Info TexHiss Jimmy Horton - Poor Animal Condition, Bad Shipping Practices

[Kuamata]

PS(since I see no edit button): That was via a phone call prior to payment that he said that about the fuzzies.

 

[Black Adder]

PS(since I see no edit button): That was via a phone call prior to payment that he said that about the fuzzies.

Important point for you to note here in the BOI
Once a post is submitted thats it theres no turning back, no deleting, no editing, nothing you can do...lol
So always double check what you are about to post just in case you feel you may regret it later.......

 

[Kuamata]

Yeah, I wish I had phone recording software, but I do not. I'd initially called him, after checking the BOI for his reviews, to inquire if he still had the one I was interested in. We talked about the boa and the transaction, and then some other things like his anaconda he's having to rehome because he can't handle her size any longer as he gets up there in age, and how he doesn't powerfeed so his anaconda is all muscle and not flab like fluffy the retic was.

 

[pythonbreeder]

Come on guys if you know me you know I'd never let a animal go with health issues. I don't need the money that bad! Some people will never be happy! When I got a text, not a phone call, say I'm not happy and then 3 or 4 long texts, I called. She would not answer, then later, texted me another 3 or 4 lonnnnnnng texts. I texted back as you all see and I offered her money back. What else could I do? Again this type of person will never ever be happy. We have all dealt with them. It's part of business and I really hate that. The animal has only had 5 meals. They only grow so much. As for my shipping, if you have ever received an animal from Rich Ihle at Salmonboa.com he ships in a new tube sock so if its good enough for Rich its good enough for me. I have been doing it for 15 years. I don't use Styrofoam or heat when its in the mid 90s. I have shipped hundreds of animals with no problems. I hope everyone has better things to do than make this a 20 page "he said she said." I know I do. To all my friends that understand and see I did no wrong thanks for the support! If I ever sell you a animal that your not happy with, pick up the phone or at least answer the phone. I want you to be happy. I'd stay away from this person as I don't see them lasting in this industry and that may be a good thing. Sorry for wasting every ones time. buyer should have just called me, im done! don't humor her by blowing this up...
Jimmy Horton www.Texhiss.com

 

[meowmeowkazoo]

Come on guys if you know me you know I'd never let a animal go with health issues. I don't need the money that bad! Some people will never be happy! When I got a text, not a phone call, say I'm not happy and then 3 or 4 long texts, I called. She would not answer, then later, texted me another 3 or 4 lonnnnnnng texts. I texted back as you all see and I offered her money back. What else could I do? Again this type of person will never ever be happy. We have all dealt with them. It's part of business and I really hate that. The animal has only had 5 meals. They only grow so much. As for my shipping, if you have ever received an animal from Rich Ihle at Salmonboa.com he ships in a new tube sock so if its good enough for Rich its good enough for me. I have been doing it for 15 years. I don't use Styrofoam or heat when its in the mid 90s. I have shipped hundreds of animals with no problems. I hope everyone has better things to do than make this a 20 page "he said she said." I know I do. To all my friends that understand and see I did no wrong thanks for the support! If I ever sell you a animal that your not happy with, pick up the phone or at least answer the phone. I want you to be happy. I'd stay away from this person as I don't see them lasting in this industry and that may be a good thing. Sorry for wasting every ones time. buyer should have just called me, im done! don't humor her by blowing this up...
Jimmy Horton www.Texhiss.com

A severely dehydrated snake with loose skin and poor muscle tone is an animal with health issues. The pictures don't lie.

 

[Kuamata]

I'm sorry, but some people aren't so well adapted to talking on the phone. I'm socially awkward and have an anxiety disorder. Talking is not my strong point, but typing is. You did not notice I was mostly quiet the whole time you talked aside from an occasional,"Uh huh..."? I would think you'd be interested in best accommodating your customers or no?

I would have been happy with an apology and an acknowledgement that what you sent me is not acceptable. I don't care about the money, I care about an animals' well being. It's NOT mid-90's here, how you shipped him is absolutely not acceptable. It's 50F and was for the majority of his trip, I'd say he spent at least 12 hours in 50F temperatures... hence why he was so cold when he got to me. I'm sure he got tumbled around and tossed because, as far as they knew, he was just an inanimate object, since you didn't properly mark the box...

Did you provide a snake? Yes. Did you offer a refund? Yes. Did I reject the refund? Yes. Do I have a right to share this experience so that others may consider this before buying? YES. The transaction itself was FINE, but everything else? Not so much...

