i've ordered a few times from Backwater. recently I had a problem where I was getting double billed for an order I have tried calling, but their mailbox is full and they never answer the phone. I've emailed them and I got an AI response that did not handle my problem there's other reptile shops online that you can go to that don't charge $50 for a delivery and quite possibly answer the phone when you do have a problem. shop around. read more

I purchased a frog from this breeder after being referred by a friend. Unfortunately, the frog passed away shortly after arrival. I contacted the breeder and provided a photograph showing the deceased frog. The breeder informed me that, to qualify for their guarantee, I needed to provide a photo of the frog upside down on top of the original shipping label. By the time this requirement was communicated to me, the frog had already been buried for several days. When I explained this, they told me I could instead place the frog on a piece of paper with my name and the current date written on it. Again, I explained that the frog had already been buried and was no longer available to photograph. I submitted the photo I had taken at the time of the loss, but the breeder repeatedly stated that it was not sufficient because it did not contain identifying information linking the frog to my order. While I understand the need for verification, I was never informed of these specific documentation requirements until after it was impossible to comply with them. What disappointed me most was the lack of flexibility and customer service. Rather than considering the circumstances or the evidence I had provided, the responses focused solely on denying the claim because the exact documentation could not be produced after the fact. For a claim worth roughly $30, I would have expected a breeder to work with a customer in good faith, especially one who was referred by an existing customer and hoped to make future purchases. Unfortunately, this experience left me feeling that the guarantee was not handled fairly, and I will not be purchasing from this breeder again. read more

Backwater Reptiles - Whites tree frog purchased from Backwater Reptiles - Reptile Shops Near Me - Rocklin, California

1 Star - Terrible experience with live animal shipment I had a very disappointing experience with Backwater Reptiles and would strongly caution others before ordering, especially when it comes to live animals. I ordered frogs and ran into an issue with shipping due to unclear information on their website. It states they use either FedEx or UPS, so I selected a FedEx hold location. However, they shipped via UPS, which made the address invalid for delivery. From there, the situation quickly went downhill. UPS informed me that restrictions placed by the shipper prevented me from making any changes to the delivery. I contacted Backwater Reptiles multiple times asking them to simply call UPS and update the address -- something UPS told me only the shipper could do. They refused to help. Instead, they repeatedly told me there was nothing they could do and that I needed to handle it myself, even though UPS made it clear that wasn't possible. I made multiple attempts, including going in person to a UPS location, trying to resolve the issue because I was concerned about the wellbeing of the animals. The package ended up being marked as refused and returned. Despite all of this, they are now attempting to charge me a return shipping fee. Even more frustrating, they accused me of being irresponsible and "not caring for the animals," when I was the one actively trying to fix the situation the entire time. This could have been resolved with a single phone call on their end, but instead it turned into a stressful back-and-forth while live animals were stuck in transit. Overall: - Poor communication - Refusal to assist with a fixable issue - Blame shifted onto the customer - No regard for the situation involving live animals I will not be ordering from them again. read more

I paid for some geckos, 400$. They were supposed to ship the next day. Backwater never sent me shipping info and I never received my order. It is impossible to get in contact with the company. Noone answers the phone or replies to emails. I have had to file a complaint with the attorney generals office and their local police department for a scam/fraud operation. read more

They sent us a frog completely sick/emaciated. They don't respond to emails. I don't care about that. What they are doing to living creatures is heartbreaking and unacceptable. The frog didn't make it. Animals don't get like this in a 24 hour shipping timeframe. They need to be shut down. Do not support this business. So many reviews with same experience. Poor poor animals. read more

See all

Hi I'm joe aka weekendislander@gmail.com... This place is all about FOOLING the customer... They sent me an initial email the day after I placed my order without a tracking number just a blank space where it was supposed... It important to have a track number be your order in on delivery so you have the option to pick it up at the nearest fed ex office yourself... Instead of it being in a hot truck or van all morning considering it is a live animal... On top of all their shenanigans they don't reply back until it to late and they insist on it all being the customers fault... Please for you and me at this point avoid business with these shady thieves read more

