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Posted by gila7150 on September 14, 2002 at 13:00:36:
Let me just start by saying...I'm an idiot. I'm usually very selective about who I buy my reptiles from. I went to Dr. Seward to purchase my banded gila, I went to Ron St. Pierre to purchase my red tegus, and so on. I had every intention of doing the same with my first indigo but I screwed up....big time!
I've been researching Texas Indigos for quite a while and had saved up the money to purchase one. First, I contacted Dean Allessandrini who seemed like a great guy. He was sold out of babies but put me on the list for next year. (I definitely hope to get one of his babies next year). Next I contacted Virgil Willis...another great guy. He had one female hatchling but wasn't sure if he wanted to get rid of it and told me he'd get back to me. I had placed some ads in the classifieds and got a response from a guy who said he had a captive born, healthy, feeding 2 1/2 year old female and agreed to sell it for $350 shipped. This seemed like a great deal even though I had never heard of this guy before. I agreed to purchase this snake. A few days later Virgil Willis got back to me and offered to sell the female. I told him that I had agreed to purchase another indigo and couldn't afford both. He was very understanding and even offered to help me with any questions I had with my new indigo (again, a really good guy).
The person I purchased the snake from is Michael Crowder from Las Vegas. I had a gut feeling that this deal was too good to be true and I was getting bad feelings about this guy. Still, like an idiot, I sent this guy a money order.
The snake was shipped to my work yesterday and arrived in horrendous condition. The snake had a large abscess and retained eye caps that look like they have been on forever. The snake has such severe conjunctivitis in the left eye that the conjunctiva is actually swollen out around the entire eye.
When I tried to call Michael I found that he had given me a wrong #. He doesn't answer his emails (his email address is ct2608@aol.com). Fortunately, I have an excellent reptile vet and was able to get the snake in there first thing this morning. He lanced the abscess and is sending the samples of for cytology. He irrigated the abscess and has started her on Baytril until we get the results back. We were unable to remove the severely retained eye cap that is virtually cemented on. I am administering baytril at home and have an appt to bring her back in a week. We're hoping that the eye cap will be easier to deal with when the conjunctivitis subsides a little. He also performed a fecal exam which was suprisingly negative. We're going to recheck that next week as well with a better sample.
I'm glad in a way that this magnificent snake is out of this jerk's hands but I'm obviously angry that I was misled and even more angry that this indigo was mistreated and neglected by him. I plan to spend whatever it takes to return this indigo to the condition it deserves. I also plan to persue this conman to the fullest extent. I'm not the kind of person who would make public accusations without proof. I have all of our correspondence saved if anyone is interested. This photo should speak for itself...this is the indigo as I received it yesterday morning.
Needless to say, if you're going to purchase an indigo buy it from one of the reputable breeders who frequent this forum and seem to show a true love for the snakes they breed. I've learned my lesson.
I'll post updates of this girl's condition as she hopefully improves.
Chris
***By the way, I did some name dropping in this post and just so there is no confusion...
Dean Allessandrini and Virgil Willis = great guys and reputable breeders
Michael Crowder = dirtbag
