backwaterreptiles.com (SCAM)

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tortoiseplanet

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Earth
Beware!
Never buy from
http://www.backwaterreptiles.com

I recently purchased a Russian tortoise from backwater reptiles and he came in dead at arrival. Horrible. I then contact them he is diseased the same day. They tell me to send a picture of the bottom of his shell and the shipping label. I did. They then ask me to send a clear photo of his face. I did.
Then they email me:
“Thank you for the updated snapshot--so sad to see :( Upon review of your order I see that being more than a week past delivery, your Live Arrival Guarantee has expired.”

What a scam. Do not buy from them.
 

Benjtort

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Jan 23, 2018
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134
Location (City and/or State)
Texas
I was about to fall into that trap too!! Instead I bought from a local breeder
 

Cowboy_Ken

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Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
Suburban-life in Salem, Oregon
Beware!
Never buy from
http://www.backwaterreptiles.com
What a scam. Do not buy from them.

This is another fine example of the value we all are able to gain from by being active members of this fine forum. I feel it’s basically all of our RESPONSIBILITY to help keep OUR forum a healthy, informative forum for fellow tortoise and turtle keepers around the world. If we see someone acting inappropriately, send them a friendly PM about us being a family friendly forum. If that gets nowhere, PM a moderator and give them the lowdown.
All of that said, I’m thrilled to have the forum as a resource for this type of feedback, bad or great. Sure we could go to the website of the company we’d be considering buying from, then find the customer reviews, then try to clean out the fluff reviews, but truthfully, I’d rather trust those I don’t know here on the forum rather than some long-haired hippie freak like mike taylor. Okay. That last review pointing at mike taylor was simply me having fun with the man.
As for first hand experience and a review pertaining to that first hand experience I throw my hat fully into the ring for Tom. Y’all know the guy. He writes all those stickies at the tops of the specie specific sections. He digs those excellent underground burrows. He freely posts his trials and tribulations.
Buy a hatchling from Tom and you will have a lifelong tortoise contact friend starting out, if I remember correctly, from before he’s even shipped the hatchling to y’all. Then, email, text, or old fashioned telephone calls available from the man from then on. Heckfire, if like me, he may start making cracks about your family members you’re foolish enough to introduce him to. But not bad taste or off color cracks, just enough that you’ll know he was paying attention. I received a sulcata hatchling from Tom that was doing great. I received the hatchling in October of 2013 I believe IMG_0012.jpg I named him, “Little Ricky”. Here he is at one of the last times I saw him IMG_0861.jpg the story? I was in a fairly intense rollover auto accident IMG_1757.jpg it left me out of sorts for a spell IMG_1677.jpg While I was in a hospital recovery center, my ex wife allowed most all of my tortoises to be stolen! At that stage I was working at becoming competition against Tom! Sure, smaller scale, I only HAD one female sulcata,(yuppers, stolen). Okay enough about my vote for Tom.
My other vote goes to…Jodie. I received from her a hatchling leopard IMG_2933.jpg knowing I was seriously gonna buy one and Jodie having my cash in hand, she allowed me first pick from the photos. I deliberately picked Shebelle due to her multiple split scutes looking like a zipper down here back.
So there are my personal reviews for folks other than myself.
Jodie for leopard hatchings.
And Tom for sulcata hatchlings.
And that doctor that really helped me out after my wreck.
 

Benjtort

Active Member
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Jan 23, 2018
Messages
134
Location (City and/or State)
Texas
Poor Ricky and poor you so sad to here about this tragic story did you ever find the missing torts?? Or did you’re ex wife just not care??
 

Cowboy_Ken

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10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 18, 2011
Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Suburban-life in Salem, Oregon
Poor Ricky and poor you so sad to here about this tragic story did you ever find the missing torts?? Or did you’re ex wife just not care??

