Bad Guy Snakes at Sunset (Miami)

[Iraqvet]

.....If this guy was local to me,there would be no way in heck I would go in there..Our local petshop guy is a real bung hole...He gives no guaruntees,has outrageous prices,and keeps his animals in the smallest cages he can cram them into..You would think the smaller places woud try to one up places like pet smart (eeww)....But hey,their failure hurts me in no way..

 

[Snakesatsunset]

Iraqvet- we have guarantees, good prices(for retail, not internet retail), and have pretty nice cages. We do One up Petco and Petsmart in selection, quality, and price. They also refer pretty much any reptile inquiry/purchase to us.

 

[CMB Reptiles]

I received a great order with this company today. The packaging was excellent and all the animals look perfect. I have only done one order, but I have a good feeling about them.

I have not read this whole thread, but it all started with a snake with mites. In any store with any sort of volume you are going to get problem animals. To take a picture of ONE snake and post it really doesn't mean much. You cannot know the time frame, and I seriously doubt the owner had the snake sitting there for very long. But if a snake comes in bad, it takes a little time to make things right by it. Sometimes even long enough for somebody to take a picture.

Thanks for the great animals!

 

[CMB Reptiles]

I received a great order with this company today. The packaging was excellent and all the animals look perfect. I have only done one order, but I have a good feeling about them.

I have not read this whole thread, but it all started with a snake with mites. In any store with any sort of volume you are going to get problem animals. To take a picture of ONE snake and post it really doesn't mean much. You cannot know the time frame, and I seriously doubt the owner had the snake sitting there for very long. But if a snake comes in bad, it takes a little time to make things right by it. Sometimes even long enough for somebody to take a picture.

Thanks for the great animals!

Sorry my full name is Chris Brown

 

[Manny]

I frequent Snakes at Sunset on a regular basis. I have had numerous dealings with Mike and all have been great! Great prices, service, and healthy animals. I have no negative comments about them.

 

[tim m]

I will say I respect you doing what you are doing and keeping a reptile store open in the local community. But bottom line Mike you and your father are very rude to customers. I sat in front of your father for 45 min waiting to get one med rat. I had no questions, I asked for 1 med rat. i was told to hold on. As time pasted I asked for the rat yet again and put 10 dollars on the counter and said keep the change. Your father continued to place the whole store order. And when I walk in your store you DO NOT greet me with a hello but a “what do you want”. Doesn’t seem like much customer service to me.
And when I sit back and watch you call one of your young volunteers a fat f***. Like really this kid was helping you out 5 days a week for four hours a day for 2 rats. No way to treat a 15 year old kid helping you!
Ive kept my mouth shut about this and read this for months going on. But really you bought the store and that whole week you sat in that store prior to taking over saw me working in there, I come in the next day and I didn’t even get 15 crickets for my dollar you gave me 13 and when I went back in to say something you looked at me and said “give me the crickets here’s your f***ing dollar back”. And when I commented the dead corn snakes your employee said oh yea I know. And a week later it was still there! Same thing gos with beardies and your uromastyx. And you smacking the crap out of the skunk for biting you was a little cruel. And the iguana that would jump on people and scratch them isnt professional. and everybody’s right you sit on the computer and customers have to seek your attention. There’s many other incidents the list gos on and on I really hope that store gets better there way to many people that have nothing good to say. People that live right across the street from your store rather drive 120 blocks to pangea doesn’t that say something to you?. Hope this constructively helps you run a better and more efficient business!

 

[offroad537]

if you knew the snake had mites why was it for sale. why wasnt the snake in the back of the store. i think your trying to cover your tracks. if that snakes had mites im sure other snakes in the store had mites. it only takes couple days to treat mites.

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

if you knew the snake had mites why was it for sale. why wasnt the snake in the back of the store. i think your trying to cover your tracks. if that snakes had mites im sure other snakes in the store had mites. it only takes couple days to treat mites.

If you actually read the thread you would know the answer

 

[GreenCountryHerp]

I purchased a GTP from a petshop(will not disclose which one) and it had mites all over it when I recieved it. I used the Prevent-a-Mite on her and followed the directions to the letter. Well it is not 3 years later and she is thriving. Sorry to get off the main subject, I just wanted to help people from getting misinformed.

