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CFRB. . . You Decide. . .

R

RedInTheTail

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On Sept. 15, 2004 I emailed Chuck and Rob @ Central Florida Reptile Breeders about an animal they had posted on the classifieds. I REALLY wanted this animal, but I was a little worried about purchasing it. It was born in 1997 and had was only 5-5.5 feet and thin. I had a chance to purchase the animal from the previous owner a few months earlier. The previous owner said he had finally got the animal turned around and eating on a regular basis a few months earlier. It was a lot of money, and I decided to pass (the right choice).

When I saw that CFRB had purchased and it was up for sale, I decided to email Chuck and Rob, because if it really was turned around it would be a great addition to my collection.

"That genetic stripe suri, that is a '97 I believe. How long have you had
it, and how is it feeding for you? I talked to Darren and he said it would only take live, and it would kill one then
eat the other. He had a few problems with it a few years back.
>
> If it is 100% healthy, and back to eating F/T rats, please let me know as
I would like to get it. I don't have a descent source for live, or I would
have picked up this animal before.
>
> Thanks,
> Kemper"

I talked to him on the phone and he said it was very healthy and eating f/t rats. Because of CFRB good reputation, I decided to go ahead and purchase the animal (for the $800 asking price).

I have had this animal since 9/21/04 and I have yet to get the animal to eat a single rat/mouse/chick/etc. I have tried contacting CFRB numerous times for months and have yet to get a reply. Here is one of the emails I have sent to them

"Chuck,

I have been working with this male Basin and have tried
everything in the book and some to get him to eat. If you remember I was a
little sketchy on purchasing him as he was very small for his age, and was
previously a finicky eater, but I was under the impression he had be turned
around. He has feeding response, strikes, bites, and then constricts. But he
has not eaten a single mouse/rat/chick.

I have been keeping BCC since 98 (I currently have over 30 Surinames that are
all in primo health and condition) and have produced 2 litters on 3 attempts.
I know what I am doing when it comes to these animals, but I am at a loss as of
what to do. What else can I do? Is there anything that you can do for me?

Thanks,
Kemper
(xxx)xxx-xxxx"

The animal is still alive despite not eating for over 14 months...and CFRB will not even respond to my emails.

I would like a refund for the full amount... I have spent hundreds on this animal on medication, and wasted feeders with no luck. I would be happy to give them their snake back.

-Kemper Ruth
 
Hey Kemper

Sorry to hear of your dilemma. I am a bit surprised that CFRB did not respond to you emails of concern about the lack of a feeding response, and request for suggestions, as that would have been the courteous thing to do since you had bought it from them. But I must confide that a refund at this late date is beyond reasonable or obligatory expectations, and would only agree with you on that had you made the claim within whatever TOS were in force at the time of purchase. It seems likely, although we have no proof, that the animal had shown feeding improvement prior to your purchase of it, lest both prior owners be grossly mistaken. Whether one or both exagerated, we don't know. In hindsight, this animal had a known history of being a problematic feeder, and in such circumstances it is advisable to get an extension on the TOS refund clause, specific to legitimate concerns, prior to purchase. I cannot condone their lack of communications, and am sympathetic to your plight, but IMO its been too long, based on your post and barring other revelations, to feel that they have an obligation at this point.
 
I understand your point... But, I have been trying to contact them since shortly after purchase. It is not my fault that they would not respond for months, despite promptly replying to emails sent by other people (that didn't mention my situation).

I do not feel that since you don't respond to emails for over a year, that you should get away with this! They have 2 emails they can contact me at, along with 2 phone numbers. They have not tried to respond once....

They knew about the problem since shortly after purchase, so they should fix it IMO.
 
Jim,

Sorry to post another reply about this, but I am frustrated. I knew this would come up, but I feel that they are just as obligated to fix it now as the first time I contacted them over a year ago.

This is the first time I have brought it public, but they have known about it a LONG time.
 
I would like a refund for the full amount... I have spent hundreds on this animal on medication, and wasted feeders with no luck. I would be happy to give them their snake back.
Click to expand...

Kemper,

Sorry to hear what's been going on. What has the boa been treated for?

Regards.
 
Believe that I and others understand the frustration ..

Especially since they seem to have no "service after the sale" in this instance, unless they choose to come here and show otherwise. As for the refund and TOS, the black and white of it would come down to whether you requested a refund within those TOS, whatever the time frame was. As for the "gray" of it all, I would be one of the first to say that they owed you communication after the sale, even if to say "we can't help you .. they are finicky", which would be a bit rude, but at least they are acknowledging that they cannot help. I don't know if they would consider themselves basin experts and able to provide much help, but at least they could have acknowledged your issues. They are now having to endure some bad publicity in this thread, yet may choose not to post in it. It is also possible that a reader here may have an idea or two which could help. I'm hoping that the snake, by some miracle, starts to eat.
 
