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Opinion PLEASE!

H

harleydan1956

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I have been doing business for years and have a good trader rating and my BOI is also unblemished. But now, I have a situation. I need everyone's opinion. I sold a bumblebee to a young man that seemed to have knowledge of ball pythons. It was a slow starter, but I bumped his temps up to 88-89 degrees, ( I had a ball breeder tell me that works for some slow starters and so far, I have not had a ball not eat after waiting 2 weeks to try to feed again), cool side was 83-84 degrees. I tried him after 2 weeks and He ate Great every 4-5 days, depending on the size of meal. I had him on open eye crawler fuzzy mice.
Anyway, he was sold and they had him over 3 weeks, almost 4 weeks. They Just e-mailed me and told me he had never eaten for them, didn't thrive and had just died. I have always stood behind my animals, but they never contacted me telling me he didn't eat. ( I had told them any trouble, please let me know). They told me after he died that he didn't thrive.
I believe had they contacted me about him not eating, I would have taken him back, ( they live less than 100 miles away) and refunded the money. I know he was eating great for me.
I asked what temp they had him at, and what size food did they try to feed him, but I haven't heard back. I'm afraid he got chilled or sent into winter fast and colder temps with a belly food of food that just wouldn't pass and fermented in there.
What is my options here? What would you all do? Refund? Refund 1/2 for not letting me know he wasn't eating at all? Replace with something close to value next year? ( I have nothing left to sell the year) Or sorry, 1 month is too long for the healthy warranty knowing how good he was when he left.
 
Something doesn't sound right. If the baby was eating when you sold it, then I can't see where it would die of starvation within 3 to 4 weeks. I've had newborns go up to 6 weeks before I felt that I had to resort to assist feeding.

My guess is something was lacking in their husbandry.
 
First, I would retrieve and save any and all emails between you, whether they were answered or not. I have to agree, it feels like there is more to this story. I wouldn't just refund the money to someone who won't answer my emails. Perhaps he is entitled to some sort of refund, but he should certainly be able to explain why. That's simply too short a time for a failure to thrive. Just get your emails and communications organized, and wait to see if it hits the BOI. If he chooses not to go to the BOI, but still insists on the refund, you can post here again for further opinions.

Noelle
 
Though I do not keep bp's personally, my prior experience with other types of snakes has been that even young snakes will not die of self-imposed starvation in so short a time. Ask for pics of the deceased snake if that still seems reasonable. I would also ask for a pic of the enclosure and a summary of the temp and humidity ranges. If they refuse to provode you with more info, I would tell them that due to their lack of communication and cooperation, they are not eligible for any type of restitution.
 
I agree with what's been said...4wks is pretty quick for him to die of starvation. I've had brand new hatchlings go that long post shed without eating and end up being fine. I don't know many breeders who would issue a refund at that point, especially considering the fact that they didn't contact you at all during the month they had him. Unless your TOS specifically offers a longer guarantee, I don't think you owe them a refund.
Shelly
 
These newer buyers seem to have fostered a sense of "entitlement." Perhaps they know of or know someone that's done this gyp before....whatever the reason, I would simply tell them (if it were true) that their TOS has expired and I am very sorry for their loss and suggest another seller closer to them next time who can lead them though the snake-keeping process.

No more, no less.
 
I would not refund unless they could prove it was a death due to something you did prior to shipping(or if it was due to shipping). 4 weeks is not nearly enough to kill a baby BP through starvation.

I'd await a reply from them on how they were keeping and offering food etc. Also, you could tell them you need a necropsy. If they pay for a necropsy and it reveals that the baby dies froms omething YOUR fault, you would then be liable for all costs and a refund, but if it finds you were not at fault, they pay the necropsy cost and get no refund.

Myself I don't think I'd want to refund on an animal they never contacted me about that died "mysteriously" after 4 WEEKS in their care.
 
I'm no expert, but as a caring and worry wart owner there are a few things I would absolutely have done within the first few days to two weeks.

A: Not acting right, contact the breeder ASAP and seek out advice. After all, who knows the conditions the animal thrived in better than the breeder (in most cases)?

B: Still not acting right and not eating, take it to the vet and keep the breeder informed of the results.

This is not knowing your TOS mind you; to me these actions are common sense. At minimum, you should have been contacted very early on and informed that the animal was not looking right in some way.
 
With me.. when I sell a snake to someone I give a 1 week Health and Satisfaction Guarantee or Until the animal feeds for the new buyer! If they are having issues I want to know about it within the first few days!! a Week at Most!!
 
Hit submit too soon... At this point in time.. I wouldn't refund... they didn't contact you at all about any feeding issues or with any questions as to why the snake wasn't feeding for them therefore it would fall on them!
 
Thanks all

I gave the new owners the temps I had him at, size of food he was eating and told them he used a hide box. I also told them if he had any problems to contact me ASAP to see if I could help. 2 weeks health is my usual. I still have not heard back from them about temps, size food they tried to feed him, and why in the world did they wait till he died to contact me? I wrote them on the October 3rd.
I am thinking something isn't adding up here, but thanks all for your opinions!

Dan
 
If you haven't heard back, it is possible that the snake did not die at all. I'm not saying that this happened here, and it is my thought that most customers (and people in general) are honest and above board, but there are some occasional buyers that will see if they can get a freebie or money back by making up tales of injury or death. Since you did not mention any documents, I take it that there were no pictures of the allegedly late critter, or vet reports.

I agree with the others that they should have communicated with you earlier and more often (if this was a valid report to begin with).
 
I still have not heard back. I guess nothing more is going to be said about it. Thank you all for your advice, appreciated!
 
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