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Bad Guy Reptile Pets Direct (Craig Gagne)

plietz

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The pictures below are of 2 young Egyptian Uromastyx that came from Reptile Pets Direct and are now in my care. They arrived this morning and I was pretty shocked at their condition.

The animals are both emaciated, dehydrated, caked with their own feces, weak/listless, and missing 2 toes each. One has some dry skin in a couple areas that might be dry shed or scarring, I can't quite tell yet.

This is why people should make an effort to buy from breeders or ethical and reputable sellers. These animals, like most babies on the market, were labeled as Captive Bred. Most of us know that this is usually total bullshit. Unless the seller can show images of breeding/hatching or connect you with the breeder, the animals are likely not CB.

Poor care, misinformation and misidentification are problems that all of us passionate about this genus should work toward solving. I'm certainly no expert, but I am always trying to learn more about these guys and trying to treat my animals as best I can. Even if we all don't agree on specifics of care, it's safe to say there are many ways to raise healthy and happy uromasytx.
The animals have been rehydrated and cleaned off after taking these pictures. They will be medicated as necessary. I offered them greens and they ran over to feed as if they had not been fed in a week. I was happy to see both eat a lot and I hope to see their condition improve in the coming weeks. I'll post their progress which should hopefully go smoothly considering they are both feeding readily.

The first 2 photos are of the first animal, a bit worse off than the other. The second 2 photos are of the second animal, showing missing toes and dehydration, and the last photo is of them feeding (thankfully).

I've contacted Reptile Pets Direct, specifically Craig Gagne, to no avail. Once he sent the tracking, that's the last I heard from him. I've asked for a refund and he's dropped off the map. Such a shame.
 

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Do you have any communications between the two of you to add to this?
I am a little surprised by one comment you made though, you state "This is why people should make an effort to buy from breeders or ethical and reputable sellers"

So with this mindset already was there a good reason you purchased from this seller?
Were you led to believe or thought they were one of the reputable sellers/breeders?
Just curious as you obviously received some very sad looking animals in poor condition for sure.
 
Black adder:no there has been no other communication other than arranging purchase. He had sent images of animals that were not the animals sent or were the animals when they were in much better condition.

And to answer your question, the main reason I ever buy from dealers like this is in an effort to get new blood through the WC animals they sell. Several of my Uromastyx that bred this year came from dealers Originally, but I want to have as much genetic variety as possible when I get new Uros so I will indeed buy from dealers now and then.
I know some great dealers/importers that do good work, but animals like this should never be sent out.
 
Black adder:no there has been no other communication other than arranging purchase. He had sent images of animals that were not the animals sent or were the animals when they were in much better condition.

Not required but would suggest posting all of your communications here (make sure to edit out any profanity if included) to help support your case including the pictures sent by the seller.
 
Yeah, they don't look so good. Did Reptiles Pets Direct / Craig Gagne specifically represent the animals as CB? Where was the ad?

As Lauren suggested, any communication or photos of the animals prior to sale would be helpful.
 
Phillip, I am confused between your first and second post. "These animals...were labeled as captive bred" conflicts with your "effort to get new blood through WC animals THEY SELL".
 
Chris: I've been working with uromastyx for some time and I have experience acclimating WC animals. However, the majority of people who buy uromastyx as pets don't have this experience and end up with a dead animal. That's why I make that statement. I buy animals from wherever possible to try to establish CB animals here so we don't have to deal with this kind of issue.
Regardless of my experiences, animals should not be kept in this state and definitely shouldn't be shipped like this. That's a matter of ethics plain and simple.

I've attached a picture of his add here, you can see they are clearly labeled as CBB.

Craig has still not responded to my questions asking why they came in such bad shape and has not offered to make the situation right.
 

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What are those bumps all over the tail in the first pic? They almost look like ticks or something?
 
The ad on KS has been removed, I found this one on their web site. OP is this similar to the KS ad you responded to?
 

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