I CANNOT BELIEVE ....

[Leopardbreeder]

LOL! Paul would grab the chainsaw. But, you really have to be a scumbag to do that. Hope they are caught.

 

[ReptileMan27]

Yea, I agree, display cases with locks on them for high end herps so people cant just grab the deli cup and walk off.

 

[Gregg M]

I have done quite a few shows... If you do not have locked displays, it is par for the course unfortunately... I always keep my higher end stuff at the back of the display...

Yes, it sucks to have something stolen off the table... It has happened to me, but there is honestly no one else to blame... The vendor needs to be on top of things... The shows staff are not there to control theft...

It is also my guess that the person who stole it knew what it was... Unfortunately, the chances of finding this animal are slim to none...

Too bad this happened...I feel for anyone who gets robbed... I guess it can be marked up as a lesson learned...
Rely on your self to secure your animals, not the show staff....

It also helps to have a FEW people behind the table with you because you can be distracted very easily... All it takes is a second and something will be gone... Some people go to your table with 2 or more people and start talking with you while thier buddy or buddies are taking tubs off your table... If there were a few people behind the table with you, it would be hard to take animals... And usually the people who do this scam will aviod a table with a few people behind it... Especially if they look like me and my partners... LOL

 

[giantkeeper]

It was no Enigma, but we just got everything unpacked and realized we have a stolen gecko as well. There where a lot of thefts from the show. I understand some were even stolen Friday night during vendor and VIP only time....sucks!

 

[FoHGoR]

I'm sorry to hear about this. My son and I bought a HT (HTF78) from them (Debra) on Sunday.
I was really surprised when I was able to leave without anybody checking for receipts like other shows I've been too.

 

[SteveGeckosEtc]

Thanks for the kind words

Hello everyone,

Thanks for the kind words. This loss put a damper on the weekend, but overall we had a good time, and it was great to see many of our regular customers and friends again. Unfortunately Deb was especially shaken up by this, because she was the only one at the table when it was stolen.

It was absolutely amazing how much stuff was stolen this weekend in Anaheim. It was on the order of $10-20,000 (that I heard about). We have been vending at reptile shows for years, and have never had a gecko stolen (that I know of). I have never felt under siege at my booth before. We always put bird netting over our table, and I have always felt secure with that, but the thief pulled the netting up in a corner and slipped the cup out. We had another gecko stolen on Friday during set up when only the vendors and VIPs were around. We went to the show with an even number of 6.75 inch cups, but when packing up on Friday night we had an odd number... I'm not exactly sure what was stolen then, but it was probably a SHT. Other than my $1500 enigma het Bell, here are some of the other things that were stolen at the show.

Rhacodactylus vendor - pair of sarasinorum $600 value
Boa vendor - pair of blood boa hets $4000 value, temp gun, and they even took the feeding records for the snakes they stole!
Supply and animal vendor - 3 marginated tortoises $500, and they are missing some scorpions, and some snakes
I heard someone else had some geckos stolen, and a bearded dragon too. Another gecko vendor that had bird netting over the table had the net ripped up in the front, and was unsure how many geckos were stolen.

I was a very disappointed by the security at the show. They were not checking receipts at the door, and the security presence in the room was slim to non existent. Other shows we vend at have security personnel walking through all day, and check receipts at the door.

Everyone, please keep an eye out for my enigma female if you see some unknown person selling an adult (60-65 grams) enigma on one of the classified sites. Who knows if the thief is a gecko person and would keep it as a breeder, or try to unload it for cash. This enigma female is fairly distinctive (no two enigmas are alike). She had a solid pastel orange/yellow body, with a purple area on her head with some faint spots on the head. I have heard that at least one other person took a photo of her at the show, so if you have the photo, please post it here, and send it to me. Please spread the word. Cash reward if it is recovered or returned.

We have definitely learned some lessons, and will make make some changes that will make it a lot harder for thieves in the future.

 

[DanTheFireman]

Best wishes to Steve and Debra, hope that sales were good anyway. That violated feeling is worse than the loss itself. They did have the netting in place which usually helps. I'd have more compassion for a mealworm than for the thieving scumbags. By personal experience I am extra watchful of small groups of people, especially with backpacks.

 

[Nigel4less]

Man me and Greg got nervous when people with backpacks came by and we watched them like hawks but I guess after all you do they will still find a way to get past it

 

[lytlesnake]

Man me and Greg got nervous when people with backpacks came by and we watched them like hawks but I guess after all you do they will still find a way to get past it

I can't believe they allow backpacks in! Taking women's purses probably isn't done because it would turn people off, but it's very common for backpacks to be held somewhere near the entrance while people are attending an event. WTF?

Also the fact that things were stolen during load-in time on Friday does cast suspicion on someone who was vending, or pretending to be vending at that time. These events usually have mandatory union security and personnel. Apparently they didn't have someone intelligent running the show for this one. What a bunch of slackers. Don't feel bad Debra, this could happen to anyone, it's not your fault. Sounds like a total lack of organization on the part of the union people to me.

