Info Doc Walker, reptidoc, Dr. Daryl G. Walker = buyer beware

[Cat_Eyed_Lady]

Under what name?? I cant see any ads from Doc there. ?

 

[Pasodama]

He has always closed his ads.

This is true. Doc has always locked his Ads.

Under what name?? I cant see any ads from Doc there. ?

Same name as always (Reptiledoc).
I saw one, last night, in the "Other Animals and Related Items For Sale" section. So, you could check there.

 

[Cat_Eyed_Lady]

Thanks Deb I did just check and found it. Bumped the BOI thread there too, warning about reading and searching the boi before buying anything so... lets hope. I dont really wanna see another of the dead and dying threads.

 

[Tara80]

I see he also added a 30 day guarantee disclaimer to his for sale adds. I hope, that if someone does go about purchasing from him that he holds to this without belittling the buyer if the snake dies.

 

[cornsnakekate]

Hey guys,

I've posted the letter my vet send me with the autopsy results, along with the last few emails between Darryl and me.

Long story short, he's sticking with the 'two missed feedings' line and reducing his breeding next year.

________________________________________
From: "Katherine Fischer" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2011 3:17:22 PM
Subject: Necro results

Hi Darryl,

My vet just called me back with the necro results for the opal stripe.

He performed a gross necropsy and a gi swab. He found no obvious internal abnormalities: no signs of pneumonia, parasites, bleeding, twisting or blockages.

He said that she appeared emaciated and abnormally small for her age and size, with no muscle tone whatsoever and minimal fat (probably whatever she had left over from her egg sac).

When I dropped her off I relayed hatch date and your feeding schedule, and he seemed surprised that she could be as old as three months considering how small she was, and definitely surprised that she could have starved to death in as little as three months if she was being fed even every 10 days or so.

He didn't find anything suspicious enough to warrant sending out organ samples for biopsy, and told me that further testing would probably not return anything conclusive as far as cause of death. He posited that, considering her condition, she was probably starved to death. He's going to hang onto her remains for another week in case I change my mind or something happens within the rest of my collection that makes me think its warranted.

He'll be mailing me the results next Monday. I'll scan and send them to you when I receive them.

-Katherine
_____________________________________________


[email protected]
Nov 19

to Katherine


I really screwed up on keeping track of the feeding. I had them all on a 7 day rotation and I think she missed two different feedings because she was either in shed or just refused a meal during the rotation.
The meant the she went two different times not eating for 14 days which is Not ok. Although she fed on all the other feeding attempts, she was obviously too compromised internally from the incidents to snap back completely. I feel like an idiot.
I cant believe I let this happen. I have sold So Many snakes that have been great and thrived.
The small percentage that have had this demise really makes me sick. It was avoidable. I should have paid closer attention and set the ones that werent doing perfectly aside. I am cutting back on my breeding stock. I think part of the reason (not an excuse) is that I just have too many snakes and I am constantly trying to spread myself too thin taking care of everything. I had many more babies this season than I anticipated. I thought I could somehow manage it all but apparently I didnt do a very good job of it.
All the snakes that didnt miss more than one feeding are thriving and growing quickly. I guess I had my hopes set too high for the others.
Thanks for letting me know. I dont know what else to say. Take care.

Dr. Darryl G. Walker



Website: http://www.DocSSnakes.com
Email: [email protected]

______________________________________________

Katherine Fischer
Nov 19 (13 days ago)
to reptiledoc


Darryl,

Thanks for getting back to me.

I'm not really sure what to say either, honestly. As I said earlier, three months is a very short period of time to starve a hatchling completely to death, even if you don't feed said hatchling at all. Missing a few feedings shouldn't have been enough to kill her completely if she was healthy straight out of the egg. As my vet said, he didn't find anything obviously wrong with her internally other than her being ridiculously small for her age and having no food in her. He keeps and breeds boas himself, and in the course of our conversation mentioned that there could be more at the root of the problem here, husbandry wise: incubation, health of the breeding stock, etc. It's possible that she was frail enough that the added stress of shipping and a new environment put her over the edge. I agree that knowing when a snake is healthy is something that you, with your experience in corn snakes, should know. I hope that you will take a look at the overall mortality rate of your hatchlings and reassess future breeding plans.

Best,

-Katherine

_____________________________________________-

Hey guys,

I've posted the letter my vet send me with the autopsy results, along with the last few emails between Darryl and me.

Opal Baby
[email protected]
Nov 19 (13 days ago)

to me


I didnt think a few missed feedings would have mattered much either but according to Rich Z, it can have a negative effect long term. (Even in as short a period as a couple months). I sold others from the same clutch and they are all doing fine but they were all larger than she was and I do not believe they missed more than one meal between hatching and being sold.
It was bad judgement on my part to sell her without her being totally ok and hoping she would be ok in the long run. It was a gamble that I will not take again. My breeding stock is very healthy and I raise my own Rodents and everything is Vitamin Fortified. Flukers, Reptivite for the Reptiles.
Mazuli Rodent Chow mixed with grain for the Rodents as well as fresh Green Grass clippings.

Most of my Adult Females laid very large clutches of eggs and a few double clutched without being rebred. I do not intentionally double clutch my Females. I had several clutches of between 24 and 30 eggs this season including one clutch of actually 30 eggs (which all hatched) was quite unexpected. Unhealthy Snakes do not produce clutches of that size with 95-100% Hatch rates.