I really don't get the reasoning of,"Well, so and so does it so it must be right!" I truly do not understand that reasoning...

 

[ShadowAceD]

The sock is a moot point. I ship in socks, plenty of people ship in socks. If they are clean and unused they are great for insulation.

However, Jimmy, this animal is not healthy, so please do not say it is. I have gotten animals from you in the past and the packaging was much better (priority overnight and insulation to the Florida pan handle) and the animals were not so badly deflated.

A newborn baby boa does not look like that when it is being properly fed and maintained.

Yes, you offered a refund, but the OP is entitled to share their experience. I would be hesitant to ship the animal back in that condition myself.

I hope you can just take the criticism and reevaluate what is going on with your animals to make sure this does not happen again. This is not simple oversight, you cannot keep and breed these animals and not notice that the body condition of this snake is not ideal.

OP, take it slow with the boa, do not feed it very frequently or large meals until it starts showing better condition overall.

 

[Kuamata]

Will do. I haven't attempted to feed yet, my first concern is him settling in and getting the 'sticky skin' situation fixed with some hydration. I've heard that, if dehydrated, feeding them is not very wise. I very experienced keeper once said that it can cause seizures if you feed a dehydrated snake, so I'm going to hold off on feeding for a few days at the very least. I'd say medium/large pinkies would be best for now.

 

[ElexisC]

Will do. I haven't attempted to feed yet, my first concern is him settling in and getting the 'sticky skin' situation fixed with some hydration. I've heard that, if dehydrated, feeding them is not very wise. I very experienced keeper once said that it can cause seizures if you feed a dehydrated snake, so I'm going to hold off on feeding for a few days at the very least. I'd say medium/large pinkies would be best for now.

A good soak will help hydrate as well. I don't know how he can try to say that baby is healthy. That poor thing.. I received a baby male last year in july in far better condition than that one and he was YOUNGER than the one you received. He was born may 20th 2014, received him towards the end of July of 2014 and he was no where near that condition he was healthy, hydrated, and packaged properly. That snake was deprived of water for a while and obviously not well fed. I will never buy from this man nor would I sell to him either, thank you for the heads up.

 

[AaronSerio]

Come on guys if you know me you know I'd never let a animal go with health issues. I don't need the money that bad! Some people will never be happy! When I got a text, not a phone call, say I'm not happy and then 3 or 4 long texts, I called. She would not answer, then later, texted me another 3 or 4 lonnnnnnng texts. I texted back as you all see and I offered her money back. What else could I do? Again this type of person will never ever be happy. We have all dealt with them. It's part of business and I really hate that. The animal has only had 5 meals. They only grow so much. As for my shipping, if you have ever received an animal from Rich Ihle at Salmonboa.com he ships in a new tube sock so if its good enough for Rich its good enough for me. I have been doing it for 15 years. I don't use Styrofoam or heat when its in the mid 90s. I have shipped hundreds of animals with no problems. I hope everyone has better things to do than make this a 20 page "he said she said." I know I do. To all my friends that understand and see I did no wrong thanks for the support! If I ever sell you a animal that your not happy with, pick up the phone or at least answer the phone. I want you to be happy. I'd stay away from this person as I don't see them lasting in this industry and that may be a good thing. Sorry for wasting every ones time. buyer should have just called me, im done! don't humor her by blowing this up...
Jimmy Horton www.Texhiss.com

I would never think someone who is upset has to answer the phone. If they are unhappy I think it's a good idea to keep everything in writing at that point. This is a good idea for both buyer and sellers to do.

You need to check temperatures for where the snake is going. Not just where you are. The rest of the Country isn't 90 degrees.

5 meals?! This is a May baby. That's a meal once per month! That's far from "I don't powerfeed". That is "I barely keep them alive".

That animal should easily have 15 - 20 meals in them at 5 months of age.

 

[Black Adder]

Come on guys if you know me you know I'd never let a animal go with health issues. I don't need the money that bad! Some people will never be happy! When I got a text, not a phone call, say I'm not happy and then 3 or 4 long texts, I called. She would not answer, then later, texted me another 3 or 4 lonnnnnnng texts. I texted back as you all see and I offered her money back. What else could I do? Again this type of person will never ever be happy. We have all dealt with them. It's part of business and I really hate that. The animal has only had 5 meals. They only grow so much. As for my shipping, if you have ever received an animal from Rich Ihle at Salmonboa.com he ships in a new tube sock so if its good enough for Rich its good enough for me. I have been doing it for 15 years. I don't use Styrofoam or heat when its in the mid 90s. I have shipped hundreds of animals with no problems. I hope everyone has better things to do than make this a 20 page "he said she said." I know I do. To all my friends that understand and see I did no wrong thanks for the support! If I ever sell you a animal that your not happy with, pick up the phone or at least answer the phone. I want you to be happy. I'd stay away from this person as I don't see them lasting in this industry and that may be a good thing. Sorry for wasting every ones time. buyer should have just called me, im done! don't humor her by blowing this up...
Jimmy Horton www.Texhiss.com