Do not order from here please I should have checked the review on Reddit I ordered axolotl tadpoles six $for $100 they emailed me and said they don't have them and they're going to send me eggs instead 10 eggs what am I going to do with 10 eggs read more

Dead animals and infected animals that have broken bones or starved to death. And all reviews have dead reptiles or extremely sick reptiles. Never going to buy from this company again. read more

This place has been terrible. After purchasing, they have changed item availability several times and have made it extremely difficult to cancel my order or provide a refund. And most recently, their email response was insulting and lacked all levels of professional service. Be wary of ordering from them. read more

Sent me a malnourished dehydrated lizard died 10 days later. I've never seen a uromastyx baby in worse condition anywhere online. You should not sell hatchlings this young anyway they need to eat parents poop to establish a gut micro biome before selling! read more

Backwater Reptiles - Reptile Shops Near Me - Rocklin, California

See all

NEVER EVER EVER PURCHASE ANY REPTILE FROM HERE! I wish my child had read the reviews before he spent his hard earned money here. I am posting the hopes people see this and go elsewhere. Our newt arrived dead just like almost all the reviews warned about. Then they want to charge you to ship another one. The box they shipped him in didn't even say there was a live animal in the box which violates not only IATA but also is a FedEx requirement. They don't care that they are out here killing animals. sooo many reviews if sick or dead reptiles. DONT DO IT!! read more

With High hopes without reading reviews (lesson learned) will never buy from them again and recommend everyone stay away from this place. I bought a frog, arrived ok till a few hours later. Woke up from a nap and found him dead. I took a pic of him in his tank, and tank itself. I was trying to get info on the possibilities issues, and got a response later after i had to dispose the dead. The email gave specific instructions to take a pic of the frog upside down and on the box it came in. Could only send a pic of the frog dead in its enclosure and the box itself. The next email response indicated that they couldn't verify the date the pic was taken. Wasn't looking for a return, just knowledge in general and the way i was treated as if being a customer didn't matter. Their lack of responsibility, and overall way of taking care of things the right way is at its best below everything i've ever seen. I will never go through them again, and have found better places with far better results because of this. Thank you Backwater for letting me experience this so i can achieve better results from others more reliable and dedicated! read more

Shipped animals with a heat pack in 90-degree weather. Both arrived dead. My "options" were to pay $34.99 more or lose $55 in shipping. Ordered two White's tree frogs. Backwater Reptiles included a heating pack in the shipment despite it being 90 degrees at my location. Both frogs arrived dead. Their resolution: pay them $34.99 for discounted reshipping, or accept a refund minus the original $55 shipping fee. So I either hand them more money, or I eat $55 in shipping costs for a delivery that killed the animals due to their own packing decision. There is no option where I get my money back. That's by design. When I pointed out that their negligence, not transit risk, killed these animals, they hid behind the Live Arrival Guarantee I agreed to at checkout and insulted me several times. Agreeing to a guarantee policy is not a blanket waiver of liability for negligence. Those are legally different things, and they know it. I've filed a chargeback and a BBB complaint. I'd rather have just had live frogs. Ship live animals. Pack them correctly. Honor your mistakes. This company does none of those things. read more

Don't bother. I had a problem with the site. I tried to make an order but after paying the sits said "there was a problem" They took a full day to return my email. Thank God they didn't get my money. The person that answered my emails, apparently dosen't read English. After 8 emails they don't comprehend the language. They kept telling me i said (typed) things that i did not. Like my payment was declined. It was NOT! HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! read more

people, don't waste your time and money ordering from this place. There is no live customer service. They asked to fill out a comment box for instructions which they completely ignored. instead of dropping at my door they want me to make arrangements with a UPS store for pick up. This was not stated when I paid for my turtles. now I have to take off a day from work and coordinate pick up with a UPS store. I paid $59 dollars for delivery. This place is a joke and should be shut down. I am filing a grievance with the Better Business Bureau. read more

