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Chris DeLay Stellar Constrictors sick lemon pastel

Just curious,

correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Chris say that this pastel's mother weighs 1500 grams now, but 3 years ago laid 11 eggs?
How much did she weigh then? My females would always gain 500-600 grams per year at least.
 
civil case

I've never tried to sue anybody, but I doubt it is worth an attorney's time to work this $2,500 interstate case. If so inclined, I would more likely pursue justice through at least 2 appropriate federal authorities. Based upon the stated terms on the Paypal receipt and his acceptance, breach of contract and fraud seem fairly evident here. The interstate factor suggests Interstate Commerce Commission and whatever branch of FBI dedicated to interstate fraud would be good starting points. There are more suggestions on KS classifieds links as well. Restitution can be a mandate of a criminal case. I really haven't had time to look into it yet, just talking off the top of my head. It would certainly be a learning experience if nothing else if I do go that route. Injustice should be met with justice... He still hasn't replied to any e-mails since his 2nd refusal to refund on 7/27. Yesterday evening I e-mailed his partner SNReptiles in case Skip Nelson is not aware of this situation. I would appreciate any suggestions on how I could post the movie clips I took the morning before I fed the snake(about 3meg each) or where I could post them and provide a link, it might help those who wish to make their own diagnosis of the snake's condition. These clips are one important part of our e-mail exchanges that have not been shared publicly. Thanks.
Paul
 
Paul, the FBI internet fraud task force is what you are looking for and you do not need an attorney. You can file in small claims court in his home state. You can get the forms off the net, print them out and either file via certified mail or hire a legal services company/process service company in his area to file for you. It will cost $12-25 to file the papers with the court and $15-30 to pay the legal services company. You would have to go to court in his state just the one time. At that court date you would either win or if he chose not to show up you would get a default judgement. Either way, once you get that one day in court out of the way the rest can be handled from your home. I think it is worth the cost to you.
 
Thanks Evan

I wonder if I would have to bring the snake with me and if I could be reimbursed travel and veterinary expenses? Then there would be the matter of actually collecting from this guy. The only reason I can imagine for someone to do this is would be serious financial need. OK, maybe some people would send out an emaciated snake to try to unload it before it dies, but to sell a male as a female? Females are worth twice what males are. He did sex him by "popping" and the most common honest mistake there is failure of a male to evert and to be mistaken as female. Based on everything that has transpired, I have a hard time accepting improper sexing as an honest mistake. Somebody mentioned sending a replacement. That would be appreciated, but not necessarily completely fair. Pastels are price-graded on color/pattern appearance and this lemon pastel is absolutely stunning in that respect. I should post a few more pictures. The ones I sent to Mr. DeLay and posted were with the intent of showing its condition, not its beauty. It is unlikely, though not impossible, such an animal is available to him.
Paul
 
I asked earlier in the thread but no one answered. Has the seller been notified of this threads existance? Paul, has he made any attempt to contact you since it's inception?
 
John

Im not aware if the seller is aware of the thread or not, but he is aware of the situation.

From what I read in the last post by paul, the seller has discontinued contact alltoghether since the 17th of july.

Mickey Hinkle
The Lizard King Reptiles
 
Paul, you can claim your travel and filing/court expenses as well. You would want to have all of the documentation from Dr. Funk, signed by him and notorized so that you could present it in court.
 
Chris was on this site 20 mins ago, so I think he is aware. Strange that he won't even post in his defense, but then again, I don't think there is much to defend. A refund is due, NOW!
 
The worst part about this, is that it's the animal who suffers the most as a direct result of this situation.

The guy has no business breeding if THIS is how he cares for his animals. End of story. The animal was shipped out already emaciated, the stress of the shipping further aggravated it. (in my opinion)

I know the look of an emaciated BP. I have one that I recieved as emaciated. BUT!! And this is the BIG thing, right here!! I KNEW WHEN I PAID FOR IT, that it was that thin.. I could SEE the animal, and KNEW how sick it was! And I paid a grand total of $20, too, because the store I got the animal from just wanted to get rid of it, and I KNEW what I was walking into when I bought it. That was my choice.

The buyer here did not know that ahead of time. And if I had just spent $2500 on an animal that I assumed would be a normal, healthy, ball python baby girl, well... the buyer here has been a LOT more civil than I would have been.

The animal suffers the most, for a man's simple greed.
This "farmer" should be absolutely ASHAMED of himself.

Breeder : Someone who breeds, for sale, animals, with the love and passion of a person who truly enjoys it.

Farmer: Someone who breeds these animals for the almighty buck. Stellar Constrictors is a Farmer.
 
Chris is aware

I sent messages to both him and his partner yesterday.

