# Classifieds > Testimonials >  Www.floridaherps.com please avoid!!!

## verb408

I received my frogs today from www.FloridaHerps.com and I'm pissed off. No refund or replacement because frogs are not guaranteed. Meaning if they want they can send you already dead frogs or very unhealthy frogs 

Pictures speak louder than words so here you go. These photos were taken not even 30 mins after I received my package from FedEx

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## demon amphibians

How long did it take the shipment to arrive after being sent? That is just ridiculous. If i were you i would call the better business bureau. That is just bad business.

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## verb408

Not even 24 Hours

FedEx tracking number so you can tell nothing has been altered

558121838061

Date/Time
Activity

Location

- 

3/19/2013 - Tuesday

10:28 am
Delivered

SANTA CLARA, CA

8:18 am
On FedEx vehicle for delivery

SUNNYVALE, CA

8:04 am
At local FedEx facility

SUNNYVALE, CA

7:35 am
Delivery exception

SUNNYVALE, CA


Package at station, arrived after courier dispatch

6:20 am
Departed FedEx location

OAKLAND, CA

5:20 am
Arrived at FedEx location

OAKLAND, CA

3:02 am
Departed FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

- 

3/18/2013 - Monday

11:09 pm
Arrived at FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

8:19 pm
Left FedEx origin facility

MIRAMAR, FL

5:04 pm
Picked up

MIRAMAR, FL

4:01 pm
Shipment information sent to FedEx

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## Heather

This is very sad  :Frown: . I am sorry for your loss and for the poor little frogs.

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## Lynn

Terrible......just terrible
They should _ step up to the plate_  and give a refund despite their "policy". 
Lynn

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## Bruce

This is just sick... I would check into some kind of animal safety/wellbeing authority and see if you can't get this place audited.  This is sheer neglect!

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## verb408

I am now filing a complaint with them to BBB

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CJ PELCHER

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## Lisa

I'm glad you're filling the complaint. These people need to be dealt with. How horrible.

 .:* Lisa *:.
laissez le bon temps roulet! :-)

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## bill

i hate to play the part of the ***hole here, but why in the world would you order frogs from a company KNOWING that they do not guarantee them? even the very first testimonial on the page would have been enough to warn me off. that person stated they ordered 2 and 1 only lived one day. and due to their policy a replacement is not an option. 

as far as filing a complaint with BBB, you unfortunately have no grounds for a complaint. i have had many dealing with the BBB and they will take your complaint, contact the company and the company will respond as they did to you. this is our policy, the customer checked off that they understood that and it is what it is. then the complaint will be dropped. i have been there.

i do feel bad for you and the frogs, and they almost certainly sent you frogs in substandard condition, but you did agree to their terms and policies when you placed the order. all you can really do is try to get your remaining frog healthy and take it as a lesson learned.

like i said, i am sorry that you feel wronged by the company, and you most certainly were. i hope your frog gets well soon, and with Heather and Lynn's help, i am sure it will.

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## verb408

I do understand their policy but sending unhealthy animals and using that policy to rip people off is mind-blowing.

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## Lija

one thing you can do and doing it right now besides trying to save a froggy. you are letting people know with whom they better NOT to deal with.  and i would place testimony on their website too, just like that other person did.
 and for the frog sake, i think it has a better chances of survival now with you then it would with those horrible people.

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## verb408

I just wrote a review on their site and it's pending approval, so it's safe to assume it will not be posted.

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## Patsy

It's sick that a company can legally send a live animal in a box from Florida all the way to California. How does a frog show up with part of it's front foot missing? They had to have known when they shipped it that there was a problem with it. For them not to guarantee frogs makes me think that they know there is something wrong with them.

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## Heather

I have been pondering this...this is only a guess, but I am wondering if his toe was injured as they tried to get him into the container. I am wondering what the other red areas on his underside and axilla are? 

At this point lets get this little healed up. He is still beautiful and deserves a good fighting chance. 

If you do not have a local herp vet, there is a vet that helps via phone and email. Let me know if you need his information.

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## Patsy

> I have been pondering this...this is only a guess, but I am wondering if his toe was injured as they tried to get him into the container.


I was thinking that too Heather. Considering what toe it is, it's possible they could have caught it with the lid as they were putting him in. The top of the container looks clean in the picture though, if something happened while they were putting him in there should be a sign.

