Got my snakes in the mail today!

[RobbiesCornField]

From what I've heard about LLL's LOCAL locations, they're great. As far as shipments, I've only heard of two people who have had a good experience with their animals. The only good experience I had with them was a dry goods purchase. Every thing else, their customer service has been severely lacking, and their animals weren't very healthy in the least. I'm just sharing my experiences.
Gene, one of the problems I had was with a Silver Queen hatchling. The one they sent me was already very slender (not quite skinny, but getting there). It didn't feed, and died about 3 weeks later. I had called them after the first week of non-feeding. They told me to bump my temperatures up to 92 degrees, because that's where they keep their hatchlings. I told them that mine were kept with a warm spot at 89, and a cool spot at 75. When the hatchling did die, I called them back, and they said because it was out of the 7 day replacement period, there was nothing they could do. When I asked to speak with a manager, I was told he was unavailable, and I should call back the next day. I did, and got the same story "Not available". After 2 weeks of that nonsense, and never getting through, I just considered myself out the money, and have not dealt with them since. I also know of several people who have also gotten non-feeding animals from them, hence my animosity towards LLL.

 

[TripleMoonsExotic]

I, personally, would NOT plan on breeding a corn with kinking like you describe.

I agree. You have no way of confirming that it isn't a genetic problem...You certainly can't take LLL's word for it since they sent the snake out with the defect without telling you in the first place.



As far as LLL's business practices, check the BOI. There's plenty of information there.

 

[Candy_Cane1]

LLL Reptile in So Cal are very upright and great people!
If you have a problem (which I have had once) they will fix it!
They are a fantastic company to deal with all around!
as far as USPS..??
quoting their site:
"All animal shipments are shipped Fed Ex Priority overnight directly to your door. Live arrival can only be guaranteed when temps. in route are between 35-90 degrees. If the package is delayed by the carrier, our guarantee still applies!"

"Notification of dissatisfaction must be made within 24 hours if you notice any problem upon arrival. If you have any questions or concerns, we expect you to call us first (we are open 7 days a week). "

So if its THE LLL Reptile I know well the prob is not a prob!

I've got a gut feeling about this company, and maybe its just because they sent out a kinked animal, but... if I couldent guarantee a live arival, I dont ship. Why waste the life of the animal at the sake of making a dollar? What if a problem accurs later than 24 hours? These are snakes, breathing animals, not computers. Parts cant be replaced by factories!
Call me juvinile, but I wouldent buy from a company willing to risk any animals health. That alone shows the quality of the care given to their animals. I would think that, in this buisness, if someone recives a kinked animal, that they should atleast be given a partial refund with no crying on the companys end, or atleast a replacement animal.

"We expect you to call us first" What if the person buying the cornsnake is a beginer, and dosent have resorces like you and I? Some problems arent as prominate as a kink, or dent. Can you imagion the dent on the outlook on snakes it would make for a new comer to recive a non-feeding animal? Maybe im just being a little mellow dramatic, but ..it'd make me think smelly things about the snake buisness if my first cornsnake was a dud.

What if the problem fails to appear untill after twenty four hours? is the person stuck with an failure of a customer service, or can they expect the people at LLL to really care about the animals they sent after their "Warrenty" expires? I know that someone like Don soderburg, kathy love, and LOADS of respectable breeders here on cornsnakes.com would give an arm or leg to make sure that their extended families where healthy.

To sum my worries up, I just think LLL is a little Fishy.

 

[ghosthousecorns]

They buy their snakes wholesale, I often see them advertising to buy wholesale lots on kingsnake classifieds so there is no way they can guarantee to have consistent quality of hatchlings. I am fairly sure most breeders would sell their better stock themselves and wholesale the less desirable ones. I think that may well explain why there has been a few people say they get nice snakes and others get kinked or non feeders. As far as shipping in cold weather, it can be done but both parties have to be willing to accept that there are risks involved and most breeders prefer to just wait for favorable temps.
You could have done a lot better if you wanted breeding stock IMO...

 

[hiddenhollowherp]

Yeah, I definitely will not be buying from these people again.

