• 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.

Good Guy Ben and Brenda Howard of Fire n' Ice Geckos

Flashpoint

Flashpoint

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Ben and Brenda Howard of Fire n' Ice Geckos are small-time Leopard Gecko breeders located in North Dakota.
Last fall I purchased an enigma morph leopard gecko from Ben and Brenda at Fire n' Ice Geckos. I was a young, rather excited buyer, as it was going to be my second leopard gecko, and I had a lot of questions. Before the sale was made they were very willing to answer my questions and talk to me about the gecko.

The shipping went almost smoothly (there was an issue with the delivery guy taking the gecko to the campus mail room instead of the house I was in, but that was no fault of the Howards, just the dumb delivery man). The gecko was well-packed, nice and warm, and looked great when she was taken out. Being an enigma gecko, I was worried about ES, though they had said she showed no signs of ES. She did not have any worrisome issues after shipping, which I know can cause a lot of stress, and has continued to not need any of the extra care that enigmas can sometimes need. She grew fast and has been very healthy, and she has grown into a beautiful gecko.

Afterwards I have sent pictures to them every once in a blue moon to keep them updated on the little cutie. Once I sent them a picture where it was clear she was on sand, and the Howards made a point to message me back telling me the dangers of the sand. Even though I knew about it by that time and was planning on getting her off the sand very soon, I appreciated their kind words of warning. They were not harsh or derogatory towards me at all, and to me their speaking up showed that they were still concerned about the health and safety of the gecko, which I very much appreciated. I also recently asked if they happened to have any hatchling pictures of my gecko as I was curious, and they responded in their usual timely manner and actually did still have a picture of her as a baby, which was awesome.

I highly recommend working with Ben and Brenda Howard. They were kind and friendly to an overexcited newbie before, during, and after the sale, their stock is beautiful, and they respond in a timely manner. Very professional people and I very much enjoyed doing business and my later correspondences with them. It was a great experience for a young gecko owner to deal with such nice people. The gecko they sent me is admittedly my favorite of the two, because of how pretty she is and how awesome her personality is. She is the one I can let even my most nervous friend hold without fear of her doing something to scare them, or them doing something to scare her. Good people with good geckos!
 
This is a second review of Ben and Brenda Howard.

Nearly two years later, I decided I wanted to buy another leopard gecko. During my casual searching, I saw that the Howards had obtained a young Total Eclipse Enigma for their breeding stock. Very cool looking animal, and I mentioned to them that I wanted a gecko like this and would be keeping an eye out. This animal ended up becoming a breeder male for the next season, and he produced several TEE offspring. On one of their photos, I mentioned again how much I wanted one, and they remembered my previous mentioning of it. In fact, I learned after my purchase that they had held off selling either one of their young TEEs to another person because they told her someone else had first pick (me, apparently). The second transaction with them went just as smoothly as the first, even when we had to suddenly had to have her shipped out due to a random break in the heat making shipping weather here perfect. The animal arrived healthy and happy. And I very much appreciate their memory on one of their customer's desires to such degree.

These are great people with great animals, and I continue to recommend them highly!
 
Hello

Flashpoint said:
Ben and Brenda Howard of Fire n' Ice Geckos are small-time Leopard Gecko breeders located in North Dakota.
Last fall I purchased an enigma morph leopard gecko from Ben and Brenda at Fire n' Ice Geckos. I was a young, rather excited buyer, as it was going to be my second leopard gecko, and I had a lot of questions. Before the sale was made they were very willing to answer my questions and talk to me about the gecko.

The shipping went almost smoothly (there was an issue with the delivery guy taking the gecko to the campus mail room instead of the house I was in, but that was no fault of the Howards, just the dumb delivery man). The gecko was well-packed, nice and warm, and looked great when she was taken out. Being an enigma gecko, I was worried about ES, though they had said she showed no signs of ES. She did not have any worrisome issues after shipping, which I know can cause a lot of stress, and has continued to not need any of the extra care that enigmas can sometimes need. She grew fast and has been very healthy, and she has grown into a beautiful gecko.

Afterwards I have sent pictures to them every once in a blue moon to keep them updated on the little cutie. Once I sent them a picture where it was clear she was on sand, and the Howards made a point to message me back telling me the dangers of the sand. Even though I knew about it by that time and was planning on getting her off the sand very soon, I appreciated their kind words of warning. They were not harsh or derogatory towards me at all, and to me their speaking up showed that they were still concerned about the health and safety of the gecko, which I very much appreciated. I also recently asked if they happened to have any hatchling pictures of my gecko as I was curious, and they responded in their usual timely manner and actually did still have a picture of her as a baby, which was awesome.

I highly recommend working with Ben and Brenda Howard. They were kind and friendly to an overexcited newbie before, during, and after the sale, their stock is beautiful, and they respond in a timely manner. Very professional people and I very much enjoyed doing business and my later correspondences with them. It was a great experience for a young gecko owner to deal with such nice people. The gecko they sent me is admittedly my favorite of the two, because of how pretty she is and how awesome her personality is. She is the one I can let even my most nervous friend hold without fear of her doing something to scare them, or them doing something to scare her. Good people with good geckos!
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I have nothing against Ben and Howard but ES is a genetic problem. It is very likely that you gecko would start showing signs of ES later down the road. They are great people,however the Enigma morph is risky to buy from anyone.
 
The Magic maker said:
I have nothing against Ben and Howard but ES is a genetic problem. It is very likely that you gecko would start showing signs of ES later down the road. They are great people,however the Enigma morph is risky to buy from anyone.
Click to expand...

I am well aware of this fact. However responsible breeding of enigmas helps reduce the chances of such issues in offspring. The gecko from the first transaction is just over two years old now and still shows no signs of ES, which typically can show up within the first three years of life. The second one is obviously still young, not even full grown yet. This thread is not about the risk associated with Enigma though, this thread is about my two very pleasant and issue-free transactions with Ben and Brenda Howard. They just happen to both involve enigmas. Lets keep this BOI thread focused on what is important.
 
reply

Flashpoint said:
I am well aware of this fact. However responsible breeding of enigmas helps reduce the chances of such issues in offspring. The gecko from the first transaction is just over two years old now and still shows no signs of ES, which typically can show up within the first three years of life. The second one is obviously still young, not even full grown yet. This thread is not about the risk associated with Enigma though, this thread is about my two very pleasant and issue-free transactions with Ben and Brenda Howard. They just happen to both involve enigmas. Lets keep this BOI thread focused on what is important.
Click to expand...

we are keeping it on whats important the geckos..... They are great but no breeder can change that genetic in the enigma..
 
Thank you for your input Christian. Yes, the Enigma gene certainly makes for interesting discussions, but the Board of Inquiry is not the place for them. The BOI is a place for buyers/sellers to review their transactions with other buyers/sellers. If you would like to discuss morphs and genetics, there is a separate category on this site and others to do so. Facebook is another great place as well. I would love to talk about the Enigma gene and our experiences with it in a forum for such discussions.
We've had two very pleasant transactions with Meredith, and countless other conversations throughout. She is an excellent customer and friend, and would absolutely recommend doing business with her to anyone.
 
No one should have any questions about Brenda and Ben.

They rock, end of story.
 
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