engage in said transaction. A phone# to reach your parents for verification will work wonders too.
 
albinoballpythons said:
so you wont sell to me even if i have my mom talk to you?

Andre, you do not know what an invitation youve just extended. Please forget about buying and selling unless your doing it in person with one of your parents present. Until you reach the legal age to do so, ask questions, listen, and learn.
 
Matt,

Answer him before his bottom lip starts to quiver. :bawling:
 

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I do not deal contractually with minors for good legal reasons. However, a while back there was a fine young person who put an ATB up for sale here on Fauna, I emailed him, told him I was interested in the snake, but the transaction would have to go through his parents. There was no problem, his Mom emailed me and I paid her, she was very nice.

The snake is SO bad, it makes me laugh. I recently bought in the Fauna fund a chameleon cage but I ain't got no chameleons so I set it up for this ATB, it is more vertical than horizontal and it absolutely beautiful and has branches and a beautiful large natural water dish; no matter, this guy wants to bite the crud outta me every time I open his cage.

I guess I'm getting a little off track but my point is that we do have some good up and coming reptile people, the new generation, and if they have involved families and a cooperative attitude, it is possible for them to buy and sell a few herps more as a hobby than as a business. I'm glad I have my little ATB, and I hope the youngster goes on with the hobby, his family was very good to me while we were emailing back and forth.
 
DAND said:
Matt,

Answer him before his bottom lip starts to quiver. :bawling:



I read the text portion of your post via email and snickered to myself...........................

Now that I have seen the attachment I am laughing so hard I have tears running down my face.
 
I guess the moral to the story is that those who are under the age of 18 and cannot legally enter a binding contract, should state their age, and be proactive in explaining their situation and having someone who CAN enter a legally binding contract to back them up from the very beginning. YES, it's a pain in the butt... but that's what you get for being that age. I promise, time DOES cure this problem.

The best thing to do in this hobby is begin as you mean to continue... learn as much as you can, be as forthright as possible, be teachable, and understand the limitations that exist instead of trying to go around them.

Now if you LEARN from this thread, and change your ways, you have a great chance at becoming a great additional member to this community. By mend and learn I mean the following:

UNTIL YOU ARE 18.... begin EVERY transaction with an indication of your age, and a statement of which adult is going to be a part of this transaction with you. Explain your problem with age. Make it merely a footnote to your dealings instead of Mt. Vesuvius. Dont' resort to bringing in an adult as a final attempt. It should be part of your first attempt.

NEVER start a bad guy thread if the person has explained to you their reason (and it's a logical and viable reason) for not doing business with you. You make yourself look like a fool, and fewer people will deal with you, hampering your attempt to be a viable part of this community.

ACCEPT that there will be those who will have be prejudiced against you due to your age. This is an unfortunate fact of life. Accept it. Live with it. AGain, time will cure this problem. Understand the age limitations you have. Instead of trying to call people to task for their prejudiced behaviour towards you, BE an example of the sort of person you are. If you are a strong moral ethical "good guy" your behaviour will stand out as a shining example of good. If you act like a little whining kid, you will never get respect.

Please accept what I've said as an attempt to teach and not an attempt to put you down. Your actions now will help to determine how you are treated and trusted in the future. Don't mess up before you even get started... this hobby NEEDS good guys. BE ONE!
 
DAND said:
Matt,

Answer him before his bottom lip starts to quiver. :bawling:

That is wrong!!! And not because you're picking on him. Because you made my soda seep out my nostrils while trying to hold back the hardest laugh I think Ive had in such a long time.

I am so sorry Andre, *wait* lol lol, soda coming from my nose again....*wait* lol lol....ok....., but I think even you might be laughing at that photo. At least I hope you are.

You did see I tried to give you good advice. These guys are just nuts.
 
hahahahahahahah Thanks David, you don't know how much I needed that today..lol Yes Andre if one of your parents can call me tomorrow I will hold off on your refund and ship your order. But I don't appreciate the suggestive bad guy post you made about me and my company. I am looking out for you as myself as flexwatt can be very very dangerous if not used properly. Fire, electrical shock and dead animal are not something I take lightly.
-Matt
 
Andre,

Any kid that displays an interest in this hobby certainly has my support. But only if you go about it in the right way. Just a couple of tips here:

1) Always treat any potential customer as to how you would want to be treated. Don't try to be secretive.

2) VERY IMPORTANT!!!! Don't EVER, EVER, EVER try to sell someone something that you don't already have. There is always a chance that something could happen to prevent you from acquiring your purchase, and then you have YOUR customer left out in the cold.

3) Take constructive criticism as you should. Don't be afraid to take advice and to listen to that advice. Also, don't pay too much attention to profanity and insults that are thrown your way. Just leads to arguments and defensiveness.

4) If you are under age, disclose that information ahead of time. It shows that you are confident in yourself as a seller and also protects you and any potential buyer.


I hope this helps and best of luck to you in the future. I, for one, am always glad when our youth take an interest in this hobby. Just keep your name clean. In the end, that is all you have. :)

Charles Vandever
VandeverExotics
 
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