Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok. i really wanna get my hands on a pair of these to get some started breeding. so heres the deal. ive been looking around at most distributors that actually have them, and usually its about $150 each, plus shipping. i came across an ad in the classifieds here that was selling them for $100 each, plus shipping. so i finally got in touch with the guy the other day and he says that they all dropped their tails. so thats a big bummer. he drops the price on each a tad, but now i kinda dont feel like doing it. not only was i hesitant to get them shipped anyway, but i figured there would be added stress due to having recently dropped a tail. my other options are to keep waiting it out to find a good deal online (or better at least), or cross my fingers and hope to god some would be there at the nc reptile show in may. i have tried multiple times emailing reptile depot, but they have never responded to my questions. i know they have the spiny leaf tail geckos for sale on their website, and im trying to see if they will bring me a male and female to the reptile show. what do you guys say, cuz i am just real eager to get a pair of these and get them breeding. would the dropped tails be a bad idea even though the price beats all others by at least $100 for the pair? should i try waiting for the reptile show? HOW THE HELL DO I GET IN TOUCH WITH REPTILE DEPOT?!

I know the place you are talking about KCDR reptiles right? I would definatly not get your geckos from them I was going to get some spiny uroplatus (u.pietschmanni?) but when they told me they only offer a two hour guarantee on their animals and that their geckos were in "apparent" good health i said forget it. As for reptile depot they have always resonded to my emails i don't know why you are having trouble but you can always call them the only problem with reptile depot is that they offer only a 24 hour guarantee and that they won't supply pictures of their animals. I got my spiny uroplatus from both aquariumstuffers.com and xtremereptiles.com they were both excellent places. aquariumstuffers.com offers a 7 day guarantee on all their animals and i got my male spiny for $114 shipped. xtremereptiles.com offers a 5 day guarantee on their animals and i got my female from them for $150 shipped. You might also check out glades herp (gherp.com) they can get most anything in for you and are really nice people.
Matt

I work at an institution that has bought ten's of Uroplatus from Reptile Depot, their animals are as good as any, and their customer service has been above average... I would say keep trying to get a hold of them, e-mail, call, ect... They are great people to work with...
I personally would not buy Uro's with dropped tails, for one; the regens are not as attractive, and two; to regen a tail is very energetically costly, its just another added expense to an already unstable, stressed, and sensitive WC Uro... If you plan on breeding them, spend the extra money and buy good strong stock... Just my two cents...
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Ben

atleast with my experience a dropped tail/( withered tail that is soon to be dropped)means extreme dehydration and the animal usually dies. i've noticed several people trying to sell them.... all of the sudden everyone is missing a tail ( and it is difficult to make a uroplatus drop it's tail) and pretty soon none of them are available anymore.. i don't think people have bought them at their discounted price, they have all died. i wouldn't buy one.

As far as I see it, it depends too, how old the animal is, when the autotomy happens. One of my U. GUentheri dropped the tail as very small, and he was as healthy and fast-growing as any other, but I think it is a different case if you buy WC, adult.
If it is easy or not for the Uroplatus Species to drop the tail? Depends on the specie. Some are difficult, but others are easy. So far, my U. Pietschmanni seems to be hardy on this point too.
Kristian