Paul Fisher
Member
I have never initiated a thread here or pasted information from other applications, e-mails, etc. so please have some patience with me if things don’t go to smoothly here. I’ve tried posting images, but had problems because my computer automatically saves all images as extensions of my image processing software and this website doesn’t recognize them as jpeg even though they are, so please bear with me as I work through this process.
I purchased a stunningly colored and patterned hatchling from Chris DeLay of Stellar Constrictors less than 2 weeks ago (received 7/19). The animal was very thin and weak upon receipt only weighing 35g (my digital scale has 2g resolution and would measure 34 or 36g I have stated 36g in some instances, 35g in others). It was also received at a body temperature measuring 61.8 (sometimes I state 61, sometimes 62) degrees at the airport due to close proximity of ice packs to the snake in the shipping box. I removed the ice packs at the airport and brought the snake home. I sent Mr. DeLay an e-mail that evening including photos that document the temperature of the animal at the airport and how thin it was. I also indicated that at 35g this was the smallest and thinnest BP I had ever seen. No, I did not specifically inquire the weight of the animal prior to purchase, but I believe a reputable seller should be very up-front about something as significant as the animal being approximately half the weight expected for an animal of this type. I will paste all of our e-mails in following posts. They will tell the story very accurately and unbiased. I was very optimistic, cooperative, and non-confrontational in early e-mail exchanges. I did what you are supposed to do with a new BP…I left it alone. I only disturbed it to introduce fuzzy mice on 2 evenings that week, then remove them the following mornings. It had been in a “juvie” sized tub (thermal gradient approx 83 to 90 deg with hides at each end) that I normally move my 4-6 week olds into after spending their first weeks in a more humid “shoe box”. Saturday 7/24 I decided to move it to the shoe-box size per Mr. DeLay’s recommendation and I used cypress mulch to up the humidity. This is when I discovered what poor condition the animal was truly in. Its head was wavering back and forth and it would fall over when it tried to raise its head more than 4 inches or so. My digital camera is capable of recording a 16 second movie clip so I took 2 clips of it moving and e-mailed them to Mr. DeLay. I believed the animal was going beyond the point of no return and did not believe it was dehydrated because I observed it drinking the night I received it and it had picked up a few grams in water weight so I assist fed it a fuzzy mouse. Mr. DeLay denies all responsibility for the health of the animal and refuses to accept return for refund. It may have been unsteady in its movement upon receipt, but I didn’t specifically note that and would have associated it with the stress of shipping an already weak animal. I will close this post and try to post the images I sent to Mr. DeLay the evening I received the snake. After posting the images, I will provide a complete veterinary report including the professional accolades of the veterinarian treating this snake. The veterinary exam revealed the underlying cause of the obvious malnutrition is central nervous system disorder, and that the animal is male and was sold as a female, thus I filed a claim with Paypal of consumer fraud. I will post all of our e-mail exchanges, and maybe later, contents and replies of a poll I posted on KS last week regarding this animal. Please be patient if you are reading this on Saturday. It may take awhile for me to get these up. Thank you.
Paul Fisher
I purchased a stunningly colored and patterned hatchling from Chris DeLay of Stellar Constrictors less than 2 weeks ago (received 7/19). The animal was very thin and weak upon receipt only weighing 35g (my digital scale has 2g resolution and would measure 34 or 36g I have stated 36g in some instances, 35g in others). It was also received at a body temperature measuring 61.8 (sometimes I state 61, sometimes 62) degrees at the airport due to close proximity of ice packs to the snake in the shipping box. I removed the ice packs at the airport and brought the snake home. I sent Mr. DeLay an e-mail that evening including photos that document the temperature of the animal at the airport and how thin it was. I also indicated that at 35g this was the smallest and thinnest BP I had ever seen. No, I did not specifically inquire the weight of the animal prior to purchase, but I believe a reputable seller should be very up-front about something as significant as the animal being approximately half the weight expected for an animal of this type. I will paste all of our e-mails in following posts. They will tell the story very accurately and unbiased. I was very optimistic, cooperative, and non-confrontational in early e-mail exchanges. I did what you are supposed to do with a new BP…I left it alone. I only disturbed it to introduce fuzzy mice on 2 evenings that week, then remove them the following mornings. It had been in a “juvie” sized tub (thermal gradient approx 83 to 90 deg with hides at each end) that I normally move my 4-6 week olds into after spending their first weeks in a more humid “shoe box”. Saturday 7/24 I decided to move it to the shoe-box size per Mr. DeLay’s recommendation and I used cypress mulch to up the humidity. This is when I discovered what poor condition the animal was truly in. Its head was wavering back and forth and it would fall over when it tried to raise its head more than 4 inches or so. My digital camera is capable of recording a 16 second movie clip so I took 2 clips of it moving and e-mailed them to Mr. DeLay. I believed the animal was going beyond the point of no return and did not believe it was dehydrated because I observed it drinking the night I received it and it had picked up a few grams in water weight so I assist fed it a fuzzy mouse. Mr. DeLay denies all responsibility for the health of the animal and refuses to accept return for refund. It may have been unsteady in its movement upon receipt, but I didn’t specifically note that and would have associated it with the stress of shipping an already weak animal. I will close this post and try to post the images I sent to Mr. DeLay the evening I received the snake. After posting the images, I will provide a complete veterinary report including the professional accolades of the veterinarian treating this snake. The veterinary exam revealed the underlying cause of the obvious malnutrition is central nervous system disorder, and that the animal is male and was sold as a female, thus I filed a claim with Paypal of consumer fraud. I will post all of our e-mail exchanges, and maybe later, contents and replies of a poll I posted on KS last week regarding this animal. Please be patient if you are reading this on Saturday. It may take awhile for me to get these up. Thank you.
Paul Fisher
