I did a breeding loan on a fantastic citrus beardie once.
A friend I'd known for 3 years, who was also a foster home for my rescue -- which is how we got involved in the first place.
We had a great friendship and great relationship--- he'd had many many many beardies, corn snakes, and boas that he'd fostered for me before, got them healthy, whatever--
Anyway-- I'd had this citrus female for 4 years-- got her at a show, grew her up-- she was the most amazing yellow EVER!!
I loaned her to him with the 50/50 agreement--- my beardie was valued higher than his male but he was the breeder-- so we agreed on 50/50.
She layed 12 strange eggs--- they were oddly shaped, and somewhat discolored.
by hatching time there were 7 left.
He agreed to give me 5. I told him I didn't need 5 and that i'd be happy with 3 or 4-- which is more like what we'd agreed on in the first place.
I had also spent 350 $$ on AP cages for some boas. I was going to trade him one boa cage for a vision cage made for emeralds (like I needed) and I was putting up the cash for the 2nd-- and he would pay me back, little by little, as he had money. Helping a friend out.
Then 3 days after the beardies hatched, he got a huge workmans comp settlement (upwards of 200K)
the next day (day 4 after hatching) -- I woke up with a strange feeling, so i called to see how things were going. He said they were doing fine and asked about the cages. I said i hadnt heard anything.
A few days after that, I called the cage company, he had changed the shipping address to his address instead of mine-- which i thought was strange.
I called and asked if i could come get my part of the babies, and he said I had to get the cages to him first and that he'd take 200$ for his cage--- which was 25$ higher than originally agreed.
blah blah blah
He says I can't have my babies until he gets cages, and now i can't have my female back either-- as well as the 3 animals that are property of the rescue- that were in his foster care. He said that the 2 beardies he was fostering COULD BE GRAVID so he wasnt giving them up and the red tail he was fostering COULD BE GRAVID BUT NEEDED A 1200$ SURGERY THAT WAS SCHEDUALED FOR THE NEXT WEEK.
I about died! I had been over there at LEAST 3-4 times a week-- my fostered animals were always in seperate cages, and away from the other animals he had.
In the end, he is now breeding stolen animals, and a very sick red tail.
My breeding loan left me minus the 400$ for the female citrus dragon, minus the $ I would have made from babies, and minus the stolen animals from my rescue.
This is someone I would have trusted with my life, until he got a big ol' check to blow-- he decided he didn't need friends any more-- there are 4 petstores here locally that wont buy from him, and a multitude of PO'd people.
the point is, is that no matter what--- you really should be more cautious than you think you should ever be. I would have had NO idea he would behave this way. I was screwed b/c I was nice--- now i'm out $ and the rescue's animals and there is NOTHING I can do about it.
Be cautious, have fun, and put this stuff on PAPER!! take it to kinkos-- notarize it-- whatever!!! each of you keep a copy-- and just please, please be more careful than I was-- as this experience has ruined my faith in other people. I immediatly pulled the other 9 animals I had out in foster homes-- they all understood what brief info i gave them about the others being stolen-- but I now operate with zero foster homes, and will never do another breeding loan-- the 200 $ i would have made-- was not worth the mess it caused.
Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue
