Bad Guy Reptiles by Rekowski

[SaSobek]

My name is Matt Baronak. I have been breeding leopard geckos on a large scale for about 7 years now. I have been doing dealings with Mike Rekowski from Reptiles by Rekowski for 4-5 years.

This is a rundown of my experiences with him by category I have done multiple dealings with Mike over the past 4-5 and lots of geckos have exchanged hands between the two of us

Geckos. His geckos have always been 100% healthy with out any issues or defects. They have always been 100% exactly genetically what he told me that they would be. They always arrived well feed and taken care of and would always eat the first time they were offered food.

Business. They way he conducts business has always impressed me. If there was ever an issue he would make it right no matter what. This I have seen for my self and heard from other well known breeders in the hobby. Mike has always bent over backwards for his customers. Mike has only been in the reptile hobby for a short time (5-6 years), But in that time has grown a reputation as being one of the best people to deal with.

Ethics. Mike has been one of the most reliable and honest people that I have dealt with. In a hobby where that is very few and far between, he is for sure what the standard should be. He is not going to lie to you to make a buck, like some other breeders do these days.


In short Mike far exceeds every thing a Gecko breeder should be in all aspects of the business. From the standards that he breeds his geckos, to the customer service that you get with every gecko you buy from him. In my opinion he is the best gecko breeder that most people have never heard of. Not to mention Gecko for Gecko he has one of the top 5 collections in the world. If I could only buy from one place it would be from Reptiles By Rekowski.

 

[lisasleos]

I have also delt with Mike for several years, and have several of his animals in my breeding program. Mike is a GREAT guy! He's honest, extremely easy to deal with, and has amazing animals. He in no way deserved this post!

 

[corgigirl9]

I don't know the op or the seller however I am requesting my question below be clarified. Op you first said you took the reptile to the vet and the vet stated there were multiple layers of stuck shed in the eye. Then you post a text from the person you gave the animal to who says they think the problem is stuck sheds in the eye and you say that's what their vet said. So was it your vet, their vet, or their opinion? If your vet said that was the problem, then did you not inform the next owner of that?
I'm not trying to place any blame but just want to get the facts straight. Btw Imo I think the seller is going above and beyond and hope to see more sellers react appropriately to issues.

 

[JeromyD]

I have dealt with mike 3 times all have been great and i have even followed up with him after purchase for info and he was more than helpful also he deals with my local shop here in st.pete and has never had issue's just wanted to give my opinion on this person Mike is a all around great guy and very knowledgeable.

 

[jsquaredreptiles]

We have dealt with Mike several times and have made purchases from him at Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando and Sarasota shows in Florida. He is nothing but a class act and has been since the first show we met him and were beginners to the most recent show in Tampa where he took the time to talk to us about panther chameleons even though he no longer deals in them. He'll even look at stuff that we've purchased from other vendors and give advice. He is always the first person we look for at any show in Florida and always leave with happy healthy animals. In fact, the one time I thought we might have a sick animal on our hands he was more than happy to help us out. We bought the gecko from him at a show in Orlando and three months later brought her to the Tampa show. She had barely eaten since we got her and I was concerned. Mike took a look at her and explained that she was definitely ovulating and needed placed with a male. Sure enough this was why she hadn't eaten and has since layed 3 clutches of eggs and eats like a monster. We're looking forward to seeing Mike again at the Lauderdale show next week and purchasing some more quality animals.

 

[reptimals]

I have been dealing with Mike for over 8 years at this point. I have gotten literally hundreds of leopard geckos from him since I have met him and have never had any problems or issues. I have also gotten bearded dragons from him and other animals and once again all were perfect! He is very personable and really spends a lot of time educating his customers. Its sad to see that someone who helps the reptile community and actually educates the public gets a thread like this posted about him. I am sure he would have resolved this issue without the need of a BOI post....

Adam Chesla

 

[KniveZ]

This thread makes me want to buy from mike! Seems like a good person to do business with! This bad guy thread is unnecessary.

 

[Temporalis_Enterprises]

Did you try and contact Mike at all? If so do you have emails, text messages, etc? You saw this gecko at the show, if it had 5 layers of shed skin on it's eye I think you would have noticed. Do you have anything from the vet stating this is true, or are we supposed to go off your word? It seems a little fishy to me.

 

[Temporalis_Enterprises]

I didn't even see the multiple pages! Disregard!

 

[Keys & Kritterz]

Post every single item you have as proof of everything you have stated on this thread.

I would guess by now thats not gonna happen. Im also not sure why exactly your chiming in so much after your own thread in which caused you to be banned?

Whenever I purchase an animal I usually don't ask what the sellers garuntee is unless the animal looks to be in less then good health. In which I ask them but common garuntee in the business is 2-3 days, sometimes a week as the seller cannot control how the animal is kept. So after a month, Mike was extremely nice to the OP, even offered a replacement after a BOI thread was started in which he blamed Mike for something that was out of his hands and un-warranted being a month after the animal was sold.

 

[Fangthane]

...So after a month, Mike was extremely nice to the OP, even offered a replacement after a BOI thread was started in which he blamed Mike for something that was out of his hands and un-warranted being a month after the animal was sold.

The OP definitely shot his credibility all to hell, when he couldn't keep his stories straight. Gotta love it when someone posts evidence that does nothing more than exposing his own lie. For anyone that bothers reading past the first post in this thread, it's going to be pretty hard to buy into the "Bad Guy" label put on this seller.

...Im also not sure why exactly your chiming in so much after your own thread in which caused you to be banned?

If you're referring to his rant in SOUND OFF, that's actually not what specifically got him banned. I believe is was an accumulation of warnings/infractions from generally off-topic and disruptive posting habits. Either way, I say 'good riddance'.

 

[Temporalis_Enterprises]

I've never dealt with Mike as of yet, but I do know him and have spoken with him multiple times about Fat-Tails and he seems like a stand up guy! I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him!