Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

What can I expect from a breeder from which I bought a possible super salmon boa that died 7 days after purchase.

The animal was 1 month old, had his shed and fed 4 times.
Is it reasonable to ask for a full refund?

sorry, the animal fed and shed at the breeders place.
And has not eaten at my place

These type of situations get sticky fast. Depending on your attitude when you inform them, the breeders attitude and reputation you will get a variety of solutions from a total refund to being slammed as not cabable of having another living thing for a pet.,, nothing.. not a dog, not a cat and especially not a Boa.

First thing you should call/email/fax or all 3 to the breeder to inform them of what happened. The longer you wait the worse the response will get.

I would also use NO names here.. because emails read different for everyone and before you know it you will be the bad person just because the normal procedure was not followed. Not that it is writtin anywhere to check on.

Ask on KS for general info, no names needed here... DONE

INFORM BREEDER IMMEDIATELY - nicely etc, ask for their assistance and feel the situation out.
Work out with breeder and both sides are happy.

Or if that is not the case and you have exahusted all means of proper communication and you get no reply or no help in the matter at all, you can also post on the BOI. This can get even stickier... trust me. Try all esle first.

Also.. before you call the breeder you need to have your Notes in order.. what were the temps in the cage, hot side, cold side, substrate, alone or with another... glass or plastic.. this is an endless list of questions. You will probably be asked all of those PLUS more to try and help determine where this animal took a turn for the worst. This also depends on the breeder.

Also check to see what or if there is any warranty.. has it expired etc. Do you know anyone who bought siblings.. maybe you can see how those are as well. This is hard to do and not really use names.

Did I mention STICKY SITUATION???

Hope it works out for you! Keep us informed.

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Thanks
Shawn Morelan
www.Southernboids.com

Hi Shawn,

Thank you for your answer.
I called him yesterday and explained what happened.
He offered me another animal for half price.
This was ofcourse not what I hoped for.
Is there a standard for this?

If you have called and the breeder offered a replacement at half price then I am not sure where this leaves you.

I do not want to give too much advice because I do not think there is a standard really, it all depends on the situation.

I only put out my reply to brace you for the barrage of questions and or possible accusations of bad husbandry etc. Not that I even know you or how you keep them.. but it will come up... if not from your breeder then from everyone else that has an opinion either Pro or Con.

I know this because I had what I personally considered a bad deal a few years back.. I made my point and stood my ground. Results: I was bashed for multiple days.. I was called a cry baby, ungrateful, novice, hack and the list goes on. I was told to learn what I was doing and then come back.. over and over again I felt like I WAS THE BAD ONE!

However at the same time I STILL to this day feel I was taken advantage of and got the short end of the stick.

This is not to say DO NOTHING and just move on either. I would not be happy in your shoes either. I assume a possible super hypo is over the Grand mark too.. and that is alot of money!

Paying half for another may sound good to some.. but what if you saved for over a year.. what if you DO pay half and the other dies in 12 days... what if.. what if.

What if this is a BIG NAME breeder.. if you name names early you will have to face the wrath of the past Happy Customers. For some reason it is a common belief by some here that if you do 100 GOOD transactions that a bad one is Not Possible or should not be considered because it is only 1 out of 100. However to be that 1 that got the bad one.. is a lonely feeling.

Or even better.. I have never purchased from that breeder BUT I KNOW THEY WOULD NOT.. COULD NOT.. bla bla bla. Just people sticking their nose in where it does not belong.

Dont get me wrong.. I love this board and I am hear... daily.. hourly.. as mush as I can. But.. remember high school?? You are either popular or if you stick your head out of the sand they will try to kick you back under.

Granted there are numerous reputable breeders who have great track records, but odd things happen and it dose not mean it had to be your fault.

I am only stating my opinions here and what I have gone through in the past. I hope I am not sticking my foot in my mouth.. I mean you didnt like put it in a toaster over to keep it warm or anything.. right? If you did someting that odd or harsh then I would not expect a refund at all.. but under normal circumstances I would think they would work with you.

Now for the shoe on the other foot.... Every breeder could have a bad year if all of a sudden people started emailing saing .. HE DIED.. send another one. This is where you may have to get tests done on the animsl, send the animal back etc.

DO NOT FREEZE - put in FRIDGE if they want tests done. I found out the hard way.. yea back when I was getting blasted.. that freezing destroys the tissue enough that tests usually dont work correctly. Look at all that typing.. Maybe I really did learn something!

I sure hope this works out for you. If this is your first Boa please do not let this discourage you too bad. We all have them pass on us.. just usually not so short after we purchase.

After reading that again I think I just ranted for a while and never really put any info that you can use in an organized manner. Please email with any other questions you may have.
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Thanks
Shawn Morelan
www.Southernboids.com

I agree, it's a very sticky situation. Can you list the specific conditions this boa was kept in? Also, how long was the boa in your posesion before it passed? How did the boa look when it arrived, did it looked malnutritioned? I'm sure there are many other questions I did not list that should be asked but I'm sure they'll be asked by someone else. The more info. you post the more someone can kick their brains for a reasonable opinion.