Shop Elsewhere I ordered a lizard on a Wednesday and paid $50 for overnight shipping, expecting it by Friday. Only after checkout did I see it wouldn't arrive until the following Tuesday. Since we were going on vacation, I emailed immediately and was told it would ship Tuesday and arrive Wednesday instead. The next day, I got a shipping confirmation saying it would arrive Tuesday--just like I asked it not to. When I contacted customer service, they were extremely rude, blamed me, and showed no accountability. Their tone was passive-aggressive and unprofessional. To make matters worse, the lizard was left on my porch in the heat with no signature required--FedEx confirmed none was requested. Thankfully, the lizard survived, but I doubt I'll get any help if something goes wrong. Avoid this company. The customer service is awful and not worth the risk. read more

Horrible company and business practices. I received a malnurished blue iguana and 13 dead tree frogs. The company basically refuses to do anything about it unless I pay them more money to ship live ones. I have photos and videos of the dead frogs and container they came in. It had ZERO holes for the frogs to get any air. The company basically suffocated them and now expects more money from me to make the situation right. ​​ read more

See all

AVOID AT ALL COSTS ! are mistake that we made a purchase before cheeking out there rating on yelp. takes DAYS to get a replay via email , they don't pick up phone there is NO costumer service . Nothing was shipped after days having a payment . they are confused what we ordered even that i send him copy of my papal paid invoice . We had to open claim with paypal to get refund , then we got email asking to close paypal claim so they can refund us . CROOKS !!! read more

I ordered 2 tokay geckos and 1 arrived alive (still seems healthy) but the other one was dead on arrival. Limp, smelled dead, no reaction to anything. They shipped in 2 plastic containers. I left the male (dead) in the plastic and the next day the container was FULL of bugs (that I assume had been inside the poor tokay) and then the next day he was liquefied. I contacted Backwater Reptiles on the first day and they did not believe me. No refund. Told me to set him in his unit in his basking spot. So happy I did NOT do that since he was already dead and infested. My female (other) so far seems completely healthy. I had never had an issue ordering from them in the past except for 1 pacman frog that died the next day (but I assume that was my fault because my husbandry was not perfect then) I won't be ordering more reptiles from them due to the reaction I got when I notified them. read more

See all

in addition to shipping sick animals they are terrible at communication and customer service. after receiving an unwell animal I requested a replacement in which they sent me a completely different species and after confronting them about this mix up they agreed to send me the correct species and proceeded to do so without notifying me that the animal had been shipped nor did they provide and sort of tracking information. the only reason I found out is because I sent a follow up email asking about when they were planning on shipping and they were like "what do you mean???" after that no one has been responding to my emails thankfully however the animal is doing fine despite sitting at a FedEx facility for over a day read more

The absolute worst customer service! Don't get me wrong. The animals are great and healthy WHEN you receive them, but trying to get ahold of someone is impossible. This is the only company I know of where the phone number won't connect you to a real person. The only way to get ahold of them is to call, and wait 1-2 days for them to call you back (maybe). You can also send an email, if you have 1-2 days for a generic, copy and paste response. Also, if you order online don't expect them to ship your order the next day. Not sure how or why they process payments the way they do but the shipping address and billing address for your method of payment need to be the same or it won't ship? Again, only company I know of that has this absurd policy. Do better Backwater Reptiles. read more

