Beware of Jeremy Heikel

[Neverland Dragons]

I purchased a 14 month old orange bearded dragon from Jeremy Heikel based on two photos he emailed me. She was a pretty bright orange dragon. What I received was a dull barely yellow, almost tan dragon. I expressed my concern to him and he said she would color up. Well, it has been a week and she has not. I asked about what happened if I was not happy with her and he told me all sales are final, after the fact. That was partly my fault for not asking. I am starting a small scale breeding business and I have purchased dragons from Kakadu Dragons, Mystical Dragons and Earthtone Reptiles. Anyone of them can vouch for my integrity. I was advised by a breeder who has been through the whole process of buying this girl with me to return this girl for she felt Jeremy had not been honest in his representation of her. He said I would not get a refund that she arrived healthy. The fact remains that she is not near the color he represented her to be. So I have entered a dispute on my visa. I asked him for his address to ship her back and it has gotten ugly. He advised me that he emailed all the breeders he knows that I am a fraud and warned them about me. I have not done anything wrong and I am the one who was misled. I am attaching pictures to show what I am talking about. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what recourse I have? I appreciate any advise. Most importantly, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH JEREMY HEIKEL. He is dishonest and can not be trusted. I tried to attach the pictures and I don't know if they took. If not I will figure it out and post them soon.

Sincerely,

Wendy Thomas

 

[Kakadu]

I think it also needs to be pointed out that this person was trying to sell a different dragon on Reptibid and representing it as a certain bloodline from a top breeder. The owner/producer of that line was informed and claims that none of the dragons from his line were anywhere near that age yet (its a new line) and that it was in no way releated to his stock.

This person has represented himself as being close to certain big breeders "friends" and "we are working on breeding projects together" were stated. When this major breeder was contacted he stated that he knows of this person but has no releationship with him. He has simpley talked to him a few times.

If you want more info on this you need to e-mail me directly because I am not going to post breeders names on the BOI in releation to this guy without their permission.

Last, please note that this guy promised to have all bloodline info available for this girl. He has STILL not produced it. This was part of the deal as this girl was purchased as a breeder, and some people still care about diverse genetics. Wendy will not breed an animal that she can not trace its heritage. The gene pool is so small there is never justification for taking the chance. So without this info that he can't seem to get (he is waiting on his "friend") Wendy has no use for this dragon at all. Here is the letter she got when she inquired about the bloodline info. Remember, she paid $500 for this dragon, is dissatified with its color but trying to be understanding, and has been trying to get any info she can on this animal:

His Email
I am the manager of an O'Charlies. I have been working 6-8:30 9:00 every day
for about a week. To be quite honest you are really becomming very
frustrating. I will get the info for you. Dachiu is 1 hour ahead of me, and
I do not feel it is right to call him at 10:00 at night. I will get it when
I get it, hopefully I can do it soon. But I am not guaranteeing anything. I
am sorry if this is a little rough, but I am extreamly tired and I am going
to bed. Have a nice night Wendy. Jeremy


Anyway, here are the pictures. I am hosting them. I resized them a bit but otherwise have not touched them.

Jennifer Graef
Kakadu Dragons

 

[KNOBTAIL]

Wendy, you may want to consider

buying from people that you have delt with in the past as opposed to a total stranger who apparently thought they could get away with this nonsense. I would also suggest that you understand the TOS before you send any monies to anyone.

You can consider yourself lucky, because you paid by credit card. But you may loose their as well if this person can show that he fulfilled his obligations. Color can be subjective, and it can get a bit tricky with credit card companies who just need written proof that the seller met his end of the bargain.

Their are so many bearded dragon breeders out their, and allot of good ones that would have serviced you well, but I have a funny feeling that price was the motivating factor here as well as the color that you were thinking you were going to get.

Let us know how this persues. Also dont worry about anyone bad mouthing you, its common in this business to pass on the blame.

 

[Neverland Dragons]

Lesson Learned

Thanks for the insight. I actually was having a hard time locating a girl that age. I contacted all of teh reputable breeders I could get an email to. I thought I was getting good bloodlines and a nice colored dagon. I ran it by a respectable breeder to make sure I was doing the right thing. But yes, I will only deal with respectable breeders and am glad to have learned this lesson early on.

 

[hellschild]

Jeremy

If he is from the east coast he is the same Jeremy from another forum called Reptile Adoption Connection. He is asking people for their unwanted reptiles and then is turning around and selling them after promising to simply care for them.

I hope you resolve your dilema soon.

As far as the dragon you recieved, it is the same dragon physically, but there is always the possibility he could have enhanced the color in the pic.
Just my opinion.

Shannon

 

[mrmojorisen]

they are right about the credit cards, it might be semifutile with visa, but i hope for your sake that they do do something about it, but regardless what he did was deplorable, i wish i had better advice to give you, but i don't, and i'm sorry. joe

 

[Bringerofdoom]

it is the same beardie in both pics, but you can notice obvious color tweaking in the above pic. i gets so bad in certain areas it blurrs the scales like in the dead center of the back.

people that do scams like this are the main reason i avoid buying reptiles online through auctions or classifieds. i too am a beginning breeder who is trying to breed leopard geckos and trying to aquire decent breeding stock. i dont know how many horror stories i hear from people who have similar problems with other ripoff artist.

im sorry to read about this, but hopefully you get justice. have you tried to contact you local authorities to see any if anything can be done. the "bait and switch" tatic this guy pulled is illegal and he can be sued over it in a court of law.