I am sorry Sir but the way that animal was shipped was WRONG!
It was not fullfilling the requirements of the Lacey Act, as you have been in the hobby 15 years as you claim you should well know that!
A plain brown box with no labels stating the contents of live harmless reptile is NOT the way it should be shipped.
The only way I have seen anybody ship like that before is when they wanted to "cheat" and send it by UPS or USPS.
The op said it arrived by Fedex so there would have been NO good reason to not label the box and its contents correctly!
You may have great animals for sale, this may be an issue blown up a little by the op but if you truly believe the way you shipped was "good enough" then that on its own warrants you this BOI!

 

[Black Adder]

Now I am looking at the animal itself, moving on from your shoddy shipping, and it appears to be very malnourished and dehydrated and that does not happen overnight
ALL my baby boas were fed a small meal once a week, which they all took heartily, there is no way your maths adds up with a May birth and just 5 meals!
Poor thing was on just a survival regime and barely at that.
Not sure what has changed as previous reports of yourself were pretty good but this? If this is the new you Mr Horton you need to take a long hard look in the mirror and figure out where you went wrong

 

[Guy Castro]

Shipping looks like arse,and the extremely thin animal in the hand looks like arse! Stay away from people that would disagree.

 

[ShawneeAlice]

I have to agree with everyone that the condition of the animal is not good and probably hasn't been for a while. The only way I could see a BABY boa eating once a month is if it kept refusing, but even then that's unlikely and there are so many things you can do and try if that is the case. OP I've had a dehydrated snake before, and aside from letting it drink and soaking it, I provided small meals until it could work up to regular sized ones.

 

[MissFirefly]

Come on guys if you know me you know I'd never let a animal go with health issues. I don't need the money that bad! Some people will never be happy! When I got a text, not a phone call, say I'm not happy and then 3 or 4 long texts, I called. She would not answer, then later, texted me another 3 or 4 lonnnnnnng texts. I texted back as you all see and I offered her money back. What else could I do? Again this type of person will never ever be happy. We have all dealt with them. It's part of business and I really hate that. The animal has only had 5 meals. They only grow so much. As for my shipping, if you have ever received an animal from Rich Ihle at Salmonboa.com he ships in a new tube sock so if its good enough for Rich its good enough for me. I have been doing it for 15 years. I don't use Styrofoam or heat when its in the mid 90s. I have shipped hundreds of animals with no problems. I hope everyone has better things to do than make this a 20 page "he said she said." I know I do. To all my friends that understand and see I did no wrong thanks for the support! If I ever sell you a animal that your not happy with, pick up the phone or at least answer the phone. I want you to be happy. I'd stay away from this person as I don't see them lasting in this industry and that may be a good thing. Sorry for wasting every ones time. buyer should have just called me, im done! don't humor her by blowing this up...
Jimmy Horton www.Texhiss.com

I don't know you, this post is the first time I've heard your name and you're not doing yourself any favors with this type of response. The animal was improperly shipped (styrofoam insulation, a heat pack, and a marker to properly label the box shouldn't break the bank and are not corners to cut) and arrived in a condition that would have taken more than a day to achieve.

And, in my opinion, your entire ideology on forcing someone onto the phone borders on bullying. If I had a poor transaction with someone, I would want everything in writing and not wasting time on a "he said/she said" situation when proof needs to be provided. If your customer's preferred method of communication isn't the phone, deal with it.

 

[hypocamaro]

I'm sorry, but some people aren't so well adapted to talking on the phone. I'm socially awkward and have an anxiety disorder. Talking is not my strong point, but typing is. You did not notice I was mostly quiet the whole time you talked aside from an occasional,"Uh huh..."? I would think you'd be interested in best accommodating your customers or no?

I would have been happy with an apology and an acknowledgement that what you sent me is not acceptable. I don't care about the money, I care about an animals' well being. It's NOT mid-90's here, how you shipped him is absolutely not acceptable. It's 50F and was for the majority of his trip, I'd say he spent at least 12 hours in 50F temperatures... hence why he was so cold when he got to me. I'm sure he got tumbled around and tossed because, as far as they knew, he was just an inanimate object, since you didn't properly mark the box...

