EXTREMELY P.Oed Right Now!

[pitbulllady]

Some of you might have recalled me stating that I was awaiting the arrival of a large gravid female Florida Green Water Snake, right? The guy I bought her made me suspicious after I'd already sent him the money order, not letting me know when it arrived, then not telling me when he'd sent out the snake or giving me the tracking number until I had to trace HIM through the phone company and call him. Anyway, the snake was sent out on Monday, second-day air, and arrived this evening around 7 pm, DEAD. Not just dead, but in an advanced state of decomposition. This was a massive, five-foot animal, as large as many Blood Pythons, put into a pillow case and crammed into a 12 x 12 inch cardboard box, with no Styrofoam or other rigid padding between the snake and the walls of the box other than one layer of bubble plastic underneath. I knew something was wrong when I opened the box, and that smell hit me, and I saw that there was no protective padding and the bag was soaked in a dark fluid. I was hoping that maybe she'd given birth en route, but I knew that what I would find would not verify that. What I did find was my worst nightmare. I thought that maybe she'd been squashed, since there was blood everywhere, and big slits in the snake's undersides through which her intestines were visable, but after I took this mess outside and emptied out the bag, it became apparent that this was a rotting carcass that had already bloated and burst due to advanced decomp. The skin was sloughing off and the eyes had already disappeared. This son-ofa-female dog had sent me a dead snake. I've seen all sizes of animal carcasses decomposing in our climate(which has been cooler than normal, temps in the 80s for the past couple of days, mostly cloudy), and I know that there is no way that an animal that size, which would have weighed as much as a good-sized house cat, can possibly decompose to that extent in two days, NOT in an enclosed space with no access to flies(speaking of which, they swarmed all over the box when I took it outside). There is simply no way that this animal was alive when he shipped it, not only having to travel from just a few states over. Either he put her in the bag dead, or he had been keeping this poor animal in that bag, taped up inside that little box ready to ship out, ever since I contacted him and told him I wanted her, which was nearly two weeks ago. I took detailed photographs of the snake, especially the head, both inside and outside the bag, and of the inside of the box she was shipped in, showing all the blood and fluid and the flies gathering on it, showing that there was no protective padding at all, not that it would have mattered much. After calling him and telling him the snake was dead, which was before I actually dumped it out of the bag, I emailed him and demanded my money back. I don't want a replacement, not from him, not from anyone who'd ship anything like that. I'm giving him until tomorrow to verify that he's sent me a full refund, and then I'm naming names and putting up the photos on the internet. There is absolutely no excuse in this, none.

pitbulllady

[snakeman]

You should put his name on here or at least the ad.There are a lot of people poaching in FL just to make money.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

that is so disgusting. That poor, beautiful creature. I am so sorry you have to go through all of this. I hope I never, ever, EVER have to go through anything even remotely close to that!

Rat that son of a gun out! He has no dignity. People like that are just in it for the money. Makes me sick. I love my snakes so much it makes me tear up thinking that someone would treat a snake like that.

[Mommy2many]

Isn't there someone/something you can report this guy to? First of all, the quality of shipping that poor creature. Second of all, the carrier he chose. If it was already deceased, then I'm sure someone somewhere would have a health issue raised with sending a decomposing snake thru a courier and/or mail service.

It is one thing to have something happen enroute but an entirely different situation to knowingly send something like that thru the mail.

People like that make it harder for everyone else to do business and ship reptiles/animals/amphibians etc.

[jitami]

I can't even imagine being so excited for a shipment... doesn't seem to matter how many times you've received snakes, opening that box is always a bit like Christmas... then finding what you had to experience. Can not even imagine. I'm totally disgusted even thinking about it. I agree, get your refund, then smear his name and the pictures everywhere. Ugh.

[pitbulllady]

You should put his name on here or at least the ad.There are a lot of people poaching in FL just to make money.

The guy isn't in Florida. He's in the Midwest. The snake originally belonged to one of the guys from whom I bought the pair of Red-Bellies and the little orangey Banded last week. He had owned this snake long-term before selling it to this guy in the Midwest, and had told me how impressive and how gentle she was, so I really was looking forward to getting her, but not like this! I just emailed him the pictures, since he wanted to see proof that the snake was dead. The pictures include a large number of Green-Bottle blow flies that had quickly descended on the carcass. Those are not attracted to freshly dead meat, only to advanced decomposing flesh, unlike the house flies that usually get there first. This animal was the size of a fairly large Blood Python, shipped in a box that was only 12 x 12 inches square. I still have the box, though it's outside under a shed because I can't stand to smell it. I had to change clothes immediately after taking the photos because that smell was all in them, and a whole can of Lysol later I still can't get it out of the house, since I made the mistake of opening the box in the kitchen. From the tone of the guy's email, he sounded like he didn't believe me about the snake being that decayed and insists it was alive when he shipped it. It takes a long time for an animal that big to get in that state.

pitbulllady

[Mommy2many]

I am so sorry to hear that first, you had to receive an expected animal like that and second, that the animal had to endure that mistreatment, even if it was after death.

[gregmonsta]

That's absolutely awful ... report him in any way that you can!!!

[ssssnakeluvr]

or ship it back to him.....

[Charis]

There used to be the BOI forum to report that kind of thing to, but I think it just got taken down, the guy that was maintaining it is retiring. I do think once you get a refund you should let everyone on here know his name. I will probably be buying a garter in the next few weeks & sure don't want to do business with this dude!