Most I was able to track down and I have come to peace where they now live. But not my Little Ricky or Makita my large breeding female sulcata. Here she is IMG_0592.jpg those are 8”x8” post beside her. Big, smooth, and raised in Idaho no less. Go figure, right? And my ex refused to provide any information to me regarding where they might be.
 

Benjtort

Active Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2018
Messages
134
Location (City and/or State)
Texas
Wow what a pretty sulcata!! To bad you couldn’t find it be fortunately you found the rest
 

barrabuss

New Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2018
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
texas
Beware!
Never buy from
http://www.backwaterreptiles.com

I recently purchased a Russian tortoise from backwater reptiles and he came in dead at arrival. Horrible. I then contact them he is diseased the same day. They tell me to send a picture of the bottom of his shell and the shipping label. I did. They then ask me to send a clear photo of his face. I did.
Then they email me:
“Thank you for the updated snapshot--so sad to see :( Upon review of your order I see that being more than a week past delivery, your Live Arrival Guarantee has expired.”

What a scam. Do not buy from them.
I had the same issue with backwater....I received a sick redfoot who died a few days later. It's rare they respond back to your email and phone?....forget that, they do not dare let you call them. They may have to answer, lol. Tortoises are cheap, but...you get what you pay for ...from this place for sure.
 

tortoiseplanet

Active Member
Joined
May 14, 2017
Messages
287
Location (City and/or State)
Earth
I had the same issue with backwater....I received a sick redfoot who died a few days later. It's rare they respond back to your email and phone?....forget that, they do not dare let you call them. They may have to answer, lol. Tortoises are cheap, but...you get what you pay for ...from this place for sure.

Sorry to hear that. I will definitely never be buying anything from them again.
 

turtlesailor

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jul 17, 2011
Messages
173
Location (City and/or State)
California
I had good experience with backwater reptiles. My only issue is they are deceiving what actually available online. I ordered western painted turtles. But I was emailed they do not have any available but I could choose a substitute for another turtle. I asked if I could pay a little more for baby European Pond turtle. Shipment was on time and came alive. But I actually believe their source of animals can be drop shipped from another business.

My European pond turtle was NOT shipped from their physical address. I think It was source from Big Apple Herp.
 

Blackdog1714

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5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2018
Messages
4,666
Location (City and/or State)
Richmond, VA
I had good experience with backwater reptiles. My only issue is they are deceiving what actually available online. I ordered western painted turtles. But I was emailed they do not have any available but I could choose a substitute for another turtle. I asked if I could pay a little more for baby European Pond turtle. Shipment was on time and came alive. But I actually believe their source of animals can be drop shipped from another business.

My European pond turtle was NOT shipped from their physical address. I think It was source from Big Apple Herp.
They do have a lot of bait and switch reviews.
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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Ah ...I don't Facebook at all. I used to like Cowboy Ken's posts.

Ah ...I don't Facebook at all. I used to like Cowboy Ken's posts.
Unfortunately he's one of the members we lost when we changed our app. Although I'm not sure what the issue was/is.
 

Cowboy_Ken

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 18, 2011
Messages
17,560
Location (City and/or State)
Suburban-life in Salem, Oregon
Cowboy Ken here. Regarding the popular idea that I do The Facebook, I don’t, never have, never will. I do on the other hand have an instagram account. And not only that, but I’m back here kinda sorta.
I have a 1.5 year old German Shepard female that I spend most of my time with. We have an off leash dog park that is larger than Central Park in ny. We spend most of our spare time there.
 

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TaraMaiden

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Jun 17, 2022
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Nottinghamshire UK
Cowboy Ken here. Regarding the popular idea that I do The Facebook, I don’t, never have, never will. I do on the other hand have an instagram account. And not only that, but I’m back here kinda sorta.
I have a 1.5 year old German Shepard female that I spend most of my time with. We have an off leash dog park that is larger than Central Park in ny. We spend most of our spare time there.
Can't find you on Insta... care to give me your handle? I have found a Cowboyken, but I suspect it's not you... it's a millennial snowflake with an ego to match...
 
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