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Posted by Stephen Emerick on December 16, 2001 at 13:03:13:
In Reply to: Yes Fred, the kinks were undisclosed... posted by Josh S on December 15, 2001 at 18:13:20:
: There are several problems with the situation. I feel guilty about the situation even though as my friends say and you say, i shouldn't have been sold kinked snakes. He says he never noticed the kinks on the snakes and that another individual who looked at them did not either, but when my friend who owns NapaValleySnakes.com and I opened up the shipped package, it was the first thing we noticed. Others, including my friends at the East Bay Vivarium, tell me that I am naive for thinking there is a possiblity that he was unaware of the kinks and that it is not possible for a breeder to be oblivious to that sort of thing.
I was present when the animals arrived at my business (actually, they were shipped to my address per Josh's request)and unpacked. When Josh and a friend of his arrived, we opened up the box and then the individual containers. The first thing we noticed was the male had two rather large kinks on him. The kinks were very noticeable (which makes the issue of not knowing by the seller or his packer seem rather strange to me). Having bred many colubrids myself, I tend to agree with Fred's assessment, this was an animal that should have been given to someone as a pet or simply put down. I had a group of 12 black milks this summer of which I noticed a small bump on one's spine near the tail. Needless to say this was with very little handling (these guys usually eat right out of the egg) or contact with the hatchlings. This particular snake was held back and after not gaining the weight he should have been, disposed of humanely. So after unpacking the females, when handling one we notice a similar kink around her anus. That's 2/3 with kinks.. Very frustrating considering the level of anticipation Josh had for the arrival of these "supposedly" perfect animals and the amount of time he waited for the permit process to be completed. Josh has a ton of emotional energy and finances tied up in, what are in truth are, rather "inferior" animals. The problem is the breeder is rather well known in the herp industry (especially with Indigos) and as Josh stated, very nice to talk to over the phone or via e-mail. Very tough situation yet makes one even more hesitant to purchase high-dollar reptiles via a photo or two on the web.
Stephen Emerick
Napa Valley Snakes