There are several people who work with boas visiting this forum daily. If you give us an idea of what was she diagnosed with, and what were the medications administered someone might be able to help.

Regards
 
BoidSmith, I have treated him for internal parasites, although none showed up on a fecal exam. I worked with him for 3+ months before administering any medication since it can be hard on their systems. He was treated with flagyl and panacur for a full treatment, while receiving nutri-bac and aphidipholis bifidus (probably spelled that wrong LOL). The nutri-bac and aphidipholis biidus helps replenish good bacteria and boosts feeding response. The weirdest thing about this boa, that I have NEVER seen before, is he has feeding response! As soon as you open the cage he looks for food. He will then strike and constrict any meal you put in the cage. He will hold onto it for about 20 minutes, but will not eat it no matter what you give him. It is bizarre.......

I am going to school to become a vet (actually pre vet classes right now), and I have contact numerous friends who work with boas. None of them can think of anything else to try:(. It would be a 10 page essay with all of the things I have tried (but those are the only 2 medications)....


Jim, The animal is a Suriname redtail boa (BCC). This group was named basin redtail boas. The mother was imported from the southern peninsula of Suriname (outer basin region), and was found when the importers where looking for Amazon Basin ETBs. Hope I don't confuse you on that part lol. CFRB have been dealing with BCC for sometime now, especially imports...
 
CFRB At Least Owes You a Call

Even after over a year they should appear here to defend their inaction or explain their side of the story. I always thought of them as being reputable but it onl;y takes one unanswered post like yours to change my mind. I figure I could just as easily be in your shoes someday.
I bought an adult female Mexican boa several months ago that arrived fine and looked very well fed, etc. I spent over one month trying everything to get that animal to feed. Finally, the seller agreed to take the animal back since I'd kept in touch about the situation. When the seller got the animal back she claimed it ate for her, go figure? I had the same problem as you. The snake would wrap the prey whether live, prekilled, or thawed, and after holding it would just leave it there. The only difference we could figure out in husbandry is she provided belly heat which I was not set up for.
I hope CFRB responds to this post to clarify why no response to your problem.
 
That's odd. Do you think he ever had problems with his mouth or may have pain in the bones of his head? Does he ever try to bite the feeders?
 
Oh, just thought of something...I had an ATB that wouldn't eat either. I gave it to an expert to save its life after 3 months of not eating anything, & the expert put it in isolation for 3 weeks, after which that ATB started eating like a PIG!
 
He is isolated and always has clean water and heat. I have seen snakes drop prey when they are disturbed, but this guy just looses interest. He doesn't have mouth rot, broken bones or any other problems with his head/neck as far as I can tell. I think it is more of a mental problem lol.

Pete Bandre purchased the animals when they where imported as babies, but the importer kept a few (the striped ones, including this guy). He purchased them a year later and they where never the same as the rest of the group, just continued to have health problems...No one knows what is causing them
 
I just picked up the phone, and dialed the phone # on the webpage, 352-220-6232, and Chuck answered. He said that you are welcome to contact him at that number, after 7PM.

I didn't know the guy from Adam, and was speaking directly to him in 30 seconds.
 
I will try giving him a call tonight. Honestly, I haven't tried calling him for a few reasons:

1) I work and go to school, and my schedule doesn't work to work to well to getting ahold of those on the East Coast

2)At this point, I would much rather have something in writting than orally

3)It's $800 and I am college student, so that is a drop in the bucket. It is upsetting, and in situations like this people can say the wrong thing. I would rather be able to type it out

Anyways, I feel that they can still make this situation right, so I will let you know what he says...
 
I believe 7PM Fla. time is 10PM CA time.

As a former college student, I can attest to the fact that all college students are in bed and asleep by 10PM. AHAHAHAAAAAAA Oh, that's a good one.......
 
It’s really weird. There is one boa in my collection that will do the same if not left completely alone. Once she releases the coils if she spots you around she will not eat; nothing wrong with her at all as she is in great shape, but just plain shy. I suppose you have tried the usual and obvious: darkness, shelter, temperature, moisture, etc. Hopefully you will be able to solve this problem with Chuck.
 
I gave Chuck a call tonight. He apologized and said he would make it right. He said he will allow me to trade it back to him for any animals he has for sale, and to let him know if there is anything that I like. I definitely think that is fair.

Chuck, thanks for fixing this, I appreciate it!

-Kemper
 
I have a boa that will only eat if he's in a feeding tub, the rat is dead, laying on the cage floor, and the top is on. He doesn't even strike or constrict.

Soooo lazy..
 
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