I was just perusing another web site where there was a thread concerning shipping of animals, arrival of "dead" animals, and what's the buyer's recourse. I use quotes around the word dead because oftentimes we want to think that the seller sent a dead animal, just to get our money. I doubt this is true, in the majority of cases, although I have no doubt it's been done by unscrupulous people.
There are things that can be done to avoid such disasters. One of the first things that come to mind are the heat packs that people use. These heat packs are activated by oxygen, and if you have enough of them in too small a space, they can use up the oxygen that the animal needs to breathe. Secondly, even if the day time temps seem acceptable in your neck of the woods, how about the night time temps? And if they're coming by airplane, those cargo holds aren't neccessarily pressurized, so those temps can get very cold. Thirdly, do a little research about the seller before you make the payment on your animal. There are new people coming into the business all the time, and it may take them a while to get a reputation, but they may still be known in the herp community. If they're already established, someone should have something to say about them.
Okay, now, as the seller you've made the deal. This can represent a whole new set of problems. You know you've sent the animal in a proper container, at the proper temperatures, and notified all the proper people that the animal was coming. On the other end things break down because the person forgot the animal was coming, and it sat in an airport cargo area for a day or two. Or, after picking it up, they left it in a cold vehicle while they went off to party. Or they left it in a hot car, while they went off to do something. These are scenarios they don't tell you. I guess you can accept the flack they'll throw at you via the internet. You can refund their money and never do business with them again. You can even try to replace the animal.
There's always two sides to these mishaps. But, speaking to the buyer, for peace of mind, spend a little money, travel to a show or sale, and buy the animal while you can look at it, and talk face-to-face with the seller.
Today, behind the shop building, our dog found this guy living in the shade of a willow tree. Scared her to death! Thankfully she's around snakes all the time, but never tries to harm them, or even go near them, for that matter. Since we mow in that area, we're going to release him further back in the property. Hope there are more...this was the first prairie king we've found; black rat snakes are much more common. Sometimes we have better luck here than when we purposefully go out looking!
