Death of recent purchase

[marcmarc]

Howdy Guys,

I have just come home from work tonight to find one of my Milli had died. I had noticed that it wasn't moving very well for the last couple of days and I was going to take it to the vet on Monday. The thing is that I had only bought it on the 23rd of last month, should I contact the pet shop where I bought it from? Complain etc?

Does anyone else have any sort of experience in this area?. I am a frequent purchaser from this particular shop and I am really dissapointed, and sad for the little guy.

 

[missllama]

can u pm me with the name of the shop u bought it from?
im also from adel

what was it like when u bought it?

 

[gecko-mad]

one of my geckos had a scab over an eye and couldnt hunt propably so the poor little fella starved to death. whered you get your milli from?

 

[Ramsayi]

A lot of things can happen in the space of a week or in your case two.Unfortunately livestock don't come with a 20,000 km/12 month warranty.There are so many possibilities as to why it died so unless you actually know why it died you really should just put it down to "one of those things" .

 

[missllama]

says it all that i guesed the shop first go id say its the shops fault, if u saw it and there reps rams u would understand

there is a chance it might not be there fault, but after going in there seeing multiple reps fitting in there enclosures etc and having staff not even know what a monitor is when they have them in stock.... id say chances are higher that the rep had problems when he bought it

id be calling them up, i wouldnt be getting another rep from them id be wanting a refund and going elswhere

try URS or the gully rep centa in adel u might have better luck with them

sorry about ur gecko

 

[marcmarc]

It looked a bit "off colour" when I bought it, I should have known better. So should have the shop when I bought it I guess. I'll see what the shop has to say before I say anything about them on these forums as well.

 

[Ramsayi]

It looked a bit "off colour" when I bought it, I should have known better. So should have the shop when I bought it I guess. I'll see what the shop has to say before I say anything about them on these forums as well.

Ok what do you consider as "looking off colour ? "
Also if you suspected that something was wrong did you take any steps to actually find out and did you contact the shop right away?

 

[marcmarc]

Cheers Missllamathuen, I think I might just stick with Reptile City. Even though it is a long drive for me, at least they know what they are talking about and offer quality animals.

 

[missllama]

was it eating ok etc when u got it?
its actual body what sort of condition was it in? like its legs etc? was it moving normally or was it moving its legs wierd at all?
beacuse i know that the place i asked u if it was has had alot of reps lacking in calcium etc thats been the main prob with there reps in the past

 

[marcmarc]

I only suspected it was not well last night, wasn't moving as well as it should. I was going to take it to the vet when I could. I thought the colour thing was onset of shedding, will contact shop to see what they say.
I have kept another milli for over a year without any problem, and I really don't think I was doing anything wrong.

 

[missllama]

mmm i dont know then, let the shop know that its dead, they might not offer a refund or anything but in the future i wouldnt reccomend buying from there, not just the reps that get treated that way the dogs etc have also been in horrible conditions when i have gone there

 

[pythons73]

I had the same thing happen to me,after 9 days,but it was a baby snake,and it wasnt a petshop.After getting a autopsy done,it was revealled that it had a infection,and with being transported the bacteria progressed alot quicker resulting in death after 9 days.The seller could not have known.

 

[kensai]

Another place to get good animals direct from the breeders is the herp group, PM me if you need details

 

[pythons-rock!]

I've been keeping this species for about 15 years, and can say from my experiences that specimens can be anywhere from bullet proof to very susceptible to problems. If it was 'off colour' when you bought it there would have been a pre existing issue, which stress from a new environment would exacerbate tremendously. Like most reptiles they tend to die slowly until stressed out. Unless its problem was really obvious, the vet can only guess without extensive sampling of blood, faeces, etc. The most problematic issues health wise I've noticed/ heard of are a lack of calcium as youngsters, being overheated, multiple males kept together, dehydration, lack of privacy/overhandling timid specimens, or hidden internal health problems. I lost several specimens due to the last heat wave no matter how hard I tried to crank the air con, so heat is the big one for this species. If maintained correctly, they last many, many years and are fond of handling, and even being hand fed. Don't let this one off experience put you off milii

 

[marcmarc]

When I contacted the shop they were quite apologetic, I was able to swap for another one without problem. I took a bit more care to get a healty specimen, and will remember to take a bit more care in future. I was happy with the shop as well, as essentially it was not their problem any more.
I still love my milli and am not put off by this in the slightest, I just have to master the ability to sex them!!
Thanks everyone!!