Backwater ReptilesReviews of backwaterreptiles.com

We placed an order on 8/15/23 for a soft shell turtle. The turtle was picked out by my 9yr old son who was spending his birthday money (to make matter worse).The funds were processed and cleared our account the following day for $75, to include overnight shipping. When we completed the order there was a popup screen stating our order was processed; however, we received no further information other than a shipping chart which stated we would receive the turtle the following Wednesday. The following Wednesday came and went with no turtle. We gave it until the end of the day Thursday in case there was a delay. Thursday came and went… no turtle… I called the company to check on the status of the order and the phone number went straight to voicemail, which was full… So I sent an email inquiring about the order. They did respond quickly and asked for our invoice number. The problem is, they never sent an invoice number, or a confirmation email. All we had was the pop up screen stating the order was complete. I informed them we never received any information following the order so we didn’t have an invoice number. They then stated the order must not have went through, so I sent them a screen shot of the funds clearing my account. They then asked for a transaction number, which I provided from the bank details. After receiving the transaction number they replied that I was “unable to provide them any solid information that the order did not fully process”. Mind you the whole time I am asking to speak to a human on the phone, which they refused to do. I reported the charge as fraudulent and filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau as they refused to provide any further assistance. The bottom line is… we placed an order, paid for the order, Backwater Reptiles accepted payment for the order, Backwater Reptiles failed to provide any additional information on our order, Backwater reptiles never fulfilled the order, Backwater reptiles refuses to speak to me or to help me figure this out. They basically told me too bad and sent me on my way without a refund or a turtle.

Horrible customer service. They look to be a wholesale broker - they don’t actually have the animals they advertise and sell. They farm out filling orders to third parties. Neither are caring or accountable. If I had to do it again, shop elsewhere.

told its a problem to ship because my payment and shipping address are different. Tried calling and emailing to discuss a solution but phone goes straight to voice-mail and no response via email. Poor customer service

Ordered two baby Budgett's frogs. UPS delayed the delivery due to an unexpected weather issue at their Louisville HUB. I immediately contacted them to make them aware of the issue, but they sort of brushed my concern aside assuring me they would be okay. If an issue was present after arrival they would work with me to fix it since it was an extraordinary case, and wasn't their normal routine. I videoed the entire thing on arrival, showing the package, the label, opening it, seeing upside down barely moving frogs. One was incredibly bloated with what appears to be a broken, or malformed jaw that sagged in the middle. Was having trouble swimming, was leaned off to the side, and had very labored breathing. The other was completely malnourished with a hard dark bump on her left side back near her hips. Not sure if she had a broken leg, or had an impaction from something. It seemed like they did not even read my messages, because I had to point out the video again in my next response. They told me they are hearty frogs and feel they would be fine. I woke up the next day to them both floating dead in their tank. I immediately emailed them with pictures of the frogs, and you can see their shipping box in the background… I tried to give them time to respond, but as it neared close time for the weekend I reached out again, and got both in response… After a week of being jerked around, I called the BBB, and reported my experience with all of my supporting evidence and what happens that evening? They email me a response trying to stipulate that I'm being unreasonable, and none of my evidence, pictures or video is good enough for them. They want new ones… after two days… I did not retain their decomposing bodies for two extra days… At this point they refuse to do anything to make it right. I've already been in contact with my bank and will still be sorting this out for the foreseeable future. Save yourself the headache, do a bit more research, and spend a bit more money to deal with an actually reputable breeder that cares about your experience, and the animals well being. Avoid them like the plague.

Do not buy from them! We bought a monitor lizard. It came dehydrated, skinny, underweight, lethargic. Did not eat. Vomited. It has a likely kidney infection (from blood test results). Needs medical attention, vet assistance multiple times a week and intensive long treatment. Expectations are uncertain. They sell sick animals for hundreds of dollars and don’t care at all.

I purchased $500 worth of animals no tracking number was sent after a week no animals arrived but the company received my money. Attempted to call and email no response after doing research I see they are also running underground reptiles.hub please be careful this company will scam you out of your money

Poor communications when they communicate at all. Their contact form is broken. If something goes wrong, good luck, they will just throw company "terms" at you. They're not going to try to help you. Buyer beware. Spend your money somewhere else.

I paid over 300 dollars for my snakes and shipping (common brown snake). I was told they would arrive in 24 hours, and when they didn't come, I was given a tracking number to locate them. The next day I received a message from the shipping company saying they wouldn't ship them unless I paid more than five hundred dollars! I have contacted the shipping company and Backwater Reptiles, and no one will help me or cancel my order! Total SCAM