Some unhealthy BTSs on Kingsnake...

[Cenetri]

There are some obvious problems with their mouths and eyes in these photos.

Honestly, I don't understand why people try to sell animals that are sick or in any way not up to par. I can't see how profit is better than an animal's wellbeing I guess... what are your opinions on people like this? I for one despise people who choose money over life.


Link removed by Katrina - we don't want to judge individual sellers on this site. If there is an issue, this is a better place to discuss: http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/ ... y.php?f=13

[Katrina]

Hi Cenetri - I removed the link, sorry but we don't want to call out specific sellers on this site.

Unfortunately a large amount of blueys are wild caught imports and are in poor shape. We strongly encourage people to buy CBB and not to support the import trade but we don't want to bad mouth specific sellers on here. Any issues with a particular seller should be brought to the BOI.

This is a good thread to discuss the issues with purchasing from importers though!

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

I'm assuming it's the 2 meraukes and IJ?
People frequently sell sick animals, although it's very commons, it is upsetting.

[Cenetri]

Sorry about the specific seller thing Katrina - wasn't trying to draw bad attention to that particular seller, rather the whole idea of the trade.

It's sad with it being so common. In my opinion, the worst part is that they sell to unsuspecting buyers who may be new to that particular reptile. I know people who felt extremely guilty when their animal died in their care, but upon further inspection of photos, information, etc. from the sellers, the animal had been unhealthy all along! I feel like it can also direct a bad view onto the animal, in this case the BTS, because people who are naïve and don't understand that there was a problem in the first place might now think that they're extremely hard to take care of and steer others away from owning them.

It's a shame that it's so frequent in the reptile trade over many others... I have a hard time finding a sick bird or hamster on any website where people are giving animals away, but with reptiles it seems like it's more common to find them in horrible shape than finding a healthy one - especially when they're wild caught, farm raised, etc.

[Fatal_S]

Fairly recently there was a malformed baby bluey being sold as something special and unique for extra money There is no low to which people won't sink in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

[Katrina]

No need to be sorry! It is always good to draw to attention the reasons not to support importers.

[Cenetri]

Fairly recently there was a malformed baby bluey being sold as something special and unique for extra money There is no low to which people won't sink in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

Hearing that makes me feel quite disturbed. I would have never thought of a malformation being something great, let alone something that bumps up the price of an animal! It seems like so many importers or breeders who are in it for the money have to find some way to put the word "special" or "unique" in their ad title so that the animal is somehow worth more. Just another reason to (for the most part) avoid the larger websites and stick to finding private breeders who obviously do it for hobby and love for the species rather than the money. In my opinion, those animals are much more special than a skink that is "unusually dark" or "extremely long for its species" with a $200 higher pricetag. Not that imported animals are bad or worse than others, no - just that you know you're getting an animal that is healthy and loved.

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

Fairly recently there was a malformed baby bluey being sold as something special and unique for extra money There is no low to which people won't sink in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

I still think that it wasn't malformed and actually was special, but whatever now...
I do see sick animals being sold very frequently though; to the point where I am "desensitized" to it.

[Cenetri]

Fairly recently there was a malformed baby bluey being sold as something special and unique for extra money There is no low to which people won't sink in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

I still think that it wasn't malformed and actually was special, but whatever now...
I do see sick animals being sold very frequently though; to the point where I am "desensitized" to it.

I feel that I'll never be desensitized to it, honestly. I know it won't stop completely, but I feel that it's an urgent enough topic that I'll always view it as an issue that needs to (but most likely won't in the near future) be fixed.

If the entirety of the reptile community desensitized themselves to this, many people might and will purchase reptiles for the first time and not recognize that they're sick. (I would hope that research would help prevent bad picks in animals, but some people are so quick to jump the gun that they end up with an animal that they don't know is ill.) Since issues are fairly common in wild caught reptiles, I feel that it's something that should be minimized unless one obtains a special, much-more-limited-amount of-animals-you-can-pick permit and picks relatively healthy animals for the purpose of not having incest-filled bloodlines.

So that I don't become desensitized, I am constantly spreading the word to people in my town. I've already directed many people towards private breeders and better species for beginners by explaining to them the differences between healthy and sick, and showing them my healthy animals. Obviously, this is a very small scale of preventing bad dealers from getting away with stuff like this, but telling one person may cause a wave of twenty people to learn something new through word of mouth!

[Spindown]

The odd/deformed being sold as "unique" to make extra money is very prevalent. I'm a member of caudata and someone posted a thread of a horrible person selling an eyeless axolotl for several times what it was worth (aka $0)!!! Deformities happen! However, selling them....its disgusting in my eyes.

[Kcjames]

As long as there's a market for it people will buy them. There is always someone brokering animals that are WC and or not well.
The lack of compassion and caring about the animals welfare is the whole reason that I left the veterinary industry.
They never wanted to call Animal Control in cases of chronic neglect for fear of losing money.

I tell everyone to research the seller on the BOI or anywhere else they can.

[Spindown]

I love the BOI. I always read the whole thread when I can though, (except when they get totally crazy long!!) because sometimes you will find out its the customers fault 110% and they are trying to force the business to do something really crazy. Unfortunately, sometimes you dont see the whole story until several pages in

[Cenetri]

That's exactly the reason why I could never get into that career path in the first place Kcjames, even though I love animals dearly. Just seeing an animal injured makes me sad, let alone listening to bad owners say how they don't want to get the injury fixed because it's too expensive, so seeing that every day would be a bit too much for me to handle.

I go on the BOI quite often, though it's true that you have to read through the entire thread to see if people are being truthful or reading their situation correctly. Overall though that part of Fauna definitely helps me get a better idea of who I'm buying from.