ballchick90
Member
Kyle Kaylor (kgkreptile84) had placed an ad for a male leachianus gecko. It was titled "Gecko Gt mtkrogis", which I assumed meant Mt. Koghis. The ad said the animal was a 3 year old male. I needed a male, and he had him listed for $500 - a deal for an adult male. There was only one picture attached, an extremely blurry, sideways picture that looked like it had been taken with a cell phone from 2003. I couldn't really make out what the gecko looked like, or if it was male or female. This is where I should have just walked away.
I sent Kyle a pm on here on June 8th 2016 asking him to email or text me more pictures, because the one on the ad was blurry and I couldn't make it out. He texted me later that day a picture of the gecko's left side...still couldn't make out the sex, but it was a clearer photo. It didn't even look like the same animal. I went to the "details" of the image on my phone, which shows the date. June 8, 2016. I then went to the details of the picture on the ad...April 17, 2012. Something wasn't adding up. The gecko was supposedly 3 years old, but the photo on the ad was over 5 years old? I told Kyle about the 2012 date, he shrugged it off as it being because he got a new phone.
I asked Kyle if he was sure the gecko was male, he said yes, that he had sired clutches. He sent me a picture of a cute hatchling, saying he was the sire. That was enough evidence for me to go through with buying him, even though I still had an uneasy feeling about him.
Looking back at that hatchling picture now, it looks like he took a picture with his phone of a baby leachianus from the internet. I should have noticed that, but I was blinded by wanting the animal.
I asked Kyle if he had facebook, because I like to know who I'm buying from is a legit person. He said he didn't have facebook, but that I could look him up on youtube with his geckos. I asked what his handle was, and he said he didn't have one, just made the front page of his local paper. I googled it and there was indeed an article about him and his crested geckos, with a video. Still a bit weird he didn't have facebook. I asked him for a picture of the gecko next to a piece of paper with today's date. He sent me a blurry picture of the gecko's underside through its mesh cage, with today's date.
We decided for shipping to my fedex hub on monday June 12, 2016. I paid $50 for shipping. I asked if he used shipyourreptiles through fedex, and that I wanted their live arrival insurance. He said he uses fedex. He then said he could also do USPS - another red flag. I said no, fedex priority overnight with live arrival insurance. I then sent him the $550.
A few hours later I asked if he booked the shipment, and if he could send the tracking number. He said fedex is picking it up at his house because he doesn't have a hub. I asked if he put insurance on him, or if he was going to personally guarantee live arrival. He said that he did put insurance on him. I was concerned about it being warm out, and that he needed to picked up as late as possible monday. Kyle said that he would be in ac during transit. I told him that fedex trucks don't have ac, to which he replied that the animal would be in the cab with the driver.
Monday morning comes, I text him at 8:30 asking for the tracking number. At this point, Kyle had been replying to my texts within minutes. 4 hours goes by with no reply. I text again asking for tracking. Two more hours go by. I'm getting paranoid, so I text again asking if I should file a paypal claim. He then replies with "sorry fedx should be showing up anytime now". I said that's great, but if he made a label the tracking number is right there. He said they have to make the label when they pick him up. I asked what time are they picking him up, he said between 1-3. This is at 2:59 my time, but Kyle is one hour behind me. I text about an hour later asking if they got him. He said no, and that he has to go to work at 4, so if they don't get him in a few minutes it will have to be tomorrow. I told him that fedex wouldn't just not pick him up, and ask for the tracking number again, or I will file a paypal claim. He said "call fedx yourself and ask they print it up at the door when i am paying for it they are picking him at 9 oclock tomorrow". He then said he will give me my money back because he has two others interested, but that I'm eating the paypal fee. He then tried to call me a couple of times. I was driving and didn't answer, plus I wanted everything in writing. I said that 9 is too early, he will be in a hot truck all day. He then said that he will be in the cab with the driver, and that he's using an "ice pack".
Tuesday June 13, I text him at 10:45 asking if they picked him up. He said sorry, that he thought he sent me the tracking. I look it up and it's a real tracking number.
