Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am so heartbroken. Two of the babies I sold 4 months ago died. They both went to separate homes. The first one was about a month ago. The owner wasn't sure why, but he implied it was my fault and wanted another one for free. I ended up selling him one at a discount to appease him.

Now another one of my little guys passed away. She told me he was sickly for awhile, I gave her some advice. (the whole tank was at 80 degrees I told her she needed to have a basking spot that was hotter) she wasn't feeding him enough (turns out she couldn't handle the crickets as well as she thought she could or offering enough greens). Well, he passed away yesterday. I am not sure if she did the things I told her to do or not. I also found out she was cleaning his cage out with CLOROX about once a day. I think this has got to be a serious problem no?
She didn't think it was a big deal.

I am just so frustrated. I feel like I need to make people fill out an application before I sell them a beardie. Can anyone tell me where I went wrong and give suggestions so this doesn't happen again?

Thanks!

I have never sold any babies, but however I have bought 5 babies within the last month from different breeders in the states of Georgia and California. Each of them told me that if the dragon was DOA then they would replace the dragon, that is if I was home to receive the package. One of the breeders sent a care sheet with all pertinient information in it that I needed to know in order for me to have a healthy and well dragon. The care sheet provided with information such as size of food and the type of vitiams and calicum supplement, tank temps, warm soaks up arrival to rehydrate, type of substrate to use at the dragons age and what to use once it was old enough. How to clean the enclosure and how often. Type of lighting the beardies would need and far the lighting needed to be from the dragon. I have followed her instructions and I have not had any problems. Their are alot of different care sheets that you can look at to get all the vitial information to construct your own for your dragons and customers. I am in the process of doing this my self that way when mine are old enough to breed I will have it already done and will be able to provide my customers with all the information needed to provide for their pet. Hope this helps.
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Angel-girl

I did not provide a care sheet for the first one as he presented himself as having knowledge of reptiles and beardies in particular.

The second one got a care sheet AND I specifically went shopping with her to make sure she got the proper stuff for the beardie and that she got a book. (the beardie was a gift for her kid who was supposed to read the book before he took the lizard).

Then I do not feel you can be held responsible for the death of the beardie. I bought my stepson Gerbils and the book due to he has never really taken care of any animals. I read the book to ensure he was properly taking care of the animals. If I had not read the book they probably would be dead by now, cause he has never read the book. I have to make sure they are fed properly and that their enviroment is kept clean.
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Angel-girl

That lady who had one of your babies probably poisoned it with Clorox....unless she used it very dilute and rinsed his cage very well and let it sit in a well ventilated area for a awhile to ensure it was free of harmful chlorine fumes.

As for that other guy, you didn't indicate the conditions he had set up. But giving him a second bearded dragon may not be a good practice to get into, especially if he was at fault.

Providing a detailed care sheet with your babies is a good ideal. I would also include the duration of your 'warrenty' in writing as well. Get the prospective buyer to sign two copies of the 'warrenty' and that she received the care sheet from you. You can also include a vet certificate indicating the bearded dragon was healthy and free of parasites at time of sale (or near). But clearly state that the dragon is no longer insured after it arrives in the new home as you no longer have any control over it's environment and care. The DOA factor is a good one..with the same conditions mentioned by the other poster.

Another thing, I would give the caresheet even if the person buying it states they are an expert in caring for dragons and all that. They may be lying or maybe not but most people will understand you are just making sure the dragons gets all the proper care. Once they leave with the beardie, what they do with the caresheet is no longer in your control, but with the signed sheet stating they received it in hand, you can lawfully refuse to provide a refund or replacement a month down the road if they come back saying it was your fault the dragon died.

we have only been selling them by word of mouth to people we know or are referred to us by people we know.

I delivered both personally by hand and they were very robust and healthy at the time.

Do people do this at shows to? I have never had to sign anything at a show but have always been given a caresheet.

I would say 48hrs to 7 days is a great guarantee alot of people do 24hrs, if it was that long before something happened it wasnt your fault, the lady who used bleach should never have another dragon the bleach in the cage alone probably killed the dragon espically at such a young age as well as her temps and feeding habits were way off. It sucks when the beardie has to suffer because of inexperience and lack of care, the best you can do is maybe ask a few general beardie ?? before the sale and see if they own any already or any other herps to kind of gauge their experience level, the care sheet Idea alot of people do is also good for people new to dragons, It seems you did the best you could and it is just one of those bad situations.But it isnt your fault.Just my 2 cents

Personally, I think you have to limit it to a certain amount of time that you will guarantee the beardies to live for. These things run 24 hours, to the longest, 30 days. At 4 months, I highly doubt that it was your fault. If they really want a refund, make them take pictures of the dead beardie, or send it back to you. If they refuse to do this, how do you know it isn't alive and they just want to get a deal.