Inquiry LLL Reptile and Sending Sick Animals

[allreptiles1966]

In November, 2013 from LLL Reptile's Black Friday sale I placed a fairly large order which included a female Jackson's chameleon and a Graceful chameleon along with numerous supplies. Unfortunately, I had to have the chameleons shipped to a relative's home as I wasn't going to be home to accept delivery. A few days later I was able to pick them up and discovered the Jackson's chameleon was fine, but the Graceful chameleon had numerous and very obvious, under-skin, parasites covering several different areas of its body. They were the type (the name eludes me at this time) which needed to be surgically removed by a vet. Of course, my complaint about the condition of this poor little creature was not valid due to LLL Reptile's enforced time limits regarding notification and unfortunately, the person who accepted delivery had observed the parasites upon acceptance of the delivery, but failed to mention this to me until I went to pick them up and noticed it.

My bad luck, yes; but worse for this poor little baby who died before I was able to get it to the vet for treatment. LLL Reptile either never saw the animal that was shipped or obviously have no concern for their animals or customer relations since there was no way the horrendous condition of this animal wasn't immediately noticeable.

LLL is about money. Nothing else! It's very obvious to me. But who am I. I just read all the bs about them. I won't order a piece of heat tape from that over priced store. I tell everyone I know not to buy there. You won't be happy at the end of the transaction. As several buyers are stating now.

This is why they will still sell sick animals,because they can always find someone who doesn't know better. BUY FROM A BREEDER. They care

 

[D34532]

I've picked up animals from them from the store and feel their one of the best pet shop Ive been to. As for asking for discount and what not does not mean anything about business model in regards to "love of animals or not". Its with anything some people will discount their good and some will not. It can also be said that if their willing to discount then their price might be inflated to start with so there is a discount margin.

There is a reptile store very local to me VS LLL which is 60+ miles away and hands down LLL is the place I would go to not only are they 25% cheaper but hands down their animals are better taken care of then this reptile store/zoo.

 

[D34532]

LLL is not 100% perfect health animal but then show me a store with animal that never have sick animals.

There are animal I will not keep that I always want, its not about our wants or needs. It should always be the animals needs and we should be able to met those need before getting the animals. I always recommend someone have their setup in place and the requirement met before taking home an animal. Forcing an animal to cope with you try to meet their need is not right.

 

[SIGNATURE DESIGN EXOTICS]

lll has gone way down hill. At the last two Manchester shows I have noticed the poor conditions of the animals for sale. I remember when lll was the only place to get high quality wholesale but now they are just as bad as the rest of them. Its all about the money now not the quality of what they are selling!!!

 

[ODAMA]

LLL has always been good to Me. I once traded four bearded dragons for an argentine red tegu and more beardeds for a couple of cages, stand and cash. Always made me happy and the staff was always friendly.

 

[SoCalAce]

My experience with LLL has always been positive. There's a reason that they have been able to be successful as long as they have, and it's not because they are constantly disappointing their customers. The good outweighs the bad every time.

 

[Johnstud56]

I just ordered a 76" Female Salmon Boa - Double Het Sharp Sunglow - Will keep everyone posted as to my experience.

 

[Roper hospital]

Not all pet shops are bad

LLL cares about their money over their animals as can be said for any big supplier I'm sure. They are one of the only tables that won't budge on prices at reptile conventions/shows. If you want quality reptiles, always go for a smaller breeder. No pet shop, no chain/corporate stores, and no big reptile/supply companies.

I own a reptile shop and we do not sell sick, injured, or dying animals just to make a buck. I have actually not sold reptiles to people I did not think could take care of them. We also hang on to our animals to make sure they are eating and drinking before we sell them. Not every pet shop is bad.

 

[Double B Reptiles]

I own a reptile shop and we do not sell sick, injured, or dying animals just to make a buck. I have actually not sold reptiles to people I did not think could take care of them. We also hang on to our animals to make sure they are eating and drinking before we sell them. Not every pet shop is bad.

Maybe your shop is a diamond in the rough?

Every pet shop that I have been to lacks the knowledge and or equipment to properly care for all of the species that they carry/sell.

 

[j_dunlavy]

I own a reptile shop and we do not sell sick, injured, or dying animals just to make a buck. I have actually not sold reptiles to people I did not think could take care of them. We also hang on to our animals to make sure they are eating and drinking before we sell them. Not every pet shop is bad.

I applaud you for this.

I also agree that not all shops are bad.
I worked at a pet shop from 1995-2005 (plus weekends for a couple years after) that was one of the best in my area.
The good shops are the ones who spend the time and money to take the best possible care of their animals.

The problem with the big shops is the volume that is being dealt with. things get overlooked, animals get turned around too fast, etc... The worst offenders are often importers and wholesalers, but I have seen some small shops that were just awful (yes, I report them).
On that same note, not all big shops are necessarily bad either; good ones are just rare.
As for LLL; not budging on their price does not make them bad. Lowering the price to undercut the other guy is one of the biggest problems with the ball python hobby. It leads to unstable markets and price crashes.