Wednesday June 14, I told Kyle I will pick up the gecko on my lunch break at 11. Kyle says fedex got an earful from him, about not coming monday and the driver. I asked what they did. He said he was told that the fedex driver would wait for everything to be packed up, but when they got there they told him he had two minutes.
I went to fedex thinking that after all this, I was probably going to open a box to either a dead gecko or water bottles. I get there, and they bring out a luvs diaper box. A DIAPER BOX that has "live animal" written on the side! There are a few holes on the top of the box. I am convinced there will be a dead animal inside.
I open the box...to a 6 quart tub with a couple of paper towels around it. There's also an ice pack in the box, like the kind you put in a child's lunchbox. I open the tub to a live leachianus gecko. A sigh of relief. I quickly look the gecko over. It's skinny, but alive. It looks female...I tell Kyle the gecko looks female and he says "It is a male promise". I didn't make a big deal about the animal being skinny, as I can fix that with proper feeding. I told him using a diaper box to ship an animal is not right. He says the driver was supposed to bring one but didn't, and it was the only box he had.
I took her home, set her up in her tub and went back to work. When I got home, I looked at her again. Layers upon layers of stuck shed were all over her toes/toenails. I spent 45 minutes soaking her feet and picking the shed off with qtips. I started to realize how skinny she really was. Her spine was protruding, and her face looked sunken in. I fed her that night, and she ate an entire 1.5 oz cup of pangea within minutes. I filled the cup back up about halfway, and she ate most of that.
At this point, I'm just wanting to be done with Kyle, even though he LIED to me about the gecko being male. On Friday June 16, I text him one last time saying that I would have never bought this animal had I known it was female. No reply.
I never did hear back from Kyle. I decided to post this to make others aware. I should have went with my gut and never did business with him, but I was so excited about the animal I ignored the red flags. He lied about the sex of the animal and shipped her to me in a diaper box. The worst part being he neglected her. I have continued to feed her every other day, a full cup of pangea. She devours it every time, sometimes I refill. How is it that a gecko that loves to eat was so skinny?
I have attached our entire text conversation, all photos, and pictures of how he shipped her to me. Also a picture that shows what she looked like the day I got her, compared to now.
Buyer beware.
I sent Kyle a pm on here on June 8th 2016 asking him to email or text me more pictures, because the one on the ad was blurry and I couldn't make it out. He texted me later that day a picture of the gecko's left side...still couldn't make out the sex, but it was a clearer photo. It didn't even look like the same animal. I went to the "details" of the image on my phone, which shows the date. June 8, 2016. I then went to the details of the picture on the ad...April 17, 2012. Something wasn't adding up. The gecko was supposedly 3 years old, but the photo on the ad was over 5 years old? I told Kyle about the 2012 date, he shrugged it off as it being because he got a new phone.
I asked Kyle if he was sure the gecko was male, he said yes, that he had sired clutches. He sent me a picture of a cute hatchling, saying he was the sire. That was enough evidence for me to go through with buying him, even though I still had an uneasy feeling about him.
Looking back at that hatchling picture now, it looks like he took a picture with his phone of a baby leachianus from the internet. I should have noticed that, but I was blinded by wanting the animal.
I asked Kyle if he had facebook, because I like to know who I'm buying from is a legit person. He said he didn't have facebook, but that I could look him up on youtube with his geckos. I asked what his handle was, and he said he didn't have one, just made the front page of his local paper. I googled it and there was indeed an article about him and his crested geckos, with a video. Still a bit weird he didn't have facebook. I asked him for a picture of the gecko next to a piece of paper with today's date. He sent me a blurry picture of the gecko's underside through its mesh cage, with today's date.
We decided for shipping to my fedex hub on monday June 12, 2016. I paid $50 for shipping. I asked if he used shipyourreptiles through fedex, and that I wanted their live arrival insurance. He said he uses fedex. He then said he could also do USPS - another red flag. I said no, fedex priority overnight with live arrival insurance. I then sent him the $550.
