Varnyard 2012 Reds

[laurarfl]

I seriously doubt he is making 90K.

 

[agv0008]

Whatever he is making, I do not feel it would be hard to afford some help to keep all of his customers happy. But my point was he does not have to hire anyone or do anything different at the moment because he already controls the market. It's a perfectly legitimate business strategy.

My neighbor when I was a kid did the same thing. He ran a tennis court resurfacing business totally by himself. He did all the manual labor and everything. More profit for him, but his availability was limited. He did the best work and many were willing to wait for him to bid on their contracts.

 

[kellen.watkins]

That's 90k not including shipping food costs of the babies food costs of the adults (throughout the year that's huge) lights supplements ect.. That's 600 customers 600 names 600 emails plus all the other calls about the reds the extremes the AA's plus crazy people who call and complain for all kinds of reasons. Hiring an extra would be more pressure finding someone with good knowledge that's trusting enough to help run your personal welfare would be insane. I think the man does a pretty amazing job every year.

 

[bmx3000max]

i belive a year ago or 2 he had help....not this year and i waited a year for mine from him but it was well worth the wait

 

[agv0008]

i belive a year ago or 2 he had help....not this year and i waited a year for mine from him but it was well worth the wait

I think it will be worth the wait. I am waiting until my transaction is complete before forming my final opinion regarding Varnyard. I am sure it will all be fine. My extreme is one that hatched a month ago and won't ship due to the weather. I bet the hold up on the reds info is partially because of this.

 

[Burke]

If that was true.... I live in Florida 4 hours away, I would drive up and get it... I am kind of fearing the worst. From what I've read with the extremes and the black and whites, that as soon as they hatched he sent out paypal requests to everyone on the list. I bought a tegu from him several years ago and was very happy, but he answered his calls and told me when they hatched. I know it's a lot of work with so many babies and customers, I just want confirmation that the reds actually hatched, and didn't go bad like last year...

 

[Scott Hogge]

I spoke to him in June and he said that the reds would start hatching Jul 1, but that my red was in a batch scheduled to hatch on Jul 16... so I called him on Jul 18 to make sure he hatched ok.. got the voicemail... left a message, and never heard back.

I have a deposit down on a extreme giant as well that supposedly hatched sometime in June (before I called him), but he was waiting on the red to hatch and invoice/ship them together.

I ended up purchasing an awesome 3 week old red hatchling [named MacGyver] from this guy instead ( http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1485354#post1485354 ) Parents are the reds in these pics ( http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.227187277318380.52303.188828187820956&type=3 ). He had 5 left when I contacted him a week ago, I took one, there might be a couple left.

[attachment=4706]

Here's a vid I took of little MacGyver climbing up my arm to sit on my shoulder after just three days:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0is6HOUM7oI .

He loves to explore / try to escape... at first he was just climbing the trees as part of his own little escape plans, but he quickly learned that it got my attention. Now every time I walk by he gets really excited and climbs the nearest plant to wait for my hand.

He's super active... he climbs those plants about 100x and spends about an hour free roaming around the house every day.

I've had him for 7 days now and he is already very tame. He's only met two people so far (my wife and I) and will climb up either of our arms and already prefers sleeping on/beside/under/behind either of us on the couch over sleeping in his enclosure.... when he is roaming the couch looking for a good crack to sleep in, if you just put your hand over his head he will close his eyes and go to sleep right there.

He's taking food from hand with no problem and eating like a champ... superworms, waxworms, and pinkies (pre-killed/frozen from rodentpro.com) and a little fruit (a few bites of cherry / strawberry every few days.) He took down 4 pinkies today.

Now back to Varnyard... Why doesn't the dude just keep his website up to date with minor updates? Instead of still saying "we are taking deposits for the upcoming 2012 breeding season" for everything... how about listing what has hatched and whats expected/when. It's ridiculous that there is a need for this 'where the hell is my tegu support group' thing going on here. Its our own faults though... this whole putting down a deposit for lizards that have not yet been born idea is just retarded. Show me the lizard!

