The box should have been an insulated box. I understand you can't put cold packs in with a snake when the temps for the first half of the trip are 60s. But an insulated box should be used, especially if the temps were 60s for the first half of the trip, much less for the hot temps in florida.
I supremely doubt the sellers put a snake in a plastic bag. I also sort of doubt the buyer put it in a bag after the fact. Why? She could just as easily claimed it died from heat, without adding a plastic bag to the mix, since dying from heat in a uninsulated box is plausible, and packaging in a plastic bag is not.
I agree that somewhere in transit, someone repackaged the snake. I'll bet it did wee in the box/pillowcase, and leaked. Standard practice for a leaking package? Bag it in a leakproof(plastic) bag. The people in UPS don't know about snakes, or whatever.
So technically, it would not be the seller's fault, or the buyer's fault, that the snake arrived in a plastic bag. It would be the shipper's fault(UPS), who is not likely to admit they repackaged a box in transit and caused the issue.
Now add in the fact that the buyer can't keep her story straight, show any clear pictures of anything, or post emails in a straightforward manner, and she looks nutso.
Add in Critical Bill's useless name calling, and you got typical drama, without resolution.(Although at least one of Chuck's posts was useful without name calling! Yay! Those are always gems!)
Why claim the seller is someone else, without proof, and then ignore the proof provided that it's NOT that person... why claim that you asked to return the snake, when you'd already called animal control... in fact, why call animal control? What can Animal Control contribute to the thread? That they picked up a dead snake that you CLAIM arrived dead in a plastic bag. They cannot say that it arrived in the plastic bag, or even that it arrived dead, or that it was even shipped to you, or it is the same snake that was shipped. Therefor, posting the animal control "report"(it was just a header) doesn't add to your proof. You did not "pay Fedex". You asked for Fedex shipping. The seller paid the shipper. If they did start a police report, you can't call up your local police and ask and think that whoever you talk to will have access to that report. Even if the person you talked to DID know about it, they might not want to tell you anything.
Posting several times in a row doesn't add to your proof. Claiming someone was online but didn't respond doesn't add to your proof. Stating Animal Control took your pictures, and the dead snake isn't reality. They take their own pictures. The pictures you do provide don't prove anything either.
That said, my opinion is that you're nuts, but you did probably recieve a dead snake packaged in a plastic bag. I just don't think the seller shipped it in a plastic bag, as stated above.
If you'd sit and re-read your posts, and try to be more coherant, you'd gain more respect, and people might think about the situation, rather than writing you off as a nutcase. Just my own advice. Think first, then write, then re-read, then think, then post.
If I was the seller, I'd probably offer some resolution, once the official police report is done. Of course, if I'd had to deal with all this, with your changing story, involving the Animal Control and everyone else under the sun, then maybe I wouldn't. I'm glad I haven't had to deal with this sort of thing.
Good luck on all of it, to everyone involved. And I agree, poor snake.
Theresa Baker
ships a snake in a 
