• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Robert Pennisi - Bad Guy

A

All4Sky

New member
Joined
Feb 3, 2004
Messages
55
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Lancaster, CA
I originally posted a good guy post about Robert here:

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35984

Basically I paid Robert $245 for what he said was two adult CH female Ball Pythons. I got the two snakes okay and everything looked good at first so I posted the good guy post about it. But then when I had one examined, I found out it had some big ticks on it's body and it was actually a male, sperm plugs and everything. The other larger ball also had some ticks, but I did not get it sexed. I tried to contact Rob last week about this issue and have got no response at all. He also never answers my phone calls or responds to my voicemail message. Nothing. He obviously knows about the problem but does not want to do anything about it. All I want is my money back because these snakes obviously were not the snakes I paid for. The classic bait and switch. He currently has some ads up for some hets. I'd never buy from this guy. Thanks.
 
Yep,,
it sounds like he pulled one over on you.. Sorry to hear about that..
One thing to remember when dealing with adult FEMALE balls.. With all the color morphs out now, especially the co-doms, True c.b. adult females will sell for quite a bit more than 245.00..
Heck, i have seen people pay as much as 500.00 for one single 3000 gram female..
I hope you get this taken care of.. At least now, hopefully no one will get snookered into buying hets that are probably also wild caught balls..
Good Luck
 
I saw 2 3000 gram female BP's on Kingsnake late last year for $1000. They didn't last 2 hours. Gone that quickly. SO just keep in mind as always, if it's too good to be true, it most likely is.
 
I agree with the "too good to be true" theory, but it doesn't mean he should get away with it.

What is his contact info? List any email addresses or phone numbers you have, along with any business name he goes by.

How did you pay? You may have recourse through your credit card company or PayPal.

Does he have a business? If so, file a report with the BBB.

Send him a link to this thread. He may decide it will be cheaper in the long run to do the right thing, rather than have a black mark on his name on the BOI.
 
CyberFrog,
I tell ya.. I think i saw those two balls also..
I sold a 2400 gram female last year to a doctor in texas for 475.00 shipped..
But,, if you think about it,, say someone has a male spider, or even a pastel,, and he buys five 3000 gram females for,,lets say 500.00 each, thats 2500.00 total..
BUT,, he puts that spider on all 5 females,, and guess what,, lots of expensive babies..
Great investment if you ask me..
Hell, even with a pastel.. Lets say each girl lays 6 good eggs,(which is not far fetched for a 3000 gram snake), thats 30 eggs total.. Odds say you will get 15(fifteen) pastels..
Lets say he sells them dirtball cheap (( 700.00 each))..Thats $$10,500.. Man thats a good lick...
 
Sal was sold by me 2 CH females for $200 and $45 was for shipping.The animals that he received were both infact females 1 that weighed 1700 grams and the other 1 was a little over 1200 grams as far as them having ticks on them thats a fabrication.He received the animals in perfect health and no parasites whatsoever infact he even wrote a good guy post after receiving them.Now If their were infact large ticks on the animals as he stated,even a beginner would have noticed them especially after fully inspecting both animals.I was out of town for 3 days and when I return I read these lies about me and now he wonders why I avoid his emails and calls. I dont beleive it is my responsibility to try to make things right with him because I know what I shipped and what sex as well as health they are in,and anybody who has dealt with me knows my reputation. PS Just because someone posts a bad guy posting doesn't necessarily mean the person is guilty does it last I checked this is America..Rob Pennisi
 
Rob,

Do you really think I'd fabricate a snake with ticks story? Don't you think I'd be happy with a deal that I got two large females for $245? Obviously I'm not happy because they ARE NOT two females, and they have TICKS. Unless some female balls have hemipenes and produce sperm plugs? If I really got two healthy CH females for $245 (what you had described before the sale) I'd write all the good things in the world about you, tell everyone else, and call it a day. I posted a good guy report about you as soon as I got them in, I was pretty happy that you did ship as promised and they did look okay, and weighed pretty good. I just didnt really give them a good inspection. And if you were out of town while I was trying to contact you, how do you still post on forums and post ads the SAME days I email you? It's only now that there is a bad guy post that you even make some kind of response.

