Backwater ReptilesReviews of backwaterreptiles.com

I ordered a snake from Backwater. It arrived dead. Very dead! Almost like it was dead before it was shipped. Backwater is a broker. They sourced this snake out of FL from a very stupid and shady supplier. First, it was in shed before shipping and it had multiple puncture wounds on its body. Plus it was sick. Second, the plastic container was way too small for this size of snake. Idiot supplier didn’t know to ship in a snake bag with moist peat moss to keep this type of snake hydrated. Third, the heat pack was way too big and it was HOT when I touched it. That snake sat in FL waiting for ship out in a too small container, sick and in shed, dehydrated and roasting from the heat pack. When I opened the container, the stench was strong. I almost got sick from the smell. It was in full decomposition when it arrived. I was home to get it before noon, too. So it didn’t sit for hours on my porch. UPS carrier. I tried to schedule to be picked up, no luck online or getting someone in the phone after hours…which strangely enough is when Backwater issues the tracking number. Shady? Most definitely! No refund. Instead, I am offered a half price replacement plus full shipping. So they make more money off of me?? Sound like a scam? It is! The warranty is written to never allow a buyer a full refund. Backwater knows they source the lowest quality supply and the warranty protects them, even though they are the problem, not the buyer. Don’t think for a second that their website descriptions and owner info are legit and truthful. They are far from anything close to honesty. They have such a large inventory because they are a shady broker! Also, they are at the top of Google searches because they pay for the service! They aren’t the biggest provider, but they did spend the most money to get to the top of the Google search engine. I contested the purchase with my credit card, but I don’t think I’ll have much luck. I will be sending my credit card company a picture of the dead snake. If that doesn’t help, I’ve got the video. Still, the warranty is their protection and buy at your own risk. So, my suggestion to anyone reading this is to go elsewhere.

They sent me a snake with IBD (stargazing). I have a copy of a vet assessment proving this. It died and they refuse to accept this as a reality. I ordered a kenyan sand boa and READ their description of how the snake is not covered under the DOA warranty or 7 day guarantee. They told me the first shipping day it was not safe to ship the snake because of Temps which I was fine with. A few days later I got the notice for shipping and the email also outlined having the snake held at a center to not void the guarantee. I went on later that evening to schedule and fedex website said it was NOT and option in my area at all. At this point the snake was on its way. So someone stayed home to receive it and make sure it got warmed up. At first it was barely moving which we knew was due to it being cold since it didn't have nearly enough heat packs in the box. We warmed it up and when we put it in the tank we had all ready it started immediately showing signs of IBD, and corkscrewing repetitively as well. I contacted the seller and they said to just watch it a few days sometimes Temps cause strange behavior. No recommend to take it to a vet at all, I took it on my own accord. The exotic vet said and documented it was displaying signs of IBD and also had a head tilt like it had been hurt during shipping. He gave me recommendations and I followed them. That evening it acted like he was trying to regurgitate a meal which also the breeder never even told me the last time it ate. I have all of this on videos and sadly it declined quickly and died Friday morning. I contacted the seller and they got back to me on Sunday and to send them a pic of the snake on the shipping box as per their policy. I said I was sorry I had thrown it out as I thought that only was for DOA reptiles. So we went ahead and dug it out of the trash and sent it along with the vet assessment and pics and I offered videos. The next day they said as per their policy that I didn't have it held they would not refund it. I let them know that was not an option and I did what I could and that they should have made sure that was an option for my area before shipping. The snake would have been displaying signs of IBD before shipping and it seems they knew they wouldn't have to take any loss shipping it out and either they knew I wouldn't be able to hold it and knew they'd give me a terminal snake or they just didn't care. They offered me a discount on another reptile which of course I declined saying I did not want another sick snake nor their inadequate and reckless shipping. Another note is that their website says they're based out of Cali and Idaho which is why I picked them, they were close to me and I wanted as little stress on the snake as possible. It shipped from Florida instead which is dishonest to say the least. Their actions are incredibly careless to the animals as IBD would make any reputable breeder very concerned. So all in all they sent me a sick snake, either knew I couldn't have a refund because I couldn't hold it in my area at a center or didn't do their research to see if it was available but know the snake would die and are refusing to refund anything.

Ordered a Uro a week ago, asked for a male, got a female, dehydrated and with tail rot and also I can tell its WC not CB, never again, the negative reviews are spot on. Never arrived at the time they promote.

i received my green tree frog about a week ago- she was relatively small and never very active. i cared for her as i should- misting her when needed and feeding her. she never ate the entire time i had her. i would put food out for her or even near her and she never touched it. she was always hiding and never to be seen often. she hardly ever moved or jumped around from one spot unless i moved her. i woke up today and had a dead frog. i am beyond disappointed and depressed. i did everything to care for her and make sure she was in shape. i’m going to assume she arrived sick due to the fact she was never active and never ate. i did everything i could and she still passed away. she will not move or react to being misted like she used to. this is just so devastating. what should i do???? this is just not acceptable- it really deeply hurts people when their pets pass away. please realzie that and help me from here

REALLY BAD. Animal cruelty. We bought a uro. We were very excited to get him. We spent A lot of time and money planning for his home. Backwater made many claims about how amazing they are. We were duped. I wish I had seen these reviews first. The bad ones are completely SPOT ON. The communication is non- existent. Don’t try to call or email. Voicemail is always full. No reply to email. I’ve ordered flowers with more attention to delivery. And the flowers are already dead! We were told that the lizard would arrive no later than 10:30 am. We shifted work schedules to make sure someone was here. The lizard did not arrive until 4:36 pm. There were many attempts to connect with both Backwater and FedEx. We lost a whole day of pay waiting for the delivery because my wife called out sick to wait for the lizard. It’s a live animal! We wouldn’t just leave it in a box, right. We had to sign for it. Backwater NEVER tried to call me back. FedEx confirmed that the delivery was NEVER supposed to arrive at 10:30 … it was ALWAYS going to arrive at 4:30. What!?! And we had to threaten animal cruelty charges to FedEx because they also were not helpful. Well, Backwater never marks the boxes as “ Live Animals “. It just says “perishable “. Our lizard arrived upside down, unable to right himself. So far he seems to be actually in great shape. But frankly, that doesn’t excuse the mishaps. I have worked in the zoo field for over 30 years. Their shipping standards are sub-par. They are not starting that they are shipping live animals because there are strict regulations they don’t want to follow for the animals safety. Ethically, I will no longer buy from them. I was happy to find a captive bred Uro. It appears to be healthy. We will just enjoy him, but want to warn others.

Unprofessional, rude, impossible to contact. Their shipping method is unacceptable.

Not a good reptile store to buy from. My girlfriend brought me two dart frogs. One was died when we got it. It sucked but after a week and a half they sent another but told us they were out would u like different frog. So I said yes. They sent and one I opened the box it was a dart frog ( which they said they didn't have any left) but it was a adult and smelled like it's been died for like 4 or 5 days already. So we already paid shipping twice. So I told her just get your money back. They refused so now she paid about 190 pretty much for one.. frog. There's other sites to buy from. It's sad because I brought reptiles from them before.

I was a little nervous about my order because I didn’t read the reviews until after I placed the order (duh). But I am very happy with my experience. I ordered a gecko and it arrived alert, active and healthy. Communication was excellent. I would definitely buy from again.