Hi all,
Me and my wife are animal lovers and recently got hold, by accident, of two baby (1 month old) Leopard Tortoises believed to be blind. My wife immediatelty took them when they were offered to her (she has a thing for the needy!) to save them from doom. She started surfing the web to find people with knowledge of these little critters to see if we can help them. It is then that she came accross the website www.cbges.co.za and contacted a guy by the name of Chris. He told her that he gets called by the vets all the time to look at the sick exotics since he is an expert on these animals. Snakes, lizards, tortoises etc etc. Said he would come have a look but never came. After calling him again he apologized and claimed family crisis. So the next day we took the Ts to him in Edenvale where he lives. He looked and told us they have eye infections and treated the one more severe guy with betadine. He also gave some advice how to care for them and came across as a very nice guy with a great love for the animals. Told us that he has a warehouse full of animals including giant tortoises and many endangered species that he is breeding to try and increase the numbers. And he also told us that last year they broke into his place and stole almost all his animals. He did get some back though including two morphed reticulated pythons whom he also breed with.
The next day the little T that had the bad eye infection passed away. A very sad day for us and lots of tears from my dear wife. We contacted Chris and he was very upset and then told us he would sell us two of his 1 year old Leopards. We go all excited about that since little Doppie was now alone. He did however start to open his eyes and is eating well. This is when the strange behavior started. Christ told us he would bring the Ts to our place on the easter weekend. This fell through since it was a public holiday (the Monday) and he forgot. So he said he would come on Tuesday. He never arrived, only send an sms to say he is stuck in traffic on the N1 at 7:30pm. So he turned around and went home with the promise that he would bring them to my wife's workplace. Then on Wednesday no word from him. My wife called him and he said no he wil not make it for at her work but wull come at 7pm that evening. Well 7pm came and went and nothing. The phone only rings and no smsses are answered.
I then started searching for Chris and Edenvale and reptiles and found a thread here talking about an incedent regarding stolen reptiles and a guy called Christopher Beck that appeared in court regarding this. What does nto make sense is the articles talk about his son that mentioned the reptiles that were alledgedly stolen on SArepltiles and that they were given to him by his dad. The Chris we are dealing with has a 2 year old daughter, I dont beleive he has an old enough son. Could be his dad? Further investigation revealed that the Chris we are dealing with is indead called Christopher Beck.
So after this long email a few questions. Is this the same Christopher Beck that was involved in the theft of the reptiles from the park in Edenvale or was it maybe his dad? Does anyone know this guy and can we trust him? We would love to get little Doppie some companions. Chris also promised to help with the permits, he said he sees Nature Conservation regularly and would get the paperwork etc in order for the new arrivals and for the Doppie. Maybe he is just very busy taking care of all the animals he claims to have in a warehouse in Santdon and his breeding programs? Or maybe I am being navive?
I could only find one post made by him on these forums and that was under the username amandab, which is his wife. Here are links to their various websites:
http://www.cbges.co.za/index.html
http://www.funkytemple.co.za/AboutUs.html
http://www.bellydancedivas.co.za/index.html
Any info would be appreciated!
Thanks
Marco