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## Heather

I think so too. I didn't want to ask because it makes me sad, but I was thinking if the lost piece of tissue was in the cup we'd know  :Frown: .

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## verb408

I did notice that the moist sponge in the container had red pulpy matter on it. Maybe it could have been flesh I'm not sure. Just the thought of his finger getting caught by the lid and him trying to rip it free or it being torn free from shipping is disturbing.

On a good note, he was crawling on my hand when I transferred him to his make shift quarantine tank. I placed him on the bottom but a minute later he jumped and positioned himself as far up as possible on the wall. Not sure if that would make any difference but I've read that it's better than if he was resting on the bottom. I also put two gut-loaded crickets for him. I hope he at least eats one when I wake up in the morning.

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## verb408

Florida Herps, Inc Quotes from facebook 

"Now you ***** on Facebook, Froggie Forums and even tried a BBB Claim."

"But ***** to us, write us emails or call us - don't have friends from your Frog Forum come here and flat out lie that they are the ones that bought them"

I love how this company deals with customers after they collected payment.

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## NatureLady

Wow...their FB post makes me want to friend the page just so I can bash this!!!

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## verb408

It keeps getting better.

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## Heather

> Wow...their FB post makes me want to friend the page just so I can bash this!!!


I wrote a comment. They just deleted it from their page.

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## Lija

found this, sharing
Florida Herps INC.. (PLEASE READ)

 apparently it is just company's mentality and way of doing business, frogs or reptiles doesn't matter.
 PLEASE whoever is reading this, NEVER DEAL with that company, ever.
 I'm going to share these stories with canadian wholesalers, so they be aware as well if  they don't know already.

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## fox403

It's a funny area getting phibs by post they said there terms and if all the frogs they sent out turned out this way they be shut down but in the same token why a company would post such delicate frogs is beyond me

Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk 2

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## Lija

fox, it is ok to ship frogs, people do that all the time, but frogs have to be healthy and proper packed. In that case they are hiding behind their policy to ship sick frogs and possibly even dead. Buying over internet has it's risks, that is why it is important to buy only from those who you can trust and that  company is not the one to be trusted with frogs and apparently reptiles as well.

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## fox403

So is this a small company? And r.e.t.f ok shipping over these distances?  What's the company got to gain shipping a few sick frogs to get such a bad reputation? 

Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk 2

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## Patsy

The thing I found funny was back in December they posted a warning on FB about weather. They said they don't guarantee FROGS when the weather in your area drops down into the 40's so take that into consideration when ordering. Why post a warning like that...just don't ship them.

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## Heather

> The thing I found funny was back in December they posted a warning on FB about weather. They said they don't guarantee FROGS when the weather in your area drops down into the 40's so take that into consideration when ordering. Why post a warning like that...just don't ship them.


I was thinking the same...why ship them in the winter if you have had more than rare deaths due to shipping? My other thought is are the packaged properly? 

As a business, most would consider the deaths as a monetary loss. The "non" guarantee is their way of covering that. It keeps the profits coming In without monetary or product loss due to having to provide replacements or refunds. 

Most smaller breeders and breeding companies are usually more careful on this aspect. The worst thing you can do is ruin your reputation as a breeder and seller. Your profits have a lot to do with word of mouth and sharing of good experiences through an agency. This is a shame for them. A good reputation is what builds the business and in turn brings in the money. 

I wonder how their deliveries are in the warmer weather? 

Oddly, other sites have shipped healthy frogs. It's really more about principle. I felt the way they reacted just showed they don't care...about the customer or the frogs.

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## verb408

I did consider the weather, the temp for March 13, 2013 was 74 high / 49 low. 

As for R.E.T.F being shipped long distance. I ordered 2 R.E.T.F from a well known reputable company and both of the frogs survived the trip and was in excellent condition, the trip was from Owosso, MI to Santa Clara, CA. (63 high / 45 low)
So the frogs survived the trip being that it was colder. So in my opinion weather is ruled out and only possibility is sending sick unhealthy frogs.

I think they deleted the post I made about my situation on their facebook, they said they'll leave it up to show how good of a company they are. lol

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## COREY

THIS IS NO JOKE PEOPLE... After doing further research they do ship dead frogs... and their worst conditioned ones as well.... STEAR CLEAR!!!