Here's an email from Rob about the animals tracking numbers:

"I just sent your wc females via fed ex the tracking number is 648455763940
Thanks Again Sal for your business.I will be leaving you positive feedback
kindly do the same.Thanks Rob"

The WC part kinda freaked me out at first but he then sent this:

"I just sent you an email I think I may have put 2 WC females in the email they
are CH I have WC on the brain,because of the deal I just made sorry about my
typo..Rob"

SO maybe you did try to pull one over my head? Trust me, I wouldnt post a bad guy post about you if I got what I paid for, especially two adult CH female balls.
 
Rob,
its good to see you come and defend yourself.
Do you have any proof to back up your statements??
If so, post it here, and clear this whole thing up once and for all....
 
Here are some pictures of some of the ticks I found on the larger one (unsexed). I'll post more pictures later on of the rest that I found. I also found some dead ones in it's enclosure. Here is a picture of a tick that is closer to the tail:
 

Attachments

  • bpticks001.jpg
    bpticks001.jpg
    60.2 KB · Views: 460
And here is one of what I think is a tick on it's cloacae (sp?). I understand Rob's had some good feedback in the past, which is why I thought he'd be able to help me out. All his ADs say everything is guaranteed. I don't understand why he refused to even contact me personally on this matter. I would just like my $245 back and I'll ship the snakes back? Thanks.
 

Attachments

  • bpticks002.jpg
    bpticks002.jpg
    65 KB · Views: 458
Who sexed the ball pythons as male? If it was someone other than the buyer, can they come here and verify that they sexed as male?

Rob, it seems as if you had a lot going on right at that time. Is it possible that you mistakenly sent out 2 WC instead of the CH that were meant to go out? Do you have pics of the snakes before you sent them? How long had you had them? If they ARE indeed CH females, will you take them back for a full refund? Reselling them shouldn't be a problem, even if you increase the cost to pay for the return shipping from your current buyer.
 
This is the last reply I will leave Sal. I don't feel the need to justify myself.I know for sure that the snakes that were shipped to you were both Ch females and from your pics that can be any snake in the world not necessarily the ones from me.And even in your pics I can't make out if that is a tick or not and the sex of the snake either.If I indeed felt I wronged you I would definitely refund complete payment.I deal in much higher priced animals then a few hundred bucks so for me to hear your Bs it wouldnt be worth it in the least.To respond to one of the other replys from someone else no I can't prove it how does 1 prove that he sent Ch females its not like they are high priced animals such as Albinos or higher priced Morphs and I don't keep pics of every Ch and Wc female or male I sell Sorry.Everyone who knows me knows that I am all about pleasing the customer.And in this game repeat business and reputation is everything. Thanks again.. Rob
 
The ball was sexed by a friend of mine who was able to pop sperm plugs out (I am inexperienced with the routine and am afraid to attempt it myselft). I also saw the hemipenes everted when the snake had defecated in a tub of water. I will try to get both snakes snakes sexed hopefully Monday by an expert and will get his contact info so anyone can contact him about these snakes. I understand this whole thing could have been a big honest mistake, as ms_terese stated, and I just want my money back. I'd even pay for the return shipping? Maybe my CH females were shipped somewhere else and I got someone's WC's by accident. Thanks.
 
robms007 said:
This is the last reply I will leave Sal. I don't feel the need to justify myself.I know for sure that the snakes that were shipped to you were both Ch females and from your pics that can be any snake in the world not necessarily the ones from me.And even in your pics I can't make out if that is a tick or not and the sex of the snake either.If I indeed felt I wronged you I would definitely refund complete payment.I deal in much higher priced animals then a few hundred bucks so for me to hear your Bs it wouldnt be worth it in the least.To respond to one of the other replys from someone else no I can't prove it how does 1 prove that he sent Ch females its not like they are high priced animals such as Albinos or higher priced Morphs and I don't keep pics of every Ch and Wc female or male I sell Sorry.Everyone who knows me knows that I am all about pleasing the customer.And in this game repeat business and reputation is everything. Thanks again.. Rob
Click to expand...

So I guess since you deal with higher priced animals it's okay to rip someone off a few hundred bucks? I don't care if it's $2450 or $245, thats still money. And most people work hard for that money. In your ADs you state you have a "5 day money back guarantee if not completely satisfied", YEA RIGHT. Good luck selling those high priced animals.
 