My advice to everyone is to keep your deli cups under lock until someone requests to see an animal. Only pull out one at a time. Have a waiting list if necessary. It's unfortunate, but I guess you just can't trust everyone.

Southern Californians should be on the lookout for this gecko at pet stores in their area. I don't know how many stores would pay a lot for a leopard gecko morph, but there are a number of them in the San Fernando Valley, there's Prehistoric Pets down in Fountain Valley, the place in Carlsbad, etc... I'll alert the stores I deal with here in the Inland Empire.

 

[PaulSage]

Steve & Deb, I am so sorry that you were victimized by such unscrupulous offscourings of society. Short of not taking any animals to a show, I don't think there's any 100% foolproof way of preventing thefts. I thought your bird netting method was a great idea when I saw it in Daytona, but I guess if someone wants something bad enough...

Deb, don't beat yourself up about it. You guys had a method of securing your animals in place and you didn't abandon your table. There are professionals out there who have perfected the art of thievery and amaze even law enforcement officers.

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

One after-thought I had is if you could inquire about the presence of security cameras in the area you were vending. They should have cought something, one would think.

I'm truely sorry about your loss. There's nothing worse than a thief or a liar! :main_no:

By the way, the picture is on the first page of this thread!!!

 

[paulnj]

I caught a little girl trying to steal a banded redeye in White plains yesterday. asked her why she opened the display and why are you holding the gecko near your pocket..... She walked away.

I may be wrong about her intent, but either way it was rude to open a display without asking and hold it with your possibly icky hands.

I also watched 3-4 guys trying to distract a ball breeder with 4-7 balls out at once. They worked the whole show and we watched in amazement as the worked everyone with no luck

 

[Leopardbreeder]

Glad you caught that little devil Paul. You really should have some kind of security thing in place. You are usually the only person sitting at your table ( I think). When I was talking to you in Hamburg, you turned around alot of any person (Including me) could have jacked a leo. Not that I would ever do that to any person. I see thieves at the lowest piece of crap on earth. But I am very sorry about the enigma theft. Hope you get him back, I will keep my eye out.

 

[paulnj]

Bro sorry, but you can't swipe my stuff if you tried I was security in a few stores and can spot a thief from a mile away I assure you I can catch and detain anyone at those shows.

Sunday I was with another vendor with display cases that are not easy to open. My legs got tired after 6 hours of standing and talking, so I sat down for 1 minute while nobody was around. She was the only person near the table and I assure you she wasn't carrying cash to buy, so let her look was my thought. The other vendor was away from the table for 5 minutes since it was a slow period.


BTW Matt, your comments on my actions are not needed, so stop it please.

 

[Leopardbreeder]

Wait.....what?

Just reread what I said, and I don't really understand still but I think I might. If it was about the you turning around, I am not trying to offend you. You are a great guy and I wouldn't want anything to happened to your geckos.

 

[Wezul]

It literally turns my stomach to hear this. I had the pleasure of meeting Steve at Daytona, although I only talked to him for 2-3 minutes, he was very nice and has some beautiful geckos; great guy. I have had various things stolen from me (nothing like an Enigma) and I know how it makes you feel. I truly hope they find their gecko.

Just a thought, could the security have been involved with the thefts?

 

[Nigel4less]

Thats what I was thinking but security was so bad I honestly doubt it.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I talked to Deb just minutes after the incident, and she looked like someone had just punched her in the stomach. Well, someone DID... Steve and Deb, I'm sick about what happened to you at the show! I hope everyone has their eyes and ears peeled for that pretty Enigma to show up for sale somewhere, and I would ike nothing more than to see whoever stole it go down in flames.

Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to keep things like this from happening at a large, crowded show when there are customers piled up 3-deep at your booth. Having a security guard at every corner is not very likely to happen, although that may be what it takes.

Stuff like this hurts ALL of us, directly and indirectly. It's a shame.

 

[Franks_Geckos]

Steve and Deb,
Sorry to hear about your misfortune at the Anaheim show. I hope the Enigma turns up and the thief is discovered.

 

[Gregg M]

Everyone, please keep an eye out for my enigma female if you see some unknown person selling an adult (60-65 grams) enigma on one of the classified sites. Who knows if the thief is a gecko person and would keep it as a breeder

This most likely the case... It is apparent that the person or persons who boosted the gecko, knew exactly what they were getting and will most likely use it as a breeder...

I will for sure, keep an eye out for you on the classifieds and if I see anything suspect, I will shoot you an e-mail at once... Like Marcia said, crap like this affects us all... One of the things that is great about the leo community is that most of us are friends and will look out for one another even if we are buisiness competators on some level... Tight knit groups like this is what the reptile hobby needs...

Steve and Deb, I hope it turns up...