 

[jdecker94]

i got a story about "mikey b". so i bought a baby yellow monitor, 250 shipped, no biggie, it died after 24 hours, he said he was sending me another, he nvr did. he tried ducking my calls, i had to call from 4 different phones to be able to talk to him. so i had to go thru paypal complaint center to get my money back, ill vnr trust that scum again, today at my local show i bought a yellow monitor thats almost green for 230 with the nicest body size, hes so green its almost wierd. but anyway mike barrera screwed me over and failed.

 

[franco123]

ok i dont wana make a big deal but here's my story, i was on KS and saw their ad of the "High Colored Black Roughneck Juvie- $175 " he agred to do 175 shipped wich it was a good price i guess. in the pictures the monitor looks very healthy and beautiful. when i got him he has like 3 bumps on his back on different sides, he has a bunch of broken toes, and he sneezes a lot and opens his mouth to brethe some times( he probably has respiratory infection) i was pissed AF when i saw him like that, i fell really bad for him. i still have him , and i jsut hope he deosnt die. i will NEVER buy from them again.

 

[turtlepimp]

Mike, what did you originally do to this Brittany person to piss her off so much? Clearly her concern was not the Sorong or she would have called FWS, not just posted here.

Anyone who has ever been to SAS please raise your hand. IMHO it is one of the best kept shops I have been into. I would put it in the same class as Ben Siegels, and that is a pretty nice shop. Well kept, well run, nice animals.

But this seems to be a vendetta topic of sorts. Most if not all of BOI is vendor to vendor transactions, but rolling up on a family owned reptile shop, grabbing a pic of mites on a GTP and trashing the families name and livelyhood? That is messed up.

I have known Mike since he was 18 years old and one thing I know is he cares for his animals. And other peoples animals. Mike, how many times in the last month has someone walked in with sick animal looking for treatment advice? And you do what you can.

So Mike, how do you feel about being a pet shop owner? All you thought it would be? More? Thought so.

Personally Mike, I would have withheld response simply because this board has little relavance to what you are trying to do. You sold nothing, you certainly weren't trying to get rich off a mited out GTP, and your front door is still open.

Mike has always been and will most likely be a good guy to the industry. He sells good animals, gives up front advice, and has lived this stuff since he could talk.

Andrew Sury,
Turtle Breeder
Auto Shop owner
Clair Voyant
Taller than you

 

[Frank331]

I don't mean to bring this thread back from the dead, but I just felt that I had to share my experience.

I've been going to Snakes at Sunset since I was a little kid, back in its original location with the old owners. The place wasn't exactly well kept (crickets roaming everywhere, the smell was pretty bad, etc.) and the staff wasn't the most helpful in the world.
Ever since Mike has taken over, the place has made a real turn around. Its better kept and I've never had a problem with him or his dad.
He has always been helpful with questions and is always willing to work out a deal. Just the other day I was there inquiring about another Chameleon and he offered to sell me a very healthy looking Ambilobe juvie for 50 bucks off his sale price, which was already low compared to some big name breeders.
As far as the snake with mites, it happens to the best of them, especially when you are a big importer like mike. If I remember the layout of the old store correctly, that snake would have been in the room off to the right which is usually barren, with no animals and occasionally blocked off. If you've ever been to the old store, you would know there isn't a heck of a lot of room for a quarantine room without risking the other animals.
Bad experiences are bound to happen, theres no reason to start a tirade and try and defame someone else's business and livelihood.
Oh and since no transaction took place between OP and snakes, theres no real justification for a bad guy post to begin with.

 

[MARY ANN VITELLA]

MARY ANN VITELLA

SNAKES AT SUNSET: MY EXPERIENCE WAS VERY GOOD. HEALTHY ANIMAL.
SHIPPED ON TIME , PACKED WELL AND EACH QUESTION ANSWERED HONESTLY.
MIKE AND REGGIE OF SNAKES AT SUNSET
WERE POLITE AND PROS.
MY TORTOISE WAS EXCEPTIONAL.

 

[Drcrossfire]

I purchased a Nosy Faly that turned out to be a Nosy Be.