A couple of things

Sal

First, I have been dealing with snakes as a breeder for the past 10 years and as a keeper a good deal longer than that. I have never seen anyone pop a sperm plug out of an animal. I have never even heard of anyone popping a sperm plug out of an animal.

Second, in that same period I have never seen an animals hemipenes evert during defecation. That is simply not logical. You are talking about pressure being exerted from opposite directions towards the vent to cause those two reactions to occur. It just doesn't happen folks. What you probably saw was a bit of the cloaca exposed.

My point is that it doesn't sound like you are all that sure that the animal is a male. I think you definitely need to have a qualified person properly probe these two animals so you are sure what you have. In all honesty, it should have been done before this thread was started.

The ticks are a seperate issue. If the seller is dealing in both wild caught and captive born animals it ios conceivable that a tick could end up on a captive born animal. They do have legs and if in close proximity, it is definitely possible. No matter what the reason though they are definitely unacceptable

HOWEVER

Robert

If your guarantee on your ads truly reads "5 day money back guarantee if not completely satisfied" and he contacted you within 5 days, what is the issue here? Whether you agree or not, your own terms say he is entitled to a full refund. Call it the cost of doing business. Personally I believe from the previous posts that there is an excellent chance the animal is a female but it really doesn't matter. If you don't adhere to your own terms the only one who ends up looking bad is you

My 2 cents for what it is worth
 
Last posting on my part

I don't offer a 5 day guarantee on all my animals just my hets and high level stuff and to respond to you I didn't even have an add posted I was just telling someone what I had available Sal contacted me and was completely satisfied with the animals until 1 of his no nothing pals popped out a sperm plug or so he says.I dont need to deal with his Bs. I go out of town and when I get back. I see his bad guy posting.He needs to know something before accusing.He will indeed feel like an ass if 1 of his female is infact Gravid from my Het Albino whom I had them in with and left town for a week.Enough said on my part..Rob
 
Hey John,, long time, no see..
I agree with ya 100%%% on the tick issue,,however,, if he has both w.c. and c.h.,, the w.c.'s shouldnt be anywhere close to the c.h. balls, especially not close enough for the ticks to crawl from one container to the other,, UNLESS, he had them all in the same container..
The pics that Sal showed were definately ticks, however, no way to tell if those were the snakes that were sent or not..
Like someone said before,, the easiest thing to do would be to refund his money, get the snakes back, and re-sell them.. That way,, no one can have anything bad to say about either the buyer OR seller..
Rob,, i know its a hassle, but this way everybody is happy,,at least to some extent..
A word of advice though, it would probably be wise not to make comments about you dealing with "high-end" animals, and not being worried about a couple hundred bucks..
Quite a few of us deal with very high-end animals, so you are not setting any records there..
I am sure you didnt mean it the way it came out, but it sounded like you were implying that you wouldnt stick to your terms unless it was a large amount of money,, which BTW, makes people wonder that since you wouldnt refund a couple hundred bucks, whats to make them think you would refund several thousand dollars if there was a problem??
Not trying to bust your chops here, just making an objective observation..
 
Have to add my 2 cents here. I too had purchased a female from Rob, it too came to me with more than several ticks on it. Unfortunately I did not notice this right away due to the fact that I was in the middle of a move.

I have to support Sal on this issue. I don't believe that the animal I received was a CH animal. The animal refuses to eat as well. I strongly believe that I received an import as well.

Rob Saunders
 
I should also add that Rob stated to me that he didn't know if the animal was CH or WC, but that he had the animal for 18 months and there were no health issues. If someone had an animal for 18 months one would think he would notice if it had ticks or not.

Rob Saunders
 
I realize I'm not a an expert at sexing ball pythons, so I am going to get an expert to get them probed and ask him if it's okay to post his name and contact information. As for popping the sperm plugs, what I meant is what I saw in the "Ball Python Breeding" DVD where Dan Suthernland puts pressure on the pythons tail to make the sperm plugs discharge. I hope to get them probed next week, if they do turn out to be females, then I will take ALL the blame and apologize for the mistake. But of course there is still the tick issue, and if Rob stuck by his guarantees, the ticks alone should have been good reason for a refund. I did try to contact Rob within 5 days, its just that he never responded, unless that guarantee does not apply to all his transactions. I really don't want anyone to look bad in this, I just want this problem resolved and I apologize if my posts here have started to become heated. Thanks.
 
Back
Top