Subj: Please read post on BOI
Date: 8/1/2004 7:43:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Pasufisher
To: CaptiveBrd

Chris,
As promised I have posted everything to do with our transaction, the animal's health, and sex determination on the BOI. There have been over 2000 views in 24 hours. You probably should take time to read what is there and take it to heart. I have admitted that I made mistakes in dealing with you, but the replies are overwhelmingly directed at your actions and your response to my requests and concerns. Obviously you know I am filing a claim of fraud with Paypal. It is stated on the receipt that by accepting payment, you guaranteed the snake would arrive alive, in good health, and properly sexed. You only delivered on 1 of the 3 things you guaranteed by accepting that payment, it was delivered alive. Based upon the level of mistrust I have developed in dealing with you I will request refund prior to return of the animal. You received funds prior to shipping. As well, I should receive funds prior to shipping. If Paypal does not follow through with the claim and you continue to refuse return for refund, I will pursue legal recourse. I believe I have evidence to support both breach of contract and fraud.
Sincerely,
Paul Fisher
 
Movie clips

Here are links to the 2 movie clips taken with my digital camera when I discoved what poor condition the animal was truly in. This was Saturday morning before I fed it the fuzzy mouse, 4.5 days after receiving the snake. When Chris DeLay viewed these, he started making disclaimers of disease. I had never mentioned disease, not even in the e-mails that contained these movie clips. I thought it was purely mal-nutrition. Anyway, a few comments: I keep my bins paired on the rack, 2 bins sharing a typical reptile UTH. Obviously 1 snake per bin. The snake sharing the UTH adjacent to this one is now also in another room, quarantined. The wavering movements improved somewhat within a few days of feeding, but have since remained steady-state. Thanks to David B for hosting these! I don't think the moderators should object to the links. They are not that critical to the entire situation. Just additional information for those that want to see what I saw that Saturday morning.
Paul

http://www.blackhearttattoosf.com/Chris_DeLay_Lemon_1.mov

http://www.blackhearttattoosf.com/Chris_DeLay_Lemon_2.mov
 
I can definately see where the idea of ibd came from.

Have you tried putting it on its back and seeing what it does? How easily/quickly is it able to right itself? Does it constantly star gaze, or only when you open the tub top?

Im still personally leaning towards malnurishment over ibd if I were to GUESS, but thats assumeing its coordinated enough to right itself when flipped, and its not gazing 70% of the time.

Thats is very bad off, and I can easily understand your desire to push a meal into that animal. For him to accuse you of a disease in your collections causeing the snake to act that way in that short of a period of time is INSAINE.

AGAIN JUST MY UNEDUCATED OPINION.
 
Very Sad!!!!

Paul,

I am sorry to see and hear what has happened.Man that poor snake.I dont know how anyone could send a snake out in that condition.If there is anything I can do just holler.I also noticed you mentioned the name Skip Nelson is he from TN?I am just about 45 minutes from memphis and I have heard that name Skip Nelson before.Anways I wish the best of luck for you and that poor little snake man that just tears me up to see one in that shape.But like I said if there is anything I can help with you just holler.
 
Damn, I really hate to hear about something like this. It really truly breaks my heart when I read BS like this. I send my truest condolences to you Paul and I pray that a resolution will be met. If the little guy pulls through, I think he deserves our greatest admiration, as he would have to have the will of a champion to survive the ordeal he has been subjected to in his short life. I normally am not this sappy but stuff like this both infuriates me and saddens me a great deal. I want nothing more than to see this criminal brought to justice and punished for his transgressions. I wish you the best of luck in this matter Paul. Keep your head up bro.
 
Thanks for the good will

When giving him his Baytril injection tonight, I weighed him again, back up to 40g since defecating Saturday and assist-feeding on Sunday. Observing him crawling through my fingers I would definitely say he is capable of righting himself if turned over. What is constant though are the head tremors. Unless he's resting or has his head against something the wavering head and tremors are persistent, though now less dramatic than in the movie clips. Here are pics that he sent me when the snake was sold. Oh, almost did that. Those pictures are his property with his business name on them, I don't think I can post them without permission. I'm sorry. My best verbal description though would be that the snake is curled up in a typical defensive posture for a scared BP. It appears fat, but could be puffed up as it was when I took the picture of it with the temperature reading at the airport. They do that. Also, I have no way of knowing what date those pictures were taken, he reports having sent pictures to many breeders for opinions prior to sale. It was probably reasonably well-proportioned for a few weeks after hatching. I still have not heard from him or his partner....or Paypal.
Paul
 
Hey Paul so was the snake shipped from Memphis or TX?Here is a quote from Skip's website.

We work with Ball Pythons exclusively at our facility, and we co-own and work with a dwarf breed of Burmese morphs at Stellar Constrictors with Chris DeLay as a part of La Corperacion.
Click to expand...

I was just wondering .Hope things are going well for the little snake.
 
Chris sent the snake from Texas

I'm pretty sure he produced the snake. Maybe on a breeder loan with the partner that claims to have a lemon pastel project...Who knows...They aren't replying. In all fairness though, I only started this thread 4 days ago. They could be on vacation. After all, Chris has $2,500 to spend! I'll probably have to pick up the phone to see if there's any sign of life on that end.
Paul
 
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