I was told that it was absolutely impossible that my snake had a kink in its tail. Considering I noticed the kink while she was still slithering around in her delicup, it couldn't have been due to my handling. Honestly, I can't think of anything that would cause a kink this.. Jagged, sharp? It looks like someone stuck her tail in a micro-crimper. The dent was the thing that concerned me more, because I see snakes with kinky tails all the time.

They offered me no.. Anything.. Concerning the dent. The attitude I received was "It's not our problem anymore." So, little Rose is going to the vet tomorrow afternoon, and I do believe she will suffice as a lovely little pet for the time being. Yeah, I don't really want to be one of those people who breeds defective snakes and lets their new owners deal with it. She's a very beautiful girl. Amelanistic with a gorgeous motley pattern. I'm proud to have her in my collection regardless of her fertility, even if she was bought to be bred.

 

[danielle]

Wow i can't believe they treated you that way. I have ordered crickets and tons of reptile supplies from them for years with no problems ever, but haven't ever ordered any live animals from them. I know as a breeder and hobbiest I would never sell someone a defective or injured animal unless they knew about the condition prior to the purchase. Is there any way this animal was injured while being shipped? I would take a picture and e-mail it to them if they still won't refund you I would post this experience on the BOI so others know and don't make the same mistake. I am glad you have accepted her as a pet and love her anyway, but I am curious what a dent or kink would look like in a snake- can you post pics here?

 

[hiddenhollowherp]

I've been told I should wait a bit longer before handling them again, which seems like a good idea to me, but if I can get a good shot of the dent through the glass, I'm gunna do it. It looks like the result of being clamped on with a deli-cup lid or closed in a exo-terra door or something.

 

[Candy_Cane1]

They buy their snakes wholesale, I often see them advertising to buy wholesale lots on kingsnake classifieds so there is no way they can guarantee to have consistent quality of hatchlings. I am fairly sure most breeders would sell their better stock themselves and wholesale the less desirable ones. I think that may well explain why there has been a few people say they get nice snakes and others get kinked or non feeders. As far as shipping in cold weather, it can be done but both parties have to be willing to accept that there are risks involved and most breeders prefer to just wait for favorable temps.
You could have done a lot better if you wanted breeding stock IMO...

Well, the impression I get from these guys is that they have breeding stock quality animals mixed with their not quite breeding stock quality animals. which is iffy with me, because I'd individually house each baby. Oh and a good company will let you know about kinks and dents. Or anything that might require more than regular care. Im not going to buy snakes or reptiles in general from them, simply because their gaurentee is weird.

 

[LostNFound]

oooooh let me tell you if they sent me a snake that was kinked and dented .... my hubby would have made sure i got to keep the girl and got my $$ back at the very least! you need to call and demand dont ask nicely, do say what can you do for me or what are you going to do for me call and say "you are going to rectify this ... this is what you are going to do ..." and tell them what you want. it works for him EVERYTIME he may not get exactly what he demanded but we always get something. if all else fails threaten bad press! good luck i hope she is healthy other than the kink and dent!

 

[Candy_Cane1]

I've been told I should wait a bit longer before handling them again, which seems like a good idea to me, but if I can get a good shot of the dent through the glass, I'm gunna do it. It looks like the result of being clamped on with a deli-cup lid or closed in a exo-terra door or something.

I'd think something like that would cause more tramatic results like cuts and bruises... there arent any scrapes, or the like on the area of the dent? I do hope your snake gets better, and dosent have any long lasting illnesses, or dissabilities.

 

[Candy_Cane1]

oooooh let me tell you if they sent me a snake that was kinked and dented .... my hubby would have made sure i got to keep the girl and got my $$ back at the very least! you need to call and demand dont ask nicely, do say what can you do for me or what are you going to do for me call and say "you are going to rectify this ... this is what you are going to do ..." and tell them what you want. it works for him EVERYTIME he may not get exactly what he demanded but we always get something. if all else fails threaten bad press! good luck i hope she is healthy other than the kink and dent!

I've honestly been thinking about making a note on this on Fauna, but i dont think its my place, really.

 

[LostNFound]

I've honestly been thinking about making a note on this on Fauna, but i dont think its my place, really.

but it is HHH's place! someone needs to otherwise they are going to continue to mistreat and send out sickly or injured snakes poor babies!!

BUT if HHH is gonna do it he should really make the threat before he posts so maybe they can be scared into rectifying the situation.

