• 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....

Bad Guy "Superior Balls and Dragons"/Linda and Mark Carson

O

orchidfern

Temporarily in limbo
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On December 21, 2018 I placed a hold on an albino adult female Western Hognose from Superior Balls and Dragons via Morph Market (original listing is in the photos). I placed a $100 deposit via Venmo, and then I paid the remaining $450 + PayPal fees via PayPal on December 28, 2018.

Unfortunately, I have been affected by the ongoing issue with Joe Schmidt and crypto. (See: http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=678991) I have one hognose from him which is showing symptoms, and another hognose showing symptoms as well. (I am currently waiting for lab results)

Before I was told the snake shipped, I emailed Superior Balls and Dragons to try to cancel the transaction as it is not safe to bring any new additions into my home at the moment. Unfortunately they had already shipped her.

We had a slight miscommunication regarding the shipping, so the snake was shipped much sooner than I expected but I was able to work that out and received the snake with no problems. Unfortunately once I unpacked the snake, I immediately noticed that her tail is very swollen past her vent.

I emailed Superior Balls and Dragons to ask about the swelling and I was told "I have no idea what happened to her tail, it was not like that when I put her in the box." (entire convo is in photos) I did NOT notice the swelling on her tail on the original post because it was covered, and I did not think to ask for additional photos.

They do not want to take the snake back, which I fully understand, but I would like to receive a partial refund because the snake was falsely represented and I was never informed about this health issue.
 

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If you look close enough, you can see that it is swollen in the picture that they posted on MM. That is disgusting to say the least, I don’t understand how people can get by with this. I’m sorry you have to deal with this on top of everything else.
 
How convenient that the swollen area is almost entirely obstructed in their ad picture. If you look closely though, you can still see where it begins to bow out. That snake was far from perfect when put in the box and if they're really concerned about crypto, they should simply issue a full refund and let you keep the animal. Seems to me they're just using that as an excuse to deny the return of a purposefully misrepresented snake.
 
orchidfern said:
They do not want to take the snake back, which I fully understand, but I would like to receive a partial refund because the snake was falsely represented and I was never informed about this health issue.
Click to expand...

You have been honest and forthcoming about the crypto issue, I am sorry you are dealing with it but you are certainly dealing with the issue in an ethical manner.
It is in no way your fault, either, that you are having to deal with two sellers at one time that have sent you animals that should not have been sent.
I think you are due a complete refund. No one could have overlooked a swelling of that nature.

It seems that an outgoing snake bag is one of the most dangerous places in the world for a snake. It is just amazing how many snakes that are allegedly perfect when they go into a bag emerge with illnesses and horrible injuries.
 
BTW Chelsey, just this past November (in the U.S.) PayPal has changed its policy on an item that is paid for in more than one payment. You are now eligible for buyer protection if you do this. You might consider going ahead and opening a case.
Just curious: Did your seller require you to pay PayPal fees or did you volunteer to do so?
 
Venmo is just PayPal Friends and Family rebranded so the $100 deposit likely is not recoverable.

Have you had a chance to make a vet appointment yet?
 
Chelsey, the bulge appears to be a swollen/impacted scent gland (though should be confirmed by a vet), currently dealing with this in a boa constrictor surrendered to my rescue. In mild cases, a vet should be able to either palpitate the gland to express or make a small incision to drain.

Will also note that I highly doubt this "appeared" during shipping. They purposefully hid this and believe you deserve a refund.
 
This snake looks to be purposely positioned to conceal the swelling. Pretty deceptive.

100% health guarantee in their terms, so I'm interested to see if they stand by it. Guarantees are only as good as the seller issuing them.
 
There is still a good chance here for the seller to salvage this to a degree, considering it arrived with the issue.
 
Well they were notified of this thread two days ago and have not responded. Disheartening that people are fine with throwing their reputations away. Especially over something so easily resolved. If they are worried about infection they could just issue a partial refund and pay all vet costs at the least.
 
Although it may be impossible to determine if the breeders knew about this issue before shipping (one could assume this is the case as it should have been obvious to anyone who gives a modicum of care for their animals) their unethical behavior after they were informed of the problem makes them someone to avoid at all costs. Sorry to hear that you are dealing with this.
 
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