Frustration with breeders' communication skills

[Olimpia]

A tad bit of a rant, but I've been looking to get a few African fat tailed geckos for a huge tank I have and I spent a couple weeks trying to find some available from a few different breeders I know have good reputations. All the conversations went a bit like this:

Me: Hi, do you have any AFTs available right now?
Breeder: Hi, yes I do.
Me: ...Do you have tangerines or amels?
(After a 2 day wait)
Breeder: Yes, I may have a few. I think I have a 1.3 amel group
Me: Great. How much are you asking for them and do you have photos?
(after 4 days of waiting for reply)
Breeder: Sorry, I only have the three females left.
Me: Ok, what are you asking for them and do you have photos?
Breeder: I sold one, I only have two females left. Let me know if interested.

.... I give up.
I could not for the life of me get a few breeders to just take the initiative and send me photos of their available animals and an asking price. I ended up finding another breeder that had an updated available page and just ordering from there. But man, it felt like pulling teeth.

I haven't faced that yet with anyone in the chameleon community, but boy, these gecko people need to catch up

I will post photos of the three girls I ended up getting when they arrive tomorrow. They're going into a big beautiful 55-65gal tank that is fully planted:

 

[Hoj]

sorry to hear about your frustration, but that tank sure looks nice.. i know nothing about geckos really but i bet they will be happy in there

 

[coldbloodedAL]

That sucks dealing w/ breeders like that, unfortunately i have experienced this with a breeder in our community.. I just take my business elsewhere.
That tank you have set up is awesome!

 

[fluxlizard]

Wow what a beautiful terrarium.

Anything you put in there is going to look great!

Get some pictus geckos instead. LOL

 

[Olimpia]

It's what I ended up doing, took my business to another site that did have a well up-dated available page. But it's a shame, because one of these guys lives only about an hour from me, so we could have saved ourselves the trouble of shipping and I would have put my money into a more local business. But can't force people to take the initiative!

Thanks, I think they should be pretty happy in there. It's dryer in there than it looks and their hides and hidden in the plants, so they should feel more secure.
Flux, those are neat geckos, but I had a couple amel fat tails a few years ago and I've always regretted selling them. So I got these three females to finally undo the regret lol

 

[K9Luvn]

How beautiful and well thought out. I can understand your frustration. Sounds like they really were not interested in getting photos out to you. I want to see photos before I make a drive or having something shipped.

 

[chamguy]

Awsome planted aquarium, makes me want to creat something similar with my 50 gallon.

 

[Olimpia]

Thank you!

Yea, or prices. I had the three I bought picked out, but I was waiting on two breeders to get back to me to compare and the decide, but I could tell that communication wasn't going anywhere.

They arrive tomorrow, so I'll be sure to post picks of them in the tank.

 

[ChameleonFan1989]

Sorry to hear of your frustration Olimpia glad you found another breeder though

I've only experienced this once with a local panther chameleon breeder near me. He has a website and he never updates it so ended up phoning his mobile phone and after 3 attemps he finally answered and as soon as I said the word Chameleon, he goes "I don't have any" LMAO didn't even give me time to inquire about anything or when he was breeding next so haven't botherd with him since lol

 

[Olimpia]

Ugh that sucks! I hate it when breeders never update their site, I wonder if they just assume that we're going to go chasing after them for info lol I ask if I think that maybe they have a few more that they haven't put up yet, but if the whole site hasn't been updated for 10 months then I give up.

 

[ChameleonFan1989]

I guess LOL I think everyone hates the chasing game to get any where and just puts you off with dealing with that particular breeder. The last time he had added something to his site was 2010, 2 years! LMAO

So in the end decided to get my next panther from Chameleoco and they responded within a few hours in the same day

http://www.chameleoco.co.uk/ there chams look AMAZING <3

 

[ChameleonRave]

Olimpia, I think I know someone who has some. I just sent them an email so if I get a response I will let you know! They are on Facebook.


Edit: They have one male left and it's $30. Shoot me a PM and I'll give you the name!

Okay, I read that wrong. :b If you would like the male I can get you in contact with my friend.