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## COREY

I already wrote to this company with my government signed and traced email.. they will be getting alot of attention from some people they wish didnt hear this.... 
Verb... best of luck to you with your new frogs from joshsfrogs.com  =)  Please take this experience you have gained and stick with Frogforum.net and post everything you have learned to all the newbies...catch them before floridaherps catches them.  =)  I will do the same just for you and the sake of all the frogs in the word =)

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Lija

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## verb408

I will tell everyone of my experience with this company. Thank you so much CJ and others for the continued support. I've already filed a claim with P.E.T.A, hopefully they do an investigation of the animals under their care. I'll definitely stick with Frogforum and with Josh's Frogs. They are the only company I can trust with online dealings being that they have a store front and attend numerous reptile events.

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## arielgasca420

It is sad that a company would rather advertise an unhappy customer than fix their honest mistake. I am sorry you had to go through this.

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## verb408

RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : 
We do not have a warranty of any kind on Frogs. 
This customer knew that as he explained in this complaint and ordered anyways.   I am sorry they didn't make it, but again we sell them as is and have no warranty.  This is our choice and we sure didn't force this customer to place his order.
Now we would have worked with this customer had he not #1, Had his friends post nasty lies on our Facebook Page, #2, Post lies himself on our Facebook page (again just saying that we are failing to stand behind our warranty - which clear states we have no warranty for frogs) and #3 didn't post more lies online forums.  He never bothered to complain directly to us, just social media and forums.  Strange way to try and get help, but that's okay.
We will not be issuing a refund or credit in this case.
Thank you,
Dr. William Thompson, DVM, DVS

My response back. lol 


This is very unsatisfactory on how this company deals and handles its business. I put my trust with Dr. William Thompson being that he is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and he would know the signs of an unhealthy frog. I am no way a Dr. or a Veterinarian but only a frog enthusiast, I know from doing my own research what an unhealthy frog is and the visual signs a frog will have indicating that it may host parasites or have a bacterial infection. I’m having no clue on why they would send me a frog that has a freshly amputated finger and visual signs of parasites and a bacterial infection; it nowhere states that I would receive a frog in this condition. 

The first thing I did was call this business and leave a message specifying them to call me back, I have also politely e-mailed them concerning the condition of my order. I did not receive a call back but I received an e-mail and nowhere in this e-mail gave me an indication that they will work with me. 

You can look the post I’ve made on www.frogforum.com with this link http://www.frogforum.net/testimonials/22000-www-floridaherps-com-please-avoid.html i have never told anyone to post on this companies Facebook on my regard, so I’m assuming this company is feeding you lies in order to blame shift. 

What lie am I posting? I have only posted my thoughts and opinion in which I am allowed to do according to the First Amendment, I’m sure this company is illegally punishing me because I am exercising my First Amendment. 

I’m expecting a refund because I did not order a frog that has a freshly amputated finger and is a clear host of parasites and bacterial infections. It does not say that anywhere in their website that I may receive a frog in this condition, I have to assume the dead on arrival frog was in equal or less health as the unhealthy one. In my honest opinion I believe this company is a fraud and is sending out unhealthy animals to scam customers knowing they have a zero warrantee on frogs.  

Attached are the photos of the frogs I received. You can clearly see it is very unhealthy. 

Respectfully, 
Christopher G U.S.M.C Veteran

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Lija

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## Brian

Christopher, thanks for sharing this unpleasant experience. Please continue to document your correspondences and record them here for posterity.

A search for "florida herps reviews" turns up many other stories of peoples experience in ordering from them. Whenever dealing with a new company over the internet it's hard to stress how important it is to seek independent 3rd party accounts of how they do business. Yours will add to the overall story.

It's a little distressing that they've been deleting things off their Facebook page, and good that you've recorded it here so people can judge for themselves. How a company deals with problems is often the best indicator of how they do business.

I do have to agree with Bill though- a company that advertises no warranty can be expected to provide no warranty.

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## sschind

> THIS IS NO JOKE PEOPLE... After doing further research they do ship dead frogs... and their worst conditioned ones as well.... STEAR CLEAR!!!


Care to share some of your research?  Comments like those you made without evidence to back it up are not helpful.