Payed a premium for a faly-- mike from snakes@sunset denied it being anything buy Faly

 

[mimikos1]

I did a $3750.00 deal with Mike, gave a deposit and shortly after ended up in the hospital after the deposit. Mike held my animals for a month till I was able to get the setup ready and receive them. These animals didn't even belong to him. Mike was great about the situation, and when the animals arrived, They were off the charts!!
He is very busy taking care of his animals, sometimes hard to get, But WILL do business with them in the future.

-- Custom Reptile
USDA and CBW facility

 

[Chameleon Cartel]

Recently purchases a gorgeous Nosy Be and a leopard gecko from Mike. I went to the Repticon in West Palm with my girlfriend and her son. We went for the sole purpose of buying any Ambilobe Panther Chameleon. I had spent the entire night before looking up the vendors that would be at the show to see which ones sold chameleons and calling them to see whether they were bringing any. When I called Snakes at Sunset before the show they said they weren't bringing any chameleons but had some in the shop, which is over an hour drive south from my house. When we got to the show we didn't find any ambilobes other than one from a reptile shop by my house, I see how they house their chams and would NEVER buy one from them. I spoke with Mike or awhile and he was extremely easy to talk to and answered ALL my questions I had. He told me that he was sold pubs Ambilobes but had some really nice Male Nosy Bes in stock. At no time was he rude, he didn't hesitate to answer any questions that my girlfriend or I asked. While we were talking my girlfriends 5 year old son somehow convinced us that he needed a leopard gecko. Mikes prices were better and his selection was larger than any other vendor at the show, so we ended up buying a female snow leopard gecko for him. Super easy to do business with and both he and his girlfriend were very friendly and helpful, even with me coming back 3-4 more times asking questions. After the show, we drove immediately from West Palm to his shop which was about 1.5 hours from the show. We bought our amazing little guy and he's home eating and drinking like crazy!!! For such a young little dude his colors are AMAZING!!! We are now planning on buying an unrelated female from him in the near future. I read this entire thread BEFORE going to the show. My girlfriend and I spent about twenty minutes wandering the store to make sure nothing looked sick. ALL of the animals were in appropriately sized, clean cages. The staff, a couple younger teenagers were very friendly and helpful. I've walked into a bunch of reptile stores that smelled like straight ass. This place was very neat, clean and free of excessive odor. It's a reptile shop so I wasn't expecting it to smell amazing. I would not hesitate to do business with Mike again for a second!!! Even with the long drive and multiple reptile stores that are WAY closer, Snakes at Sunset is where we will buy our chameleons in the future. I see a mixed batch of reviews, but I couldn't have asked for a better experience!!!

 

[PythonMan89]

I don't run a pet store either, but I'd imagine putting a mite-infested snake on display in the store shows your customers that you think it's okay to put a mite-infested reptile up for sale, which gives your store, your employees, and you, as the owner of the store, a bad image in the public eye. I'd highly suggest not even thinking about putting the snake on display on the main floor of the store, and instead keeping it in some sort of back room, away from the other reptiles, until you're absolutely sure the mites are completely, 100% dead and gone, and there is absolutely no risk of them migrating to your other cages/enclosures/displays. I've dealt with mites firsthand. They're an absolute nightmare to get rid of. But using Provent A Mite definitely helps when used properly, and hell, the directions are *right on the can*. It doesn't get much easier/self-explanatory than that.

 

[PythonMan89]

I don't run a pet store either, but I'd imagine putting a mite-infested snake on display in the store shows your customers that you think it's okay to put a mite-infested reptile up for sale, which gives your store, your employees, and you, as the owner of the store, a bad image in the public eye. I'd highly suggest not even thinking about putting the snake on display on the main floor of the store, and instead keeping it in some sort of back room, away from the other reptiles, until you're absolutely sure the mites are completely, 100% dead and gone, and there is absolutely no risk of them migrating to your other cages/enclosures/displays. I've dealt with mites firsthand. They're an absolute nightmare to get rid of. But using Provent A Mite definitely helps when used properly, and hell, the directions are *right on the can*. It doesn't get much easier/self-explanatory than that.

This is merely my opinion. I apologize if you take offense, but that isn't my intention. My intent is to ensure the health of your product so others don't feel the need to report your shop to the Board of Inquiry (seeing as I've never set foot in your store, I don't know what it looks like, and so I cannot and will not judge it; however, some are not so unbiased.)

 

[smwboxer]

Wow, the original post was over FOUR YEARS ago!