It was definitely a feeding screwup that I am embarassed about. I plan to breed about half this amount of Females next season so that I can keep them All fed very frequently and avoid any future problems like this. Thank You for the feedback.


________________________________________________________________________________


Dr. Darryl G. Walker



Website: http://www.DocSSnakes.com
Email: [email protected]

 

[cornsnakekate]

woops! Accidentally posted the letter twice in there. Sorry!

 

[Cat_Eyed_Lady]

A missed feeding here or there is NOT going to make a super small hatchling and make it die.
I have 6 non-feeder, 2nd clutch, babies that are still healthy looking, very active and good muscle tone and they havent eaten yet and its been atleast month. So... why would a 8 month old be even smaller, weaker and die IF it had only missed a couple meals? BS!!!

 

[Lucille]

I was pay for high end and got replace for normal corns

There is no excuse for that kind of hanky panky. If your high end corns died and he is admitting to preventable error, you should either have been given a high end refund or similar snakes, not normals.

Why would anyone pay good money for a high end snake from him, knowing that if there were problems all they would get is cheap normals as replacement?

Of course, after this thread, why would anyone buy any snake from him?

 

[calvin455]

There is no excuse for that kind of hanky panky. If your high end corns died and he is admitting to preventable error, you should either have been given a high end refund or similar snakes, not normals.

Why would anyone pay good money for a high end snake from him, knowing that if there were problems all they would get is cheap normals as replacement?

Of course, after this thread, why would anyone buy any snake from him?

He didn't give me option refund or replaced, also send for me normal. He said all SOLD out that what he had left. But still someone on his side and making fun on me about my English problem, well truth will be truth can't lies.

 

[calvin455]

He didn't give me option refund or replaced, also send for me normal. He said all SOLD out that what he had left. But still someone on his side and making fun on me about my English problem, well truth will be truth can't lies.

By that time high end corns he still sale on CS

 

[Lucille]

Doc, I have NO DOUBT that you are reading this thread as a visitor. If Calvin's high end corns didn't make it, you own him high end replacements and you should take care of that right now.

 

[calvin455]

Doc, I have NO DOUBT that you are reading this thread as a visitor. If Calvin's high end corns didn't make it, you own him high end replacements and you should take care of that right now.

These got died after shortly
Upper key blood-hypo blood het amber- hypo blood het upper and ultramel blood. One died next 12hrs and other just got one or two meals then died.

Got replaced upper key 66% het lavender and blood, how much these worth?

 

[Shiari]

I agree. Even a couple 14 day periods are not going to cause that gross emaciation.

My last non-feeder from my last clutch finally ate. It's been 2 months since they hatched. This snake has not had a single meal in that time. He still has good muscle tone, while being smaller than his siblings. He is still active, strong, and inquisitive.

What is being described doesn't sound like a few weeks of missed meals, but rather having NEVER had a meal. Ever.

 

[Cat_Eyed_Lady]

When I had asked Doc about the meals and ages.... he made a point to tell me that these werent non-feeders. I never asked that so why say something like that to me??

I dont think he has any idea at all what has or hasnt eaten at his place.... he offers and either they eat or not.... he doesnt keep track of Any of that. I wonder how many of his adults have died also? For someone who is supposedly well known, he sure doesnt seem to have much idea of what he is really doing. my opinion.

 

[Lucille]

.... he offers

I wonder if he even does that? If people are buying multiple snakes from him and they are ALL dying, it seems statistically improbable that he happened to pick all non-feeders to ship.

 

[Cat_Eyed_Lady]

True! Very true.

I have noticed from Doc also that he always claims that "the clutch mates are fine and thriving" ... well, Where are they? Who has them? How long ago were they shipped? Why havent ALL Those ppl come forward IF he sold so many thriveing hatchlings?? With all the troubles so many of us have had, or are having.... why hasnt he asked some of Those ppl to come forward to speak for him?? IF he has sold SO many healthy animals, where are they? There is absolutely no proof what so ever that he has sold any healthy hatchlings... Except for maybe reptilebaby's and thats probably only because he knew we were all watching to see how it was when she got it.

 

[Lucille]

Here, from Doc's website:

I love all my Family and Friends and I am dedicated to taking Exceptionally Good Care of Every Animal that is in my possession.


Here, from Katherine Fischer's description to Doc of the letter from her vet:

He posited that, considering her condition, she was probably starved to death.

 

[crotalis40741]

Here, from Doc's website:

I love all my Family and Friends and I am dedicated to taking Exceptionally Good Care of Every Animal that is in my possession.


Here, from Katherine Fischer's description to Doc of the letter from her vet:

He posited that, considering her condition, she was probably starved to death.

That quote and a few others from his site make me ill. His new and improved 30 day guarantee will do nothing. My hatchlings lived a month before starting to die off like these have. And I know they was fed very well here.

Also from doc's site


"Here at DocSSnakes, we are committed to producing manageable quantities of Quality Snakes"

"I am passionate about all my animals and believe that they deserve nothing but the best of care. I will settle for nothing less."

"we feed our snakes every 5-10 days depending on how voracious each animal is."

All it is, is more pretty words to go with pretty pictures to deceive an unsuspecting customer.

Bob Brown
London, Ky

 

[CYMRU]

Thanks for the heads up.... It's amazing how Doc in your name make it all look professional......

 

[reptilebaby]

Keiko ate his meal friday with absolutely no problems.