Reptile & Amphibian Forums

They're here!!!

Arriving promptly at 9:35, I don't know if I'd have made it until 10:30... lol.

The female is STUNNING!!! The male is kindof dark, and looks skinny too. Is this because its stressed, because its a he, or should I watch even more carefully to make sure he's eating??? Like I said before, I've never seen one in person before, so I have no idea what they should look like. I got some pretty good photos though, so maybe you guys can tell better than me...

When should I offer them their first dinner???

Female is the first 4, she's much more photogenic, and less stressed, so I didn't think she'd mind a camera... The male is the last pic. He was in front, easy to photo, and I just couldn't bother the poor guy more than that. He didn't really want to move when I took him out of his deli cup. The female on the other hand came flying out... lol. And after a 5 minute photo shoot, there's a towel over the cage so they can settle in...

You are right, the male is quite thin, but the female is as well, and she is dehydrated (probably male too). Here is a really good article on acclimation:

http://www.chameleonnews.com/acclimation.html

This was written for chameleons, but nearly everything applies to large Uroplatus as well. What you really need to take note of are the showers. Couple of those and your new arrivals will be well on their way to a healthy recovery.
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I did mist them really good before I left, and I'll put a water dish in their cage since so many people see their geckos drinking. The male tried to hide from the water, but drank from the glass when he discovered water there. They were shipped on really damp moss, so I'm surprised they're dehydrated. Poor guys... If the female is skinny, the male must be really bad. I'll keep a close eye on him.

Would the shower thing suggested by the article be a good idea? It sounds kindof stressful to be moving them out of their cage like that. I do have a big pothos plant I can stick in the shower easily though...

Yeah, so I just got home from work, and went to mist them again since you said they looked dehydrated, and the male was dead... He had colored up a lot while I got ready for work, so I wasn't expecting him to die so quickly... Shipping was fast and the weather was perfect too, so this really sucks.

I'm really sad, and not sure what to do. I contacted the seller, so hopefully I'll get a new male eventually....

I'm sorry to hear that, but unfortunately that is pretty common, especially this time of year. I hope you are able to find a suitable male a few mos from now that will be in better shape. That being said, the female looks pretty good on the whole. Showers probably are somewhat stressful, but a little stress is much less strain on the body than dehydration, and it works wonders!! It sounds a little strange, I know- LOL... here are a few pics to give you ideas. We shower everthing, chameleons, all of the Uroplatus, etc.

http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/albums/userpics/normal_DSCN2053.JPG
http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/albums/userpics/normal_DSCN0861.JPG
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Ok, I'll do that tonight then. The seller said they'd been in their possession since January, but you said its common "this time of year..."

Do you think from the photos that they were more recent imports than I was led to believe??

Definately. There is no way an animal in that poor state of health would have lived since Janurary and then suddenly die now. They are imported in healthy condition from the wild, deteriorate, deteriorate, until someone does something or else they will die. They haven't had any intervention to keep them healthy since they left Madagascar. They are fresh off the boats, did you have a 1 week quarentee or live arrival guarantee or anything? Dying within a day is basically considered DOA to me. Best of luck with your dealings with the seller.

Mike

Here's what the website says...

We use Styrofoam insulated boxes with a heat pack (if needed) and newspaper packing material. You must report DOA's, defects, or unsatisfactory animals within 4 hours of arrival. If during that time your animal passes contact us (and keep the course for proof) and you will receive full credit for the animal only. Any problems are to be reported via telephone, if there is no answer, please leave a message. You are responsible for any shipping costs incurred. NO EXCEPTIONS! Please be sure to leave your name and telephone number and exact nature of the problem. Please do not wait longer than 24 hrs to report; otherwise we cannot honor your claim.

We guarantee all animals healthy and eating. We stand behind our 5 day healthy guarantee. If you believe there is a problem with an animal you MUST report it to us within 24-hours via telephone. A vet report will be required with a diagnosis of the sickness for a full refund of animals, less shipping costs. Otherwise you will receive credit toward your next purchase.

I'm a little confused about the 4 hours to report unsatisfactory animals vs the five day healthy guarantee. I haven't heard back from the seller either, which is odd, because prior to shipping I usually had a reply by now. So we shall see. The animal was reported dead within 6 hours of arrival... He was satisfactory up until that point in time. I mean, you guys might have been upset, but I'm new and I didn't know he was THAT bad, so I figured a little TLC and we'd get him going....

On an upnote, I saw the female with a noseful of coconut fiber... which means I didn't see her eat, but I can guarantee she's making a good effort. She's also on the branch in the middle of the cage, which is definately better than hiding behind corkbark.

Well, from his policy sounds like you should be getting your money back. The vet diagnosis shouldn't have to be done. If it was 6 hours later after you got him it wasn't you fault. I see too many people just sucking it up and going on but don't let yourself take the bullet on this one. Good to hear the female is eating, that is a very good sign. You should collect a fecal sample and bring it into a vet to get checked out for internal parasites. Hope the female does well for you. There are more male sikorae to be had, so just keep an eye out. Do you know if you acquired sikorae sikorae or sikorae sameti? If you don't know check the color of the inside of her mouth later on when you are going to get another male. Let her acclimate more first though. Good luck and don't let the death of the male take a different route in the reptile world, uroplatus are awesome and very rewarding.

Mike

They didn't specify which kind of sikorae they are... but I know the male has a black mouth. I checked out of curiosity, figured it couln't hurt since he was dead. Which ones have the black mouth???

sikorae sikorae have the black mouths, sikorae sameiti have pink mouths. an easier way to check is to look at the eye color, it can give you another hint as to what subspecies you have. sikorae sameiti have bold greenish/yellowish eyes, while sikorae sikorae tend to maybe have just a tad of yellow around the margins of the eye.

and getting back to the rest of the deal, that life/health guarantee sounds sketchy to me. i would get the person's number and give them a call rather than trying to work it out via email. the seller should really honor your claim, like ptindy said without a vet check. and i really doubt they were in since january if they came in to you in that bad of shape. i have a pair i bought in january, and they're both fat and happy. so engage your seller, and if they try to BS you, simply blacklist them from your suppliers list, share that info with friends (although its not allowed to share stuff like that on here), and even make a claim to the BBB. dont just accept a store credit, this seems like something shady if they claim these are LTC's and come in dehydrated and bone thin. chances are the same thing can happen to you all over again. dont be afraid to ask around for references either, you're putting a good chunk of money into "good faith" that these sellers are sending you what they claim to have. you cant see it till its there, and sometimes by then it's too late.

sorry to hear of your experience, a lot of us have been through it. but like mike said, dont let it get you down, the world of uroplatus is unlike any other and you cant get tht satisfaction from many other herps!

Well, the thing is, I checked out the seller on the BOI by doing a search (I'm not a member) and they had great reviews. There was one animal that arrived in poor shape if I remember, but the matter was handled to the buyers satisfaction... I didn't really worry since there were 20 some other people saying what great people they were...

One thing about it, if this doesn't work out, I will become a member of the BOI...

The female is absolutely fantastic, so I don't know what they were thinking... bottom of the barrel maybe?

i would at least be sure to mention the condition of the gecko to the seller. hopefully he'll extend his health guarantee on her since she arrived in that shape. a good seller should be really cooperative, so hopefully thats the case with you.

I just saw the pics, the female looks pretty good, pretty girl. The male even seemed really flat out on the branch, like he was beat!

Very sad, but like everyone says these guys are so amazing, hang in there, hopefully you will get another (healthy male)

I sure wish you all the best. Keep us updated on your pretty girl
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