 

[GOLDENSERPENT]

I agree that it is the same dragon but I do also disagree that it is a bait and switch scam. those are scams which mostly car dealers use to get you to the dealership and tell you they are out of them but we have this nice model right here.
What this fella did was blatantly misrepresent the animal by enhancing the photo. That is just out and out fraud in my opinion.
Especially if he did not tell you that he did not enhance to maybe show a scar or particular pattern.
Thanks and these are just my .02

 

[overhaul]

That's so sad to think someone will dupe others like that. It's definitely the same dragon in both photos but hard to tell if it's been photoshopped. I have photoshopped photos in the past and at first glance, my opinion is that this one hasn't been..

Nevertheless, there's the possibility that it was not photoshopped but still the picture taker manipulated the camera to accentuate the reds. I have a digital and this is VERY easy to do. So the photo will still be "legit" but still be deceiving.

Notice the pinkish tint of the sand...

I would open the original (has to be the original) photo he sent you in an descent editor like ACDSee. Depending on the camera he used and how the photo was uploaded, it may have been saved with additional information including color saturation.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about (info from one of my own photos which is stored within the photo jpg file)

Photo Properties
summary details
Make Canon
Model Canon PowerShot G2
Aperture Value f 4
Color Space sRGB
Exposure Bias Value 0 EV
Flash No Flash
Focal Length 21 mm
ISO 0
Metering Mode Multi-Segment
Shutter Speed Value 1/201 sec
Date/Time 2004:03:14 10:18:17 Image Type
Orientation Normal (O deg)
Resolution Unit Inch
X Resolution 180 dots per ResolutionUnit Y
Resolution 180 dots per ResolutionUnit
Contrast Normal
Exposure Mode EasyShoot
Saturation Normal
Sharpness Normal
Subject Distance 0

If he has a camera where Red, Green, and Blue can be manipulated, I *think* the level of each of those will also be included in the photo info.

Anyway, unless you have some info like the above or can prove that the photo was doctored after it was taken, it's going to be tricky to get the CC companies to do anything about it. All they need to know is that you got the dragon in the picture. Color is usually subjective.

 

[MatthewM]

HMM Jeremy Heilel

Hello my name is Matthew Maribo of www.Mystical-Dragons.com

I actually tried emailing Jeremy Heinkel twice about an ad he posted on reptibid. In the ad he claims to have bought the dragon from me in January of last year. The problem with all this is my first season selling anything was this season in May 04, and back in January when he claims to have purchased said dragon Mystical-Dragons was not yet running.

I told him through the Questions & Answer part of that site that the dragon he was selling was not one of mine, as we produced our first babies this season 04. He then told me he purchased the dragon from a breeder at a show, and went by what the breeder had told him.

I then emailed him saying his ad said he purchased straight from me. I then asked him who he purchased the dragon from that told him it was from Mystical-Dragons linage, as whomever told him this knew about Mystical-Dragons before we ever produced anything, or had a completed web site up. I sent this email twice already with no answers to the questions as to who he purchased this dragon from that gave him the information he claims.

I do have the exact ad as it appeared on that site, but did not know how to post it here. What I did do was copy and pasted the ad here, but unfortunitly the pics do not show up. If anyone is interested in seeing the ad as it was posted please just drop me an emai,l and I'd be happy to send it. If you could even share it here that might help as well. Thanks


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Huge Proven Breeder Dragon Item number: #1096945553

Categories > Lizard > Bearded Dragons > Item Watch this item (track it in My Auction Tracker)





Starting bid: US $ 150.00

Time left: 1 Day 8 Hrs+
Started: Sat Oct 02, 10:05 PM
Ends: Mon Oct 04, 10:05 PM

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US $400.00

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Location: Opelika AL 36801


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Jheikel (feedback 1 ) )
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Payment Options: PayPal, Personal Check, Money Order Shipping Terms: Buyer Pays Origin: Captive Born

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I bought this dgragon from Mystical Dragons in January of last year. He has proven to be an awsome dragon both in size and color. He is 21 1/4 inches long and weighes over 600 grams. He is extreamly aggressive with the ladies, but has a good enough temperment to handle.




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Seems Like a few things have been going wrong for Jeremy but I think I was mentioned above so figured I'd share what happened in my case here. I still would just love to know Jeremy who that breeder was that told you it was one of mine? Thanks

Matthew Maribo
www.mystical-Dargons.com

 

[KNOBTAIL]

theirs not much else that can be done

other than hope that a potential buyer comes to the BOI and check on this guy before they get themselves, in the same position Wendy got into. At least Wendy has an animal, in most cases the buyer losses everything.