Will never buy from this company again. I ORDERED FEMALES. & was sent males. & not in great condition. Male chameleon had sore on his face. I ended up having to buy whole new set ups for the males I recieved all for their MESS UP. Reached out to their company to see if they would resend me females and they were rude and not helpful at all. They told me the male female option button is just a "preference". What kind of bullshit is that. If you're not going to send what people wanted then give them an option to cancel the order. & WHY PUT A MALE/FEMALE option if you're not even going to abide by the fucking selection the customer picked. Do not buy from them unless you want to be disappointed read more

absolute crap they should not be allowed to sell socks sent me dead spiders and told me i had to repay shipping to send back and then to send a live one telephone number is invalid and they play the email game do not buy anything from these ripoff artists.horrible,horrible horrible, they talk tough over email but i bet if they had a disgrunteld customer in front of them the tune would change .please shop elsewhere.i am a verified customer have the reciepts to prove it. read more

absolutely horrible service. I'm a disabled veteran on a fixed income and my bank was charged then after they kept asking me for more and more information to prove who I was when the transaction already cleared. now waiting 10 days to get my money back because they refuse to refund it. stay away from this site. read more

Had an issue placing the order before I paid - response in around an hour. Ordered, paid, confirmed they took my money - three days no response after follow up about not receiving a tracking number. Three days they didn't answer. I filed a dispute with the bank and it was an instant "please remove your hasty dispute" Do not order. You won't receive. read more

Excellent company. I have purchased several frogs from them and all transactions were smooth. Shipping was as advertised and frogs arrived happy and healthy. I will most definitely purchase more from them and I most definitely recommend you buy from them too. read more

what a total sham of a business. I contacted these people about a specific chameleon...do you have this on hand..yes...they said. O.k....I immediately placed an order that moment because they said hey we have them right here. However when they went to ship them the next day they somehow had sold out of them. But wait I paid for them they were legitimately mine......but.......how could you be out. Oh well we sold them before we shipped them to you. Wait what....didn't I pay for them a day ago....yes you did.....o.k. then where are they the. Again we sold them before we could ship.....yes I get that you sold what I paid for but how do you justify selling what I paid for. Well we have no answer thats just the way it works. Well...you are very dishonest people..... read more

It's well-known by now that this company sells sickly animals that are generally underweight and often infested with parasites. I've read multiple accounts of freshly-purchased animals dying shortly after arrival, with photo evidence included. Someone with even a shred of a conscience would be appalled at the state of the animals kept and sold by Backwater Reptiles. I can only assume that most if not all of the positive reviews are made by either sock-puppet accounts or complete monsters. I'm adding yet another complaint here to the long list of reports on varies websites and emails to animal welfare departments, and I would recommend that others do the same. Leaving a 1-star only because zero is not an option. Authorities that come across this review- you really must look into this company! read more

I ordered 3 frogs and a tarantula from them. I emailed after a week of no shipping only to be told the tarantula was not in stock. They offered to replace it with a different one. I was then told after waiting for the weekend that the frogs weren't ready to be shipped and they would replace them with another species that would not be ready until the following week. They could not guarantee my replacement tarantula would still be in stock. Their email responses are slow and they don't answer phone calls. Buy elsewhere. read more

I went to order a tortoise from blackwater reptile and when they asked for id to prove who I was I gave it to them and they told me only the address on my license could be used to deliver the tortoise I ordered i told them I moved then they accused me of being a fraud and that my address on my drivers license was different than where I ordered from I told them nobody changes their address on their driver license when they move I sent all the receipts from where I was ordering from to what they sent me which showed where I was ordering from as well as living I also emailed them to ask them to show me proof of being a fraudulent person. They have yet to answer me . I told them the money is pending in my bank account and still they are not responding but completely ignoring me altogether . My next move will be to tell them if I see the money come out of my bank account they will be informed through email that they stole it . I would never recommend buying anything from them especially if they claim you're a fraudulent person and cannot prove it as well as telling the costumer that they will only use your drivers license to send what you ordered when your ordering from a different location. read more