Dude that takes deposits for lizards and doesn't return calls = not a real business. I've seen lemonade stands run by 9 year olds in a more professional manner.

 

[bmx3000max]

how did you get your tegu to gome to you like that?

 

[agv0008]

I ended up purchasing an awesome 3 week old red hatchling [named MacGyver] from this guy instead ( http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1485354#post1485354 )

Did you just forfeit your deposits?

 

[james.w]

I don't get why anything else was expected. Do a bit of research before you send somebody money.

 

[DoctorPepper4]

I'm giving up on my Varnyard deposits today.

Anyone aware of any breeders that currently have nice looking red babies and actually run real businesses?

all im saying is bobby has issues and he thinks by lien he can resolve them all i got was excuse after excuse from that dude..if you think im lien just go check out the recorded conversation i had with him..he even rushed me to get off the phone...and i paid him the full amount upfront 150.00 for a blk&wht since april all i get is excuses from him...if you cant deliver by the date you said you could...the lest bobby could do is refund my full 150.00 i dont care what people say but bobby proved to me that he
aint a real bzness man i would never deal with him after this EVER...i ordered a caiman lizard from dustin and they were both supposes to be here at the same time dustin called me when they hatched and delivered on time like he said...bobby on the other hand still giving me the lies and the run around all im saying is listen to the call go to youtube the tittle is" Got tired of waiting so i called bobby hill" and it was only 85 degrees and raining lies i tell you lies

---

well i know the feeling ive been waiting since april i call him on april 20th 2012 he said he ships out in three weeks so i paid him in Full june came nothing i called him he told me he didnt have me in his books i emailed him a copy of my payment and then he said july july came and went nothing so now im going to call him and ask for my money back my dad a lawyer and said since i have all the emails of him saying in july and we already in August he broke the verbal contract im just waiting for him to pick up the phone he never answers he needs to learn how to treat paying customers better....SHAME ON YOU BOBBY YOU NEED BETTER PEOPLE SKILLS...

This post (along with many others) got me thinking...

Every time someone complains about Bobby, people chime in and say thinks like "he is a busy man, he hatches over 600 animals, ect.."

Assuming all the tegus are B&W (I know they are not) and selling for $150 each:

600X150= $90,000 <- conservative estimate

I don't think it would be a bad idea to hire a high school kid for 10 bucks an hour in the summer to answer the phone and keep a simple spreadsheet that keeps track of the customers. It could potentially do wonders for his business.

However (in Bobby's defense), until the whole country stops constantly wanting his animals, he doesn't really have to change anything. He sells so many of these things and I know no matter how mad I get about lack of contact, as soon as I open that box I will be so happy that none of this will matter.

The breeding and selling of tegu hatchlings is definitely a seller's market. The demand is so high and there is little competition. This allows vendors to do pretty much whatever they want.

Additionally, it is my fault for asking who breeds the best tegus (then buying one) without researching the breeder's customer service reputation. I am spoiled with my Amazon prime account where I can click whatever I want and it shows up in a day or two.

Just my thoughts.

well i dont really care how much he make i can give a flying **** all i want is what me and you spoke about thats all you said 3rd week of july then thats what i waiting for i spoke to bobby when i was looking around but i promised him if i dont like what i see out their i promise i call you back and deal with you i looked at underground well actually drove over didnt like how he kept his animals and the prices where to high on some animals so i said forget it i went over to dustin place it was good place kept clean and he at the time had a clutch so i said dame i promised bobby hill dustin said its okay i understand thats my number one rival(lol swear it lol) he said i have something bobby doesn't have or breed at that time caiman lizard expecting so i loved the place very well kept clean what ever i said fine( really cause i felt bad) i asked him how much he said 400.00 i was like wtf for that he explained and what ever else bottom line i paid him in full as well he...he called me when the clutch was laid down when they hatched and on the 27 to tell me to stay home he was gonna ship....damn thats customer serves at its best and it puts people mind at ease....and if bobby really is making that much money then he really should hire someone to help him cause we all know he needs it....