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## Lisa

He did do his research. This whole situation is terribly sad. Check it out. One frog was doa and the other was severely injured and died soon  after. 

http://www.frogforum.net/showthread.php?t=21998
Please Evaluate my R.E.T.F from my photos. I'm worried.

 .:* Lisa *:.
laissez le bon temps roulet! :-)

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## bill

sorry Lisa, but i'm with steve here. if someone is going to claim they ship dead frogs, i personally would like to see the proof. we all know there is a difference between shipping a dead frog and receiving a dead frog.

that said, i don't approve how the company handled the situation. but i do understand their actions. i have been in their shoes (customer received d.o.a. animals), and it sucks to say "sorry, our policy is our policy", but it does happen quite often when shipping live animals. i guess it's one of those "walk a mile in their shoes" situation. again, i don't approve of the way they handled the aftermath, but if it was my company, the original response would have been the same, sorry no replacement, no refund. it sucks, but it is business. although, i would have replaced the injured frog.

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## Lisa

I truly am a person that tries to see all sides. At the end of the day  My heart breaks for the poor frogs. Despite the status of the doa frog, the injured frog should have been addressed. Just a terribly sad situation. Not trying to put blame on anyone. The little guy and owner didn't even have a chance to get medicine from a local vet or dr frye.  Trying to be Switzerland, but at the end of the day 2 frogs died before they had a shot with their  New owner. Sorry, just feel terrible about while thing. Not trying to cause a ruckus.

 .:* Lisa *:.
laissez le bon temps roulet! :-)

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## bill

no ruckus. i believe sometimes passion clouds over reality. not necessarily a bad thing.  :Smile:  i feel bad about the frogs as well, but i am also a realist and there's no room for emotions in business  :Smile:

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## COREY

> no ruckus. i believe sometimes passion clouds over reality. not necessarily a bad thing.  i feel bad about the frogs as well, but i am also a realist and there's no room for emotions in business


IN response to this... I will dig back to wear i found it... i was reviewing the BBB cases that day and found it in some reviews somewhere on one of the linked websites.  Ill find it again. NO problems!

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## COREY

Ok the government comuters have blocked the website that i accessed it at... ill have to do it when i get home from work

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## COREY

Going back to this... Florida Herps is run by a vet.  Did you guys know that!  DISPICABLE!

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## COREY

ok i found it using my cell phone ... (had to step outside the building)...haha.. It was a review that accused them of shipping dead frogs...there were 2 reviews of the same nature...due to the nature of the website (although its a review) there is no proof it was the same person posting twice.  ITs 50/50 on this... you can believe it or not if you want to say this ship dead or sick animals.  ( I however do believe it.)  The amount of light green spots on the frog coudlnt have developed overnight. (actually it was less than one full day looking at the times of shipment).  I do believe this frog was sick prior to shipment.  My mind will not change.

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## bill

i'm not saying they are a good company, and yes i know it is run by a vet. i also believe they have lousy business practices. all we are saying is you claim to have proof that they ship dead frogs. that is a serious accusation that requires indisputable proof. i assume you have someone who testified that they packed or were told to package a dead frog? if you are going by reviews, like i said in an earlier post, there is a difference between receiving a dead frog and shipping one. 

personally, i would never have ordered from any company that doesn't offer a live arrival guarantee on frogs, particularly something as delicate as RETF's. especially since LLL Reptiles is one of the best in the business (they are who i order all my frogs from), located in the san diego area, and has a live arrival guarantee. that is why i questioned the OP about ordering from them in the first place.

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## COREY

America Needs more local breeders =/

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## bill

> THIS IS NO JOKE PEOPLE... After doing further research they do ship dead frogs... and their worst conditioned ones as well.... STEAR CLEAR!!!


this was your claim. i don't dispute the second frog was unhealthy. i also don't dispute that they ship unhealthy frogs. most people who import animals on a large scale do. you said they ship dead frogs. that is what steve and i asked for proof on. nothing more  :Smile:

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## COREY

Ya i was pretty upset...I will admit it was an emotional moment inbetween reading a review i totaly believed... I did do 3 days of research on this and i only got more upset the more i read.  =/ 

 On the upside... My proof does exist within NEHERP!!  I have just been very fortunate with the 3 companies ive worked with.  Sorry guys... but at least i looked back for ya to dig it up =)