 

[laurie]

Ugh that sucks! I hate it when breeders never update their site, I wonder if they just assume that we're going to go chasing after them for info lol I ask if I think that maybe they have a few more that they haven't put up yet, but if the whole site hasn't been updated for 10 months then I give up.

How about if I send you a bunch of williamsi geckos to keep them company? But williamsi on get to about 2 1/2 inches so they might not play well with fat tails.

 

[clarkrw3]

First off that is a awesome tank Olimpia!!! Geckos are fun!

I have had some of the same experiences with gecko breeders and now somewhat know who to deal with. It seems that some really just want to sell at shows...while those of us on forums (cough..addicted...cough) Really want to deal with others like us that are always online.

I actually went back and forth with a breeder telling him what I wanted picking geckos and then he wouldn't send them because it was above 80 deg But that was fine I was in no hurry I paid anyway. Then when it was time for shipping he was wanting to trade out the geckos I had picked for others and toss in others....in the end he sent me a baby crested that had major shedding issues, just as a toss in....grrr Many Many hrs later the little guy is healthy but have you ever tried to deal with bad shedding issues on a 2.7g gecko.

I really think that a lot of it comes down to the fact that cham breeders have to be pretty anal about care and taking care of business because of the nature of the animals. Where as geckos are pretty easy to care for and breed.

 

[Ace]

First off that is a awesome tank Olimpia!!! Geckos are fun!

I have had some of the same experiences with gecko breeders and now somewhat know who to deal with. It seems that some really just want to sell at shows...while those of us on forums (cough..addicted...cough) Really want to deal with others like us that are always online.

I actually went back and forth with a breeder telling him what I wanted picking geckos and then he wouldn't send them because it was above 80 deg But that was fine I was in no hurry I paid anyway. Then when it was time for shipping he was wanting to trade out the geckos I had picked for others and toss in others....in the end he sent me a baby crested that had major shedding issues, just as a toss in....grrr Many Many hrs later the little guy is healthy but have you ever tried to deal with bad shedding issues on a 2.7g gecko.

I really think that a lot of it comes down to the fact that cham breeders have to be pretty anal about care and taking care of business because of the nature of the animals. Where as geckos are pretty easy to care for and breed.

Anal breeders , yes=good/detailed

Anal customers, no= bad/annoying lol

lol jokes aside, i agree, been wanting a bearded dragon for the longest, and a few geckos too, got any tips as far as breeders to consider?

 

[Olimpia]

How about if I send you a bunch of williamsi geckos to keep them company? But williamsi on get to about 2 1/2 inches so they might not play well with fat tails.

You know that I reeeeallly wanted a few of those to go in my other large tank (I'll attach another photo) but I decided at the time that since I had less money that I would buy a single Standing's day gecko instead of having to spend like $200 for a nice little colony of them. Now I could but not at the time. Ugh, Laurie. Why do you tempt me? lol They are one of my favorite day geckos, them and peacock geckos.

 

[Olimpia]

I agree, maybe it's that. The popular geckos are pretty easy to care for, so they perhaps don't have to be so detail-oriented. Especially because geckos live in little racks or small cages, so have a few extra geckos isn't going to be a problem, where as every chameleon that doesn't go to a home is another 2x2x3-4' cage that's taking up room + UV lights (Which we know get expensive).

Ace, PM me and I can give you my thoughts on who are good breeders. With beardies I know of a few because my roommates had beardies but with geckos I know a lot more, depending on what you're looking for.

 

[Olimpia]

Here are the girls, they arrived this morning right before 10am and have since disappeared into their separate little hides. They are super cute! I put them into the tank and they all continued sleeping for a few minutes before going off to find a better spot, I forgot how lazy these geckos are.

Still thinking about names. Considering going with literary names like I usually do, Antigone, Desdemona, and Minerva.

Girl #1 - Nice goldeny colored amel

Girl #2

Girl #3

 

[clarkrw3]

GREAT looking girls Olympia!! And they look really healthy.

Ace you can pm me too depending on what you are looking for I have most experience with Rhac species.

 

[K9Luvn]

Just beautiful!