 

[Scott Hogge]

I ended up purchasing an awesome 3 week old red hatchling [named MacGyver] from this guy instead ( http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1485354#post1485354 )

Did you just forfeit your deposits?

Yeah... I mean the dude just hasn't returned my call and I'm not interested in wasting more time trying to pursue it, so probably. He may or may not be contacting me in the future when/if something hatches or doesn't and he sends out refunds.... no idea but its not anything I'm waiting for.

If he does eventually contact me about them, anyone who would like another red or giant is welcome to my deposited ones (if u can actually get ahold of the dude that is.) It sounds like he just keeps horrible records and thinks he's too important to need to return customer calls. I don't care about the deposits, I just wanted to be make sure I got a nice red as young as possible so I could start working with him. I was originally wanting 2 (so i deposited for a red and a giant), but now that I have little MacGyver I think I'd much rather just put all my energy into him since he's so awesome.

 

[bmx3000max]

I ended up purchasing an awesome 3 week old red hatchling [named MacGyver] from this guy instead ( http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1485354#post1485354 )

Did you just forfeit your deposits?

Yeah... I mean the dude just hasn't returned my call and I'm not interested in wasting more time trying to pursue it, so probably. He may or may not be contacting me in the future when/if something hatches or doesn't and he sends out refunds.... no idea but its not anything I'm waiting for.

If he does eventually contact me about them, anyone who would like another red or giant is welcome to my deposited ones (if u can actually get ahold of the dude that is.) It sounds like he just keeps horrible records and thinks he's too important to need to return customer calls. I don't care about the deposits, I just wanted to be make sure I got a nice red as young as possible so I could start working with him. I was originally wanting 2 (so i deposited for a red and a giant), but now that I have little MacGyver I think I'd much rather just put all my energy into him since he's so awesome.

i privately messaged you todeyus

 

[Scott Hogge]

how did you get your tegu to gome to you like that?

A couple simple things:

His enclosure has no top so its very easy to interact with him. I keep the humidity up in the entire house and give him baths so there is no need for a roof. The first day he was skiddish... I just sat next to the enclosure and worked on my laptop and ignored him. Soon he would't freak out every time I got up or moved around. Then I started hang a hand over the edge and just ignore him. When he would be basking with his eyes closed I would give him a little rub under his chin, lightly enough that it could have just been an ant. After a few sec he realized I was touching him and would run off a few feet. Every time though he would move away less... and after about 10 of these he was no longer scared and running, but would just wake up and turn his head an inch or so, as if he was just a little irritated but not afraid.

I've also found with him and other tegus that pretending to go to sleep when they look at you is a great way to get them to trust you. They are smart lizards and will interpret your actions as if you are another big lizard. When you stare at them, they know, and they think you are debating the best way to eat them. When you go to sleep, they know you are either full, or don't eat tegus. Look at how your tegu responds when he does and doesn't want to eat. When hes basking and doesnt want to eat, if you drop a worm in front of him, he closes his eyes and goes back to sleep. Acting like that makes him think you dont wanna eat him. When he does wanna eat, he will freeze for a second as to not startle the prey while he stares and debates his plan of attack, then he goes for it. If you are frozen/quiet/staring at him, that looks like ur about to eat him.

Talking to them also helps a lot. Some people say that they learn to trust your voice, which may or may not be true, but it definitely makes them know you dont want to eat them because predators are quiet and dont talk to their prey. Just saying anything in a nice calm voice helps. Its important to get them comfortable with how things normally are... noisy. If you are always quiet because you dont want to scare them, they know and say "why is this thing trying to be so quiet and not scare me. it probably wants to eat me." The more you try to be tricky, the more he knows ur up to something that isn't his plan. Things like holding your breath to be quiet when you try to pick him up is a bad idea. He knows something is up. They are better at reading your body language than you are. If you have a hidden agenda, they know.

