• Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================

    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Bad Guy William Gangemi (at repticon)

You thought the skink would be more likely to eat if you balanced the food on his head?
 
Re: Raspberry and Vet Paper

No, of course didn’t think putting the food on his head would help him eat. I balanced the raspberry there for just long enough to get the photo while he was laying still, before offering him pieces of it.

As for the paperwork from my vet, I got it yesterday and was shocked. The page they gave me was one I had never seen before. Dr. Talbott marked everything as normal, and only down at the bottom did he note that my skink was thin at his pelvis and neck, had runny and frequent stools, and was lethargic. However, in the visit, he was telling me how thin my skink looked and how he thought the marks on my skink looked like burns. At my last visit (for my crestie), he apologized for the loss of my skink and told me “Something was not right. He was sick before you got him.” However, the paper did list everything as normal?? The only thing he told me to do was boost my belly heat and cover a portion of the tank to keep the heated air circulating to ensure the skink wasn’t breathing air that was too cold. I did both (covered half of tank top, added UTH) and my temperatures and humidity were (still) in the same perfect range at all times up until my skink died. The vet also had written on the paperwork that the issues had been going on for “a few weeks” when I had explicitly told him the exact number of days I had the skink (less than a week at the time of the appointment).

I am so bewildered and embarrassed, and am doing a lot more research into this vet and other vets, even if it means I have to drive an hour to each appointment. I do, however, still believe something was wrong with my skink before I purchased him. My vet did no internal exams or fecal tests, just visually inspected him. As has been said many times, blue tongues are hardy and nothing at all happened in the week I had him that would cause death. He was offered healthy food in a environment with perfect heat and humidity, and was handled very very minimally. Same with Laurendalee’s skink; I cant imagine a “bulletproof” “fat garbage disposal” could go from perfectly healthy to dead in 20 hours unless it was outright poisoned.

However, because of the issues with the vet, I cannot definitely say William was responsible for the death of my animal. Personally, I will not support him further for my own peace of mind and because I do believe there was something wrong with my skink, but I have no hard data to support it.

I apologize to everyone, but I refuse to continue speaking out without evidence other than suspicion. I plan on trying another vet even though I took my Crestie to Dr. Talbott and he is doing beautifully. I know the much more experienced keepers here will make their own informed decisions about whether or not William is a reliable breeder.
 
dishay said:
No, of course didn’t think putting the food on his head would help him eat. I balanced the raspberry there for just long enough to get the photo while he was laying still, before offering him pieces of it.

As for the paperwork from my vet, I got it yesterday and was shocked. The page they gave me was one I had never seen before. Dr. Talbott marked everything as normal, and only down at the bottom did he note that my skink was thin at his pelvis and neck, had runny and frequent stools, and was lethargic. However, in the visit, he was telling me how thin my skink looked and how he thought the marks on my skink looked like burns. At my last visit (for my crestie), he apologized for the loss of my skink and told me “Something was not right. He was sick before you got him.” However, the paper did list everything as normal?? The only thing he told me to do was boost my belly heat and cover a portion of the tank to keep the heated air circulating to ensure the skink wasn’t breathing air that was too cold. I did both (covered half of tank top, added UTH) and my temperatures and humidity were (still) in the same perfect range at all times up until my skink died. The vet also had written on the paperwork that the issues had been going on for “a few weeks” when I had explicitly told him the exact number of days I had the skink (less than a week at the time of the appointment).

I am so bewildered and embarrassed, and am doing a lot more research into this vet and other vets, even if it means I have to drive an hour to each appointment. I do, however, still believe something was wrong with my skink before I purchased him. My vet did no internal exams or fecal tests, just visually inspected him. As has been said many times, blue tongues are hardy and nothing at all happened in the week I had him that would cause death. He was offered healthy food in a environment with perfect heat and humidity, and was handled very very minimally. Same with Laurendalee’s skink; I cant imagine a “bulletproof” “fat garbage disposal” could go from perfectly healthy to dead in 20 hours unless it was outright poisoned.

However, because of the issues with the vet, I cannot definitely say William was responsible for the death of my animal. Personally, I will not support him further for my own peace of mind and because I do believe there was something wrong with my skink, but I have no hard data to support it.

I apologize to everyone, but I refuse to continue speaking out without evidence other than suspicion. I plan on trying another vet even though I took my Crestie to Dr. Talbott and he is doing beautifully. I know the much more experienced keepers here will make their own informed decisions about whether or not William is a reliable breeder.
Click to expand...

Can you please post pictures or scans of the paperwork?
 
I don’t have access to a working scanner at the moment, so hopefully this picture is okay.
df2dX


Some notes: The black line is my last name. Blocked it out for safety. Also, I know a 20 gal is too small. It was a temporary enclosure while I monitored him and found a good solid permanent home for him. The woman at Gangemi’s booth with him told me my skink could be kept in a plastic tub and fed regular canned cat food, so I doubt the 20 gal is what did him in.
 
The picture is not showing up on my end. Hopefully it shows up on yours. Let me know if not.
 
I don't see a picture, the best way to upload it is to hit "go advanced" for your post, then "manage attachments" and upload it as an attachment. And yeah, from what you have said I really doubt your care was what made the skink sick.
 
I would definitely try to seek out a new vet for future reptile exams. Prescribing panacur without doing a fecal exam is not what a thorough vet would do. Getting some information wrong on the paperwork, and marking things he did not examine as "normal" is not a great practice either.

I'm still pretty concerned about the other customer who suddenly had a complete change of heart about his experience, but is not saying why. Thank you for sharing the paperwork and your experience with this seller.
 
meowmeowkazoo said:
Oberon is the skink's name. :p Vets usually use the pet's first name and then give it your last name.
Click to expand...

Still doesn't explain why he felt the need to black out his last name, if the last name provided is indeed his last name. Just makes me suspicious.
 
dishay said:
Some notes: The black line is my last name. Blocked it out for safety.
Click to expand...
Curious, if your last name is already listed on your Fauna profile, why the need to remove it from the paperwork?
 
You’re absolutely right, that was dumb of me. I forgot my full name was listed. :face_palm_02: And yes, Oberon was the skink’s name, from Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Here is the unedited paper.
 

Attachments

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    41E27464-3963-4EF6-B0EC-7863EA874F45.jpg
    304.3 KB · Views: 802
dishay said:
You’re absolutely right, that was dumb of me. I forgot my full name was listed. :face_palm_02: And yes, Oberon was the skink’s name, from Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Here is the unedited paper.
Click to expand...

I realized Oberon was the skink's name 5 seconds after I hit post.
 
Even had old Taz in the article. That’s a face I don’t miss seeing at Columbia. Is Rance really gonna hang it up?
 
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