I am Ray Hunter, and maybe I can help shed some light on this topic. From 2002 to 2005 Ricky Duffield and I ran ERJ, and those of you who have bought from me know that I take good care of my customers (there was the thirty-something page BOI spat between Kevin Smith the garage hacker and I, but you can read that and come to your own conclusions on that issue). I got out of the reptile biz in 2005 to start my property investment company which is still ongoing. After I left ERJ there were several others that became involved (Jay, Rocky, Etc.). Around October 2007 Andy and Ricky’s wife re-opened Exotic Reptiles jungle, and retained my part time services to help out strictly with the venomous snakes they import and sell. Because I am only affiliated with the venomous at ERJ, I have no independent knowledge of the frog transaction mentioned in this thread, but it has always been my policy (and that of ERJ) to please the customer. Since ERJ has re-opened I have sold approximately $20,000oo of venomous snakes and have not had the first unhappy customer. One customer called and reported that a mangrove and vine snake arrived DOA, and I offered him a full refund, but he chose a credit towards his next order instead. I have first hand knowledge of Andy offering refunds and credits to customers that had problems with their orders as well. I only represent ERJ in the venomous department, but I know I can speak for the owners in saying that it is far more important to have satisfied customers who will do repeat business than to cheat a customer out of their money for a one-time sale. My reputation as a fair and honest person is far more important to me than your money, and I know the same goes for the new owners.
I believe Andy has already set the record straight on the Mike Fields issue. Many of you were kind enough to contact me and express your concerns about Mike’s affiliation with ERJ, and as I understand it, it was some of you who alerted us to the issues causing the conflict of interest which ultimately led to the separation of ways. He is still a wholesale customer of ERJ, and I can only hope that he conducts his business with honesty and good ethics, as we do. However, ERJ can not be held responsible for any false or misleading claims about the animals any of our customers resell. The bottom line is that Mike does not work for or represent Exotic Reptiles Jungle in any form or fashion.
I hope this helps to clarify any confusion.
Ray Hunter, Sc.D.