I've never tried to catch him. they remember u as the dude that makes them do things they don't wanna do... so even if u've built up the trust and he isnt scared of u, he will avoid you just because he wants to do his own thing. The key is to first make him not fear you, and then to be seen as something that helps him do whatever he wants, and then he will always take you up on your offer of help. So as soon as MacGyver started using the plants in escape attempts, I went to the gym to work up a sweat, came back, rubbed it all over the tops of the plants, and started putting my hand out any time he climbed to the top of the plants. After a day he thought of me as the big warm tree that always helps him escape. It has to work the other way too though... so once he is done exploring your shoulders and tries to climb down you, rather than stopping him, u gotta do the little moving hand stairs things down and help him get to the floor and let him explore [in a tegu-safe room... where u wont have to catch/chase him for any safty reasons etc...] Same thing on the couch... when he wants to go down, I help him.

And one small note on biting.  There are different kinds of biting.  If he is leaping at you trying to bite, you need to just back off and work on the trust part more.  If he is doing the thing where he is in your hands and he starts pushing his face into your arm for a few sec, then he starts to open his mouth and tries eat your arm (he did this once on day 2)... just rub his head and say "little dude im not food, and you cant even fit my arm into your mouth anyway."  Don't do something like hit him on the head and say "bad lizard."


So the short version. Two simple things, do them in this order:

1) Build trust first. Never try to catch him, never try to punish him.
2) As soon as he doesn't fear you, start helping him do whatever his stubborn plans are and he will love you forever.

 

[Scott Hogge]

I'm giving up on my Varnyard deposits today.

Anyone aware of any breeders that currently have nice looking red babies and actually run real businesses?

all im saying is bobby has issues and he thinks by lien he can resolve them all i got was excuse after excuse from that dude..if you think im lien just go check out the recorded conversation i had with him..he even rushed me to get off the phone...and i paid him the full amount upfront 150.00 for a blk&wht since april all i get is excuses from him...if you cant deliver by the date you said you could...the lest bobby could do is refund my full 150.00 i dont care what people say but bobby proved to me that he
aint a real bzness man i would never deal with him after this EVER...i ordered a caiman lizard from dustin and they were both supposes to be here at the same time dustin called me when they hatched and delivered on time like he said...bobby on the other hand still giving me the lies and the run around all im saying is listen to the call go to youtube the tittle is" Got tired of waiting so i called bobby hill" and it was only 85 degrees and raining lies i tell you lies

---

well i know the feeling ive been waiting since april i call him on april 20th 2012 he said he ships out in three weeks so i paid him in Full june came nothing i called him he told me he didnt have me in his books i emailed him a copy of my payment and then he said july july came and went nothing so now im going to call him and ask for my money back my dad a lawyer and said since i have all the emails of him saying in july and we already in August he broke the verbal contract im just waiting for him to pick up the phone he never answers he needs to learn how to treat paying customers better....SHAME ON YOU BOBBY YOU NEED BETTER PEOPLE SKILLS...

This post (along with many others) got me thinking...

Every time someone complains about Bobby, people chime in and say thinks like "he is a busy man, he hatches over 600 animals, ect.."

Assuming all the tegus are B&W (I know they are not) and selling for $150 each:

600X150= $90,000 <- conservative estimate

I don't think it would be a bad idea to hire a high school kid for 10 bucks an hour in the summer to answer the phone and keep a simple spreadsheet that keeps track of the customers. It could potentially do wonders for his business.

However (in Bobby's defense), until the whole country stops constantly wanting his animals, he doesn't really have to change anything. He sells so many of these things and I know no matter how mad I get about lack of contact, as soon as I open that box I will be so happy that none of this will matter.

The breeding and selling of tegu hatchlings is definitely a seller's market. The demand is so high and there is little competition. This allows vendors to do pretty much whatever they want.

Additionally, it is my fault for asking who breeds the best tegus (then buying one) without researching the breeder's customer service reputation. I am spoiled with my Amazon prime account where I can click whatever I want and it shows up in a day or two.