 

[TripleMoonsExotic]

If you read the BOI on LLL, the complaints on there are near always about their live animals. I believe this is a lesson learned to research before you buy.

Good luck with your new additions, HHH. She really shouldn't require any additional special care if the kinks are below the vent.

 

[ZoologyGirl]

I was always weary of LLL simply because they offer so many different kinds of animals...and seem to always have abundant supply. It seems too much like a puppy broker/puppy mill for reptiles/amphibians/'bugs' to me. Like someone else had mentioned it appears they buy up animals wholesale from breeders and then sell them themselves. To me it just reeks of a company that wants to make money rather than one that cares about the animals.

 

[ZoologyGirl]

...forgot to say good luck with your girl! Hope everything turns out as best as it can.

 

[Candy_Cane1]

but it is HHH's place! someone needs to otherwise they are going to continue to mistreat and send out sickly or injured snakes poor babies!!

BUT if HHH is gonna do it he should really make the threat before he posts so maybe they can be scared into rectifying the situation.

Yeah, i second what your saying, but ..if you think about it realisticly - is one scare from one customer out of quite possibly hundreds going to fix the problem?

 

[hiddenhollowherp]

The kinks are way below her vent, but the dent is close to it. Below it, but still close. There weren't any scrapes that I could see, but she really wasn't into being handled while I was trying to look at it, as if she was in discomfort. She's been very sluggish today. I was a little nervous about feeding her (incase the dent affects her digestion) but I gave her a live newborn pinky, which was a tasty (and rare) little treat as far as my feeding goes, and she's been up on her branch ever since, which is a good sign. I'm glad she can still climb.

I'm going to call them again after the vet appointment, at which my vet will try to determine exactly what sort of defect or injury she's got. They'll have my vet's number, and I plan to figure out exactly who/what is to blame for this, and when I do, that will be the person/company/thingamabobber I'll post about (somewhere). If I do get another snake, believe me, it won't be from these people.

 

[TandJ]

I had a single animal from LLL.. I had no problems with the animal what so ever.. As far as kinking goes, this is MHO only.. I think most kinking is not genetic, but it does happen..

A story of kinked animal... I bought a nice caramel many years ago, when I looked at the animal first hand, felt the spine etc, the spinal cord felt good and no apparent kinks.. However, on the two and half hour drive home, the little twerp managed to get himself about four kinks in his spine.. Not quite sure where or how the little feller got himself so kinked in a 4oz deli, but he did.. Maybe it was the heat home, maybe it came from the fight or flight syndrome ( not much of a flight from a sealed deli cup ) and managed to damage itself from wrapping itself up tightly around its stapled on water container.. I did not euthinise the animal, because I knew I had not missed any spinal defects that I suspect came from the logistic side of the formula..

However, in the OP's case, they should have immediately taken a very clear picture and got on the phone right away to LLL.. However by waiting a day or to, thinking it was nothing to be concerned about, it seemed more concivable to LLL ( I can only make the assumption ) that the animal may have gotten kinked by the new owner, thus making it the new owners issue.. I can't and won't express my opinion related to the company, as it speaks for itself, regardless of what the OP has made itself look like in prior posts, but my HO on the OP is not much needed here eithier as it should be rather clear from an earlier posst I made in this thread..


Regards.. Tim of T and J

 

[hiddenhollowherp]

Hmm. I need to just stop listening to people. First someone told me not to take pictures because it would be too stressful, now someone tells me I'm going to end up living in a shoe because I didn't take pictures.

My oh my, what ever shall I do?

Like I've said, Rose is going to the vet, and we will figure out exactly what the problem is, and if it's something to be concerned about. If it's a minor injury rather than a serious defect, I'm going to ask for the O.K. to breed her when she's bigger. Injuries aren't genetic, right?

 

[TandJ]

I would not offer you a replacement without picture proof within the hour of siging for the package, which is tracked.. Its the what is expected by most people do this.. *shrugs* Quite fair in my opinion..

If there is issues before the anal scale, I would not consider it.. You did say there was a big ole bump and a squashed tail.. Are injuries genetic? I think you know that answer.. read it for yourself over in your head and see if it makes sense..

Regards.. Tim of T and J