This herp business is an open wound for all the 2 legged bacterias that are around and seem to migrate to the unsuspecting, honest people who are willing to take the risk. Iam sure that their will be others............there always are!

Wendys loss could have been much worse, lets see what the chargeback from the credit card company does. JERRY

 

[cathyh]

Thanks for posting so that others can be aware of this persons dishonest practices!

 

[sparklypia]

Hi... new to this forum, but followed the thread from Beardeddragon.org.... that is terrible AND to me, that looks like TWO completely different dragons...good luck w/getting your $$ back!
~Pia

 

[Alias47]

I agree that these are the same animal.
I am not an expert...but I do not believe that this picture has been digitally altered...the slightly blurry look of the back scales appears to be due to pixelation of the digital camera.

To digitally alter this picture at this level would take more time than the extra money is worth.

It does appear that the light used in the top picture may have been red or orange (see the light coloration to the white sand?)
But I do not think it would have created such a dramatic effect.

Possible the animal was stressed from shipping?
I really don't know that much about beardies...

He obviously mirepresented the lineage...which in and of itself, when purchasing an animal specifically for breeding, should be a dealbreaker, but I don't know how much he misrepresented the actual appearance intentionally.

 

[Kakadu]

It is definatly the same animal, I am sure of that. From photographing hundreds of dragons I know that different camera angles and lighting can REALLY chaange a dragons color, no photoshop necessary. If I see that my camera angles or lights have done that to a dragon I retake the pictures because obviously there will be a problem when the dragon arrives at a new home. You know when your camera has enhanced the color, you know when the picture is dishonest.

This dragon has completely recovered from shipping, she is eating fine, basking fine, totally calm. Wendy has tried warm baths and all the other color tricks. She really tried to give Jermey lots of chances to make this deal work. She e-mailed me many times trying to justify the poor color, the bad communication, and even the lying about that dragon he claimed was from Matt's bloodline. I felt so bad for her because she is so trusting and this guy is obviously taking advantage of her. I just wish I could do more.


Thanks everyone to take the time to post.

 

[SNAKESDJF]

some shady people out there

i am sorry to here about that. even looking at the pattern/size besides the coloration it doesn't even look like the same dragon in the 2 pics. regardless of his "all sales are final". he still falsely mislead you and mispresented the animal. i know it may cost money but i can almost bet you would win if you took him to court. i would also call the Visa investigations dept/unit and they may even go after him for the return. good luck wendy, and let me know what happens, dj

 

[Peruvianfanatic]

Looks like the same Beardie to me,whats the problem here?

 

[Kakadu]

Lets recap:
Color is falsely represented. E-mails described her as bright orange and that the picture represents her normal everyday color. In a weeks time she has not gotten near that color regardless of her basking, having warm baths, or even sleeping (sometimes they show their colors best when they sleep).

He was about 100 grams off on her weight.

He has not provided her bloodline info. Before the sale the bloodline info was promised along with pictures. This is an animal purchased for breeding, and withour bloodlines a responsible person will not breed an animal in a species with such a small gene pool. His attempts to buy time with the bloodline info are not consistant either. One day he says he bought the dragon from his friend, who got her from Dachiu, and this friend has all the info and pictures of the parents. The next day he rudly states that "Dachiu us an hour ahead of him" and it is too late to call after work. So, is he calling his friend or Dachiu? He is just buying time hoping Wendy will go away.

He was, as Mystical Dragons stated above, trying to sell an older male and representing him as being from Mystical Dragons. Got caught again in a lie when he tried to say the person who sold the dragon to him at a show had told him the male was from Mystical. The problem is that Mystical Dragons did not even exist at the time he said he bought the dragon, no site, no ads, ect. So he is saying that this breeder at this show looked into the future to make up a lie about it's bloodlines? What kinda show was he at?

He has represented himself as being a friend and business partner of another major breeder that I respect very much. This breeder has not posted here yet, so I am not going to name him. But I contacted him and he said he merely has had e-mail communication with this person and is in no way involved with him.

This person is unwilling to take back the dragon even though Wendy was willing to pay all return shipping costs.

This person is being totally unhelpful with Wendy's concerns about the color and the bloodline info, and is calling her frustrating and providing no help.

This person has been shown to lie, and even if bloodline info was produced, it would be unwise to trust him. It is impossible to belive that this dragon as had the care he initally stated (especially since he works all day and night at O'Charlies and can't even find time to write his friend for the bloodlines of this $500 dragon as stated in his e-mail above, how is he caring for all those dragons???). It is impossible to believe even her age, perhaps he just said she was the age Wendy inquired about just so that he could move her. With all the lies he has been caught in I would say it is probable.


This was a $500 purchase. What was delivered was not what was promised. Its very simple.

Jennifer

 

[SNAKESDJF]

Kakadu Dragons, i Couldn't have said it better myself!!

Jennifer i totally agree with everthing you stated. this guy is really shady. dj

 

[sparklypia]

that's just horrible to do that...selling what is prob. a $35 dragon for $500! Guess I should have better stated, it IS the same dragon, I just meant that they LOOKED likek totally different animals.