Just my thoughts.

well i dont really care how much he make i can give a flying **** all i want is what me and you spoke about thats all you said 3rd week of july then thats what i waiting for i spoke to bobby when i was looking around but i promised him if i dont like what i see out their i promise i call you back and deal with you i looked at underground well actually drove over didnt like how he kept his animals and the prices where to high on some animals so i said forget it i went over to dustin place it was good place kept clean and he at the time had a clutch so i said dame i promised bobby hill dustin said its okay i understand thats my number one rival(lol swear it lol) he said i have something bobby doesn't have or breed at that time caiman lizard expecting so i loved the place very well kept clean what ever i said fine( really cause i felt bad) i asked him how much he said 400.00 i was like wtf for that he explained and what ever else bottom line i paid him in full as well he...he called me when the clutch was laid down when they hatched and on the 27 to tell me to stay home he was gonna ship....damn thats customer serves at its best and it puts people mind at ease....and if bobby really is making that much money then he really should hire someone to help him cause we all know he needs it....

I just watched your recorded convo with bobby and would recommend anyone else who is expecting one to watch it also. Here's the direct link for those of you to lazy to search for the title that was posted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpQu_TRGWrk

 

[Ujarak]

Watched the video...i wonder if he realizes that in one sentence he told u there is a shipping hold in florida right now and in another said he has to take a call of someone who he just shipped a tegu to.

 

[DoctorPepper4]

Watched the video...i wonder if he realizes that in one sentence he told u there is a shipping hold in florida right now and in another said he has to take a call of someone who he just shipped a tegu to.

i dont think bobby realized he got caught lien he has told me so many lies
i just think he truth-o-fobic(its my new word for people that are worst then pathological lier's cause even they tell the truth at some point bobby doesn't) but like i said i called him today and he didnt even answer i was just gonna ask for my money back and the hell with him...and keep it moving i saw nice one for the same price and already dog tame...well thanks for watching and im glad someone out there knows how i feel...make sure you tell everybody to watch it so they can see what a lier he really is.....

 

[tommylee22]

My 2cents, I'm a huge fan of Bobby!! the guy shipped and called a few times checking to be sure I picked up at post office, my wife spoke with him and was happy to hear how concerned he was about wanting to know the animal arrived ok. I think he puts the animals first over peoples wants(whats a extra week or two?). You will get your tegu. I put my deposit down first few days of March and was told they could hatch as early as May and as late as Jun. then 3 weeks after hatching he would ship. He did exactly what he said he would do but he did check weather with me first before he shipped. Fact is there has been crazy heat waves all up and down the East coast.

IDK maybe I was just one of the lucky ones but Bobby is a straight forward guy and I would order from him again.

 

[Skeetzy]

Watched the video...i wonder if he realizes that in one sentence he told u there is a shipping hold in florida right now and in another said he has to take a call of someone who he just shipped a tegu to.

He said he shipped tegu's out yesterday. Phone call was placed on August 1st, correct? Well the recorded high of the day in Pensacola, FL was 86*. He said when it's over 90* he can't ship I believe I read on this forum. Who's to say he didn't ship tegu's out the day before? It would've been possible.

Also, I think everyone just needs to relax. I agree, he should hire someone to handle his emails/phone calls/etc. I did it for someone at a local paintball store all of high school, and the store didn't make nearly what Bobby does. But, he's clearly a man who is set on running a business by himself. Nothing anyone says really changes it, and he still makes his sales, so you're really just wasting your time bitching and stressing yourself out.

Everyone has to remember, it's the animals Bobby waits on, and cares about. He can't control when they lay the eggs, or when the eggs hatch. It's all in the animals hands. When he tells you "hatch in May/June, ship 3 weeks after hatching" is just a general statement, as that's his guess for when they're usually ready. He tells you everything you need to know from the get go.

I'm just as antsy as the next guy waiting for my tegu from Bobby to come. Hopefully mine ships this week, at the 3 week mark, but if not, oh well. It will come. I haven't gotten worked up, pissed off, or stressed out over this whole ordeal. Just extremely anxious since putting my deposit down on mine nearly 5 months ago. Everyone lets this anxiety build up into frustration about something they chose to get into. A simple search into the forum to read about Varnyard would've prepared you for this whole mess.

 

[Ujarak]

July 31 the highest temp was 87 in pesacola and aug 1 it was 86....so why could he ship the day before but not on a day that was cooler...