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## bill

no biggie. passions run high when it comes to our little phib friends. i have been there as well and i know it's had to hold back. like i said in a previous post, sometimes passion clouds over reality. sometimes we need to take a step back, breathe and think about things rationally. 

the other issue was that the ****bags at Fla Herp claim that Chris did everything via social networking, and unfortunately, Chris made their case by adding the link to this thread in his email, which i am sure the BBB looked over and saw that post, which probably made a ruling in their favor easy. sorry, but i am just not a big fan of social media like FB and such. in all actuality though, they aren't an accredited BBB company, so even a negative claim doesn't really do much, especially since they have 12 claims against them in 15 years or so and was never once judged against. i actually find that just sad.

never lose that passion though Corey. it will be your key to success when your breeding takes off  :Smile:

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## COREY

> no biggie. passions run high when it comes to our little phib friends. i have been there as well and i know it's had to hold back. like i said in a previous post, sometimes passion clouds over reality. sometimes we need to take a step back, breathe and think about things rationally. 
> 
> the other issue was that the ****bags at Fla Herp claim that Chris did everything via social networking, and unfortunately, Chris made their case by adding the link to this thread in his email, which i am sure the BBB looked over and saw that post, which probably made a ruling in their favor easy. sorry, but i am just not a big fan of social media like FB and such. in all actuality though, they aren't an accredited BBB company, so even a negative claim doesn't really do much, especially since they have 12 claims against them in 15 years or so and was never once judged against. i actually find that just sad.
> 
> never lose that passion though Corey. it will be your key to success when your breeding takes off


One good thing with social MEDIA... THE WHOLE TRUTH IS STATED!!!  You just better pray its in your favor!!!

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## sschind

Since I was the one who first mentioned the proof I'll chime in again to clarify my comments.  Simply put, claiming that they send dead frogs is a VERY serious accusation and should not be accepted without verification and like Bill said, sending dead frogs is very different from receiving dead frogs.  

I understand emotions running high and all and that reading several bad reviews can convince a person that something is true and if you truly believe it then fine, that is your right.  However, to make a claim like that without proof is irresponsible and that is what I have an issue with.  As herp keepers we face an uphill battle every day trying to convince the mainstream that our hobby/obsession is legitimate.  I'm sure I don't have to go into details about that.  Because of this I feel that we have to be extra careful in everything we do.  In essence, why give anyone ammunition they can use against us.  If you have proof that they do in fact package and ship dead frogs then by all means post it.  I would encourage you to go to Faunaclassifieds.com and post it on the BOI there as well.  Keep in mind that multiple reviews accusing them of doing so is not proof.  You believe it is true based on your research and like I said, I am not saying you are wrong, just that you need to be extra sure or you risk putting our entire hobby in a more precarious situation.  Obviously what Floridaherp.com has done does not help either but we can not really control that.  All we can control is what we do.

I also think this was handled poorly by Floridaherps even though they did have a policy of no guarantee on amphibians.  I would not buy from a company that does not guarantee live arrival either but that's me. 

The bottom line is it is sad that this thread was even necessary.  It is too bad that not everyone will stand behind their product and it is to bad that the OP had to go through this experience.  All we can do is spread the word about what we KNOW goes on with companies that do things like this and hope that word gets out and they ether change or close up shop.  Unfortunately I don't think either is very likely.  I think the best we can hope for is to inform as many people as we can and let them make their own decisions.

I certainly didn't mean to call you out and I do appreciate what you went through to gather the info that you did.  If you want to forward me the info and the links to the threads you found I would love to read them.

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## COREY

I certainly didn't mean to call you out and I do appreciate what you went through to gather the info that you did.  If you want to forward me the info and the links to the threads you found I would love to read them.[/QUOTE]


Steve, dont worry about it.. Im perfectly fine with it. REALLY!  Im actually kind of tired and disgusted with this company so much I'm just going to END my part in it.  This thread has done its part.

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## RockyGurly

It really disgusts me that people could have so little regard for the lives of the animals they're caring for  :Frown:  Even if they're for sale, they're animals! LIVING, breathing, feeling animals, not just "stock" 
I'll be spreading the word on my end too, I hope they get shut down.

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