Did you provide a snake? Yes. Did you offer a refund? Yes. Did I reject the refund? Yes. Do I have a right to share this experience so that others may consider this before buying? YES. The transaction itself was FINE, but everything else? Not so much...

I really don't get the reasoning of,"Well, so and so does it so it must be right!" I truly do not understand that reasoning...

Sounds like you could never be happy. I hope when or if you have a child and it gets sick that you complain to the hospital.

I think everyone here should add you to the do not sell to list.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with his shipping methods. Its old school and it works perfectly. Get over it!! I have received $2000 snakes in the exact same way from big breeders and its fine. An insulated box is not necessary ALL THE TIME! I think when a box is labeled "Live harmless Reptiles" it only encourages the FedEx/UPS guy to shake the crap out of it.

I agree that the snake is thin and dehydrated. It should have never been sent out in that condition. Make that the topic of the thread.

 

[MissFirefly]

Sounds like you could never be happy. I hope when or if you have a child and it gets sick that you complain to the hospital.

I think everyone here should add you to the do not sell to list.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with his shipping methods. Its old school and it works perfectly. Get over it!! I have received $2000 snakes in the exact same way from big breeders and its fine. An insulated box is not necessary ALL THE TIME! I think when a box is labeled "Live harmless Reptiles" it only encourages the FedEx/UPS guy to shake the crap out of it.

I agree that the snake is thin and dehydrated. It should have never been sent out in that condition. Make that the topic of the thread.

Seems like the OP only had reasonable expectations regarding shipping which weren't met and there was plenty wrong with the shipping methods mainly that they violate FedEx's policy which could have ramifications for transporting reptiles overall. Have you forgotten that the Lacey Act exists?

If I were a breeder I would have no issue with this buyer from what I have read here.

 

[Black Adder]

Sounds like you could never be happy. I hope when or if you have a child and it gets sick that you complain to the hospital.

I think everyone here should add you to the do not sell to list.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with his shipping methods. Its old school and it works perfectly. Get over it!! I have received $2000 snakes in the exact same way from big breeders and its fine. An insulated box is not necessary ALL THE TIME! I think when a box is labeled "Live harmless Reptiles" it only encourages the FedEx/UPS guy to shake the crap out of it.

I agree that the snake is thin and dehydrated. It should have never been sent out in that condition. Make that the topic of the thread.

WHAT PART OF THE LACEY ACT ARE YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH?
It does not matter what you may think it may encourage the Fedex employees to do IT IS REQUIRED TO STATE ON ALL DELIVERIES LIVE HARMLESS REPTILE, end of story!
And yes an insulated box is NOT a requirement but it IS common practice and common sense if for no other reason it helps strengthen the box so when the Fedex employees are tempted to play footsie with it( as you seem to think may happen) it has a little more chance of survival!
And lets be honest that foam insulation is dirt cheap! I buy it in large packets from Home Depot, its just wall insulation, think about $5 for a huge amount!!!

 

[Black Adder]

Sounds like you could never be happy. I hope when or if you have a child and it gets sick that you complain to the hospital.

I think everyone here should add you to the do not sell to list.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with his shipping methods. Its old school and it works perfectly. Get over it!! I have received $2000 snakes in the exact same way from big breeders and its fine. An insulated box is not necessary ALL THE TIME! I think when a box is labeled "Live harmless Reptiles" it only encourages the FedEx/UPS guy to shake the crap out of it.

I agree that the snake is thin and dehydrated. It should have never been sent out in that condition. Make that the topic of the thread.

Additionally the OP has already made the topic of the thread which is both the condition of the animal AND the poor shipping practices IF you bother to read the header!
So BOTH are fully open to discussion and comment in this thread.......

 

[ElexisC]

Sounds like you could never be happy. I hope when or if you have a child and it gets sick that you complain to the hospital.

I think everyone here should add you to the do not sell to list.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with his shipping methods. Its old school and it works perfectly. Get over it!! I have received $2000 snakes in the exact same way from big breeders and its fine. An insulated box is not necessary ALL THE TIME! I think when a box is labeled "Live harmless Reptiles" it only encourages the FedEx/UPS guy to shake the crap out of it.

I agree that the snake is thin and dehydrated. It should have never been sent out in that condition. Make that the topic of the thread.

Based on your responce I'm sure most have added YOU to their do not sell to or buy from list.

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