I've read all the replies and found a few very interesting points... and I"d like to thank all for both directions, backing me, and criticizing, because we learn from it all...
I have emailed Alex, and while I haven't gotten a response yet, I"m confident I will... I agree with all parties who said he handled himself VERY professionally with his reply... I have to tell the truth that I figured he'd have shown more anger.
I did check him out before I dealt with him and he came extremely highly recommended (specifically about the het albinos, which I bought, because the "other dealer" was out of hets). And obviously many of you feel the same way about him, that he's highly respected and reputable.
To clarify the non-communication issue, the last email I had sent Alex was during the week that he had posted his most recent boas for sale in Kingsnake.com... which, to MY recollection was either late Jan. or early Feb, (but ok, it might not be a perfect timeframe) and the subject was "she's still not eating"... in which my girlfriend and I both sat here while I typed and sent it... and we both sat here and checked the email box for a reply... and we got none...
and I wrote a second email, to which my girlfriend was also witness, which said I was starting to feel like I was getting screwed, with yet again no reply. (I understand mixups happen with the internet so there may be an explanation out there as to why there was no response, but I didn't get a Mailer-Daemon non-delivery, so I assumed he got them)...
At that time, I had felt he just wanted me to go away..
So I started looking for, and just now came across, this BOI vehicle of letting someone else read my story....
I"d like to also add that there were more than 2 emails passed between us, but they also were spread out, as I did take the advice he gave me and tried to "give it time"... I figured each time, 4 weeks (4 attempted weekly feedings) would be sufficient time... starting in mid-August '01 when I bought the boas (someone questioned what type, they are 66% poss hets) when I said they arrived alive, and then again when I wrote for advice on getting her to eat after 2 weeks of her refusal to. And yes, as he said, he did give me advice, but none of it worked... I felt at a loss and started putting small dampened prey down her throat when she got so skinny and wrinkled on her sides that I felt she was slipping away..
To answer the guy who said I shouldn't have force fed her... should I have let her die? No, and I wasn't about to. I listed the things I tried to feed her before I had to forcefeed... We're talking about a baby snake with no reserve fat like adults have.. she won't take food by herself.. I saw an alarm, and I responded to it.
In retrospect, Neil is right, I should have emailed Alex one last time a few days before I sent this "thread" to this page... but my opinion (at that time) was that the non-responded-to email was my offering as a last chance.. so yes, I take my lumps from Neil, and I should have sent him one more recent last chance email... Point taken and acknowledged
On a personal note about me....
I'd like to add to those guys speaking about my knowledge and experience... I"ve been keeping snakes since I was 6 years old (that's 25 years ago)... starting with ringnecks, rough ground snakes, and black ratsnakes.. and I might not the the smartest head on the block, but I'm not quite as naive as that one fella tried to make me sound... and I don't feed chicks to snakes because of that salmonilla (sp?) thing that uncooked chicken can pass.. we all remember that big deal where we had to sign petitions because people accused snakes of passing salmonilla through bites... snakes already have a bad rap from hundreds of years of inbred fear passed on through families and I won't risk giving them a worse one by salmonilla passing to humans through one of MY pets...
Ok I think I have answered all the pertinent things I wanted to clear up... and when Alex and I have completed the transaction I will be letting everyone know, much the same way I let you all know I wasn't happy... I give what I get and I have no problem letting anyone get to know me and who I am and what experience I"ve had with snakes... <img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='
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I"m new here at BOI/Faunaclassifieds and I look forward to being around for awhile.
Craig Hulsey