 

[reticlvr]

In the past I have done business with LLL. I found their customer service to be excellent I had ordered two ornate monitors and asked for 1.1 with the understanding that monitors are very hard to sex. They got it right, I raised the animals, they reproduced for me. I have nothing bad to say about them, and when I get back into reptile keeping I will certainly do business with them again.

 

[Frogz]

Major issues with vista/lll also!

 

[Big Borg Reptiles]

I want to first state that I have no idea the ideal conditions for chameleons (or anything other than ball pythons, because that is what I work with), but did no one else notice the OP stating that he was using a heat pad on the hot side, and then unplugging it if he noticed it got too hot?!? So are you checking it every hour to see how hot it is, then unplugging it until it gets cold, then plugging it back in...do you not sleep? Or do you just set an alarm every two hours to get up and check on it?

How did you spend $1200 and not buy a $40 thermostat? No wonder all of your animals died, they're constantly fluctuating between 70-100 degree temperatures. I don't care what kind of animal you're taking care of, constant temperature fluctuations are going to kill it. Some people should not have exotic pets. Go buy a pet rock, at least you can't kill that.

 

[Tortugas]

I have bought several tortoises from them in the past, and everything was fine. I also stop in to their shop about once a year, and everything is well kept, clean, and the animals seem happy and healthy.

Bill

 

[910Geckogal]

So when you walk into PetSmart and see that they are selling a normal baby Bp for $80, then it's for the love of animals and not the ol mighty buck?

Oh, I must speak on this...to my surprise, Petsmart actually has a 30 day pet health guarantee that should your animal get sick they will pay for the vet bills or replace the animal /refund your choice! Pretty cool. I got that with a fancy mouse and was amazed. LOL

 

[910Geckogal]

I brought a Leopard Gecko from LLLReptile last yr and it only had 3 legs. FOTFL....I had to send them proof but they did not make me send him back and actually gave me full credit towards another purchase at the upcoming expo in my town that they were coming to. All worked out well. I respect them as a business and have been dealing with them for over 15 yrs.

 

[Brandonmarsh29]

I bought a female northern pine from them about a yr ago they told me they had an AWESOME girl in the bunch for me so I jumped the way they said how perfect she was and when I got her I could see her backbone and she was big enough for hoppers but she couldn't even keep a fuzzy down. After several slow weeks she slowly improved and a year later she's 5' on small adult rats but I almost lost her but I took the chance of getting hit cuz I couldn't send her back to death row. Fool me once shame on them....
A couple months ago I saw a king snake I wanted so I punched my debit card in on the computer and was waiting for a call or email to set up shipping but never heard back so I called to see n they had my order but they said I didn't respond to my email that I never got so they sold it to someone else. I was a little irritated and they said I didn't hold my end but I had paid so how didn't I hold up mine? I expressed that and the guy I talked to started laughing at me. They had even charged the card and had to refund it. Fool me twice shame on me! I should have remembered my pine wasn't always the monster she is now but I thought I'd try again. I'll never be back! Idk why I even thought going thru the reptile equivalent of a puppy mill in the first place but ill only go through private breeders this point on since they in it for the animals and actually appreciate the customers not the material aspects only caring about money. SUPPORT MOM AND POP NOT CAPITALISM

 

[knoxpython]

This sounds to me like the OP is the problem here, not LLL. Somehow this thread has gotten off course to the point that apparentlyall pet shops are bad. Some of you guys need to remember where your love for these animals probably started, in a pet store. I will agree that dealing with LLL is an exercise in biting your tongue because of the attitude of some of the staff, but remember that they do serve a purpose in this industry. Their show displays are top notch and Loren seems to really work his butt off for this industry.

 

[zuess35]

I recently ordered a male salmon dh sharp snow and was sent a picture of what I was told was the boa I would be receiving. When my boa arrived it was not the one I was told I would receive and it had mites to boot. I have ordered supplies from lllreptile on several occasions however this was my first and without a doubt the last live order I will place with them, Still waiting for the time to take the snake in to make certain its a male.

 

[April Homich]

I want to first state that I have no idea the ideal conditions for chameleons (or anything other than ball pythons, because that is what I work with), but did no one else notice the OP stating that he was using a heat pad on the hot side, and then unplugging it if he noticed it got too hot?!? So are you checking it every hour to see how hot it is, then unplugging it until it gets cold, then plugging it back in...do you not sleep? Or do you just set an alarm every two hours to get up and check on it?

How did you spend $1200 and not buy a $40 thermostat? No wonder all of your animals died, they're constantly fluctuating between 70-100 degree temperatures. I don't care what kind of animal you're taking care of, constant temperature fluctuations are going to kill it. Some people should not have exotic pets. Go buy a pet rock, at least you can't kill that.

Yes, I mentioned it.