Well, it all depends on the breeder and the way you handle the situation. I know if anyone has problems with my snakes (and I see no reason/poor care) I will refund if the animal is sent back to me (dead or alive). So if at all possible freeze snake(call and ask breeder what he wants)?? I breed reptiles for a hobby and currently work retail for my real job, and the way you ask for help is very IMPORTANT!!

Like they said above make sure you have a list of answers to all the common questions. Hope things work out!!

Most breeders will offer a garuntee, and most people are very nice as long as you don't go pointing fingers. Personally I garuntee my animals I personally breed for 7 days after purchase, and will usually buy back animals if any problems/ unwanted problems occur there after.

One thing that does bother me about what you discribed is the snake ate 4 times in first month?? Seems a little much? Most babies don't shed til about 10-20 days after birth, and I don't recommend feeding until a few days after that. So maybe 1 or 2 feedings in the first month, then 1 feeding a week. Maybe I misunderstood that but anyways...good luck, and always buy from people you have researched!!

Let us know what happens!!
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Chris
Contact
Captive Bred Herps

0.0.2 Gila Monsters
1.2 KSB "Normal"
1.2 KSB "Albino Het/snow"
1.1 KSB "Anery"
2.2 Rubber boas
3.3 Solomon Island G. Boa
1.2 BCC Born 5-30
1.0 Leopard Gecko
1.0 Pacman Frog

sorry to hear about this.
After 7 days the seller may or may not refund. I had a baby I shipped out die in the first 24 hours, it seems my heat pack was a dud, I offered to either replace or refund in full. I also had the buyer ship back the body of the dead baby at my expense. Would I have given a full refund if it had been 7 days? I probably would have just offered a replacement at that point. There is no standard, lots of people only give 24-48 hr guarantee and if it dies at the 49th hour, you're out of luck.
Sometimes they just die, Sometime it is the new keeper's error, bad temps or something else in the new enviroment, there is no way for the seller to know what happened after it left their care.
You said they offered a replacement at half price.. not bad, at
least they offered something! You and the seller just need to work something out where you both are satisfied, maybe not entirely happy but at least satisfied.
hope it works out for you!

well im sorry to have to comment on this already trying time for you but i wanted to throw my .02 cents into the ring. Steve and I have been through only 2 bad deals like this. One turned out with us going to court to sue for the invested money the second was completely friendly and the buyer stood behind their animal with no questions asked. I have to agree with Shawn though, it depends on the seller. Steve and I do business the second way. We feel that if we produced an animal and we know it was feeding well has shed at least twice and was a healthy looking animal then it shouldnt have dies within 7 days, heck we have replaced snakes up to several months after purchase. It just depends on who you are dealing with. If the breeder realizes that the price of this animal isnt worth the bad reputation of not replaceing the animal then you will have a few days of "fun" ahead of you but everything usually works out. I would ask the breeder to come to an agreement on another animal.Say you would pay the shipping cost of sending a replacement animal or something along those lines, BUT if it were my animal that i produced i would have just send you the replacement of your choice and hoped that you will be happy with this animal. I think when i sell morphs i like to give the buyer the benefit of the doubt that they are investing money (sometimes lots of money) into this project they mostlikely know what they are doing and it was an animal health issue which would be my fault and my duty to replace or make right.I know this is just my opinion but if you have any other questions that you would like to run by me please feel free to email Steve or I and we will help in any way possible.

Sincerely,
Rose Hipskind
srsnakes@yahoo.com
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www.srsnakes.com

I have to both agree and disagree on this issue. I don't think there is a routine for these kind of issues but should be handled on a case by case basis. That is why I asked a few questions earlier about how you kept your boa and about what condition it was in when you received it. I mean, how many people have seen badly housed or malnutritioned animals at a local pet shops and how many people purchase reptiles without having a proper enclosure ready and without having a good idea of what type of enviroment the animal requires (not saying this is you, just an example)?

No one here can really begin to give you an opinion of what should happen or what might be fair unless there is information to base this opinion on.

I agree with what Shawn said earlier " I mean you didnt like put it in a toaster over to keep it warm or anything.. right? If you did someting that odd or harsh then I would not expect a refund at all". If someone contacted me and stated that their boa died after they put it in the freezer to cool down after a hot day... the under no circumstances will I offer anything. The situation may sound odd but things like this happen.

Now, if you kept your boa in exceptional condition and this boa died from an unknown reason, then the problem MAY(not HAS) of been there prior to you receiving the boa and you SHOULD(not MUST) be entitled to a full refund or replacement.

If no one wants to try and do research or try to find the reason for the loss of the animal; then maybe a medium would be the answer here BUT you may end up with the same problem.... then what?