A few hours later I asked if he booked the shipment, and if he could send the tracking number. He said fedex is picking it up at his house because he doesn't have a hub. I asked if he put insurance on him, or if he was going to personally guarantee live arrival. He said that he did put insurance on him. I was concerned about it being warm out, and that he needed to picked up as late as possible monday. Kyle said that he would be in ac during transit. I told him that fedex trucks don't have ac, to which he replied that the animal would be in the cab with the driver.
Monday morning comes, I text him at 8:30 asking for the tracking number. At this point, Kyle had been replying to my texts within minutes. 4 hours goes by with no reply. I text again asking for tracking. Two more hours go by. I'm getting paranoid, so I text again asking if I should file a paypal claim. He then replies with "sorry fedx should be showing up anytime now". I said that's great, but if he made a label the tracking number is right there. He said they have to make the label when they pick him up. I asked what time are they picking him up, he said between 1-3. This is at 2:59 my time, but Kyle is one hour behind me. I text about an hour later asking if they got him. He said no, and that he has to go to work at 4, so if they don't get him in a few minutes it will have to be tomorrow. I told him that fedex wouldn't just not pick him up, and ask for the tracking number again, or I will file a paypal claim. He said "call fedx yourself and ask they print it up at the door when i am paying for it they are picking him at 9 oclock tomorrow". He then said he will give me my money back because he has two others interested, but that I'm eating the paypal fee. He then tried to call me a couple of times. I was driving and didn't answer, plus I wanted everything in writing. I said that 9 is too early, he will be in a hot truck all day. He then said that he will be in the cab with the driver, and that he's using an "ice pack".
Tuesday June 13, I text him at 10:45 asking if they picked him up. He said sorry, that he thought he sent me the tracking. I look it up and it's a real tracking number.
Wednesday June 14, I told Kyle I will pick up the gecko on my lunch break at 11. Kyle says fedex got an earful from him, about not coming monday and the driver. I asked what they did. He said he was told that the fedex driver would wait for everything to be packed up, but when they got there they told him he had two minutes.
I went to fedex thinking that after all this, I was probably going to open a box to either a dead gecko or water bottles. I get there, and they bring out a luvs diaper box. A DIAPER BOX that has "live animal" written on the side! There are a few holes on the top of the box. I am convinced there will be a dead animal inside.
I open the box...to a 6 quart tub with a couple of paper towels around it. There's also an ice pack in the box, like the kind you put in a child's lunchbox. I open the tub to a live leachianus gecko. A sigh of relief. I quickly look the gecko over. It's skinny, but alive. It looks female...I tell Kyle the gecko looks female and he says "It is a male promise". I didn't make a big deal about the animal being skinny, as I can fix that with proper feeding. I told him using a diaper box to ship an animal is not right. He says the driver was supposed to bring one but didn't, and it was the only box he had.
I took her home, set her up in her tub and went back to work. When I got home, I looked at her again. Layers upon layers of stuck shed were all over her toes/toenails. I spent 45 minutes soaking her feet and picking the shed off with qtips. I started to realize how skinny she really was. Her spine was protruding, and her face looked sunken in. I fed her that night, and she ate an entire 1.5 oz cup of pangea within minutes. I filled the cup back up about halfway, and she ate most of that.
At this point, I'm just wanting to be done with Kyle, even though he LIED to me about the gecko being male. On Friday June 16, I text him one last time saying that I would have never bought this animal had I known it was female. No reply.
I never did hear back from Kyle. I decided to post this to make others aware. I should have went with my gut and never did business with him, but I was so excited about the animal I ignored the red flags. He lied about the sex of the animal and shipped her to me in a diaper box. The worst part being he neglected her. I have continued to feed her every other day, a full cup of pangea. She devours it every time, sometimes I refill. How is it that a gecko that loves to eat was so skinny?
I have attached our entire text conversation, all photos, and pictures of how he shipped her to me. Also a picture that shows what she looked like the day I got her, compared to now.
Buyer beware.