THIS PLACE IS A SCAM, DO NOT BUY FROM THEM. IF YOU'VE BEEN DEFRAUDED BY THIS BUSINESS, PLEASE FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE FTC AND YOUR LOCAL ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE. ---- If I could give these guys zero stars, I would. Ordered a 3 pack of red-eyed tree frogs from them. When the box arrived and I cut the tape to open it, I could just smell dead animals inside of it (nastiest thing I've ever smelled). 2 of the 3 frogs inside were DOA, the third frog had broken toes, was bleeding from several areas on the body, and had major bruising. The frog was lethargic and appeared sick. Within 10 minutes of receiving the order, I reached out to Backwater Reptiles customer service via email and asked them to call me, which they never did. Via email, they asked me to retake pictures of the dead frogs again. I sent them the requested pictures as well as pictures of the injured frog and voiced my concerns. They asked me to wait 24 hours to see how the frog was the next day, at which point I let them know that my experience in this hobby tells me this frog will not survive. Sure enough, less than 24 hours later the third frog is dead. Contacted Backwater Reptiles again with follow-up and to ask for a refund, at which point they started to argue with me and claimed that the frog I sent them pictures of was "healthy and plump", and that my own opinions of the frogs health were not believable. They also declined to even honor their own 7 Day Live Arrival Guarantee which they continually raved about in the first few emails they sent me. I've kept red-eyed tree frogs for 5+ years and have a collection of over 20 frogs. I've never had any frogs come DOA from any vendor previously. The condition the frogs came in tells me that they knowingly shipped frogs that were already dead, or were extremely sick. This experience corroborates what others are saying in their reviews. If this can be proven, it is 100% illegal. This place also claims to be addressed in California, but my frogs came from 6450 Sterling Rd Hollywood, FL 33024. When you google maps you can clearly see the building has a sign on it that says StrictlyReptiles.TV which has 1/5 stars on the BBB and is on the watch list for scams, go figure. I also noted that all of their emails started off exactly the same "Thank you for the snapshot---This is very sad to see. " Seems like a copy-and-paste job because they never actually answer your questions. I'll be disputing this one with the BBB and the credit card company for sure. People should ban together to take these fraudsters down. At what point is this not considered both fraud and animal abuse by knowingly selling sick and/or dead animals? read more

See all

Horrible customer service, very rude, condescending and very unhelpful! First and last time buyer. Was trying to order a snake, but they needed pictures of your license, credit card, utility bill...shocked they didn't ask for my W-2s while they was at it. Needless to say I canceled the order, just wasn't worth it at that point. read more

DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM! I was sent a sick tortoise that I tried to nurse back to health. We had to wait for a vet appointment and she died a few days ago, just some over the guarantee expiration. I emailed them when I first received her because I had concerns and I was told "Just soak your little one to rehydrate and they'll be fine". I did. She never drank or ate on her own. They needed a verification picture of her death. So, I had to go dig her up from where she was. Covered in her rot and body fluids with paper with my name and the date on it. I am sick to my stomach because I had to disturb her resting place and then they had the gall to offer me a heavy discount if I wanted to try again. WHY WOULD I ORDER THROUGH THEM AGAIN?!!! I am completely disgusted.​​ read more

I ordered a baby american alligator from backwater reptiles and I was absolutely blown away at how accurate their babies are from their photos. Our baby arrived safe and sound. She is such an amazing addition to our family. Just so everyone is aware there is a fake fraudulent website who is claiming to be them and giving them poor reviews. I can 100% guarantee if you order from the real backwater reptiles https://www.backwaterreptiles.com/testimonials/backwater-reptiles-testimonials.html you will not be disappointed! They are the most kindhearted caring people who genuinely care about their animals and customers and are always just a email away if you have any questions at all and always respond very very quickly. read more

See all

Warning do not buy from these clowns I purchased chameleons one of them came in fine condition emaciated at least it's arms and back legs were working however, The other one had its arms bent in corner shapes unable to properly extend its arms. That is a common skeletal condition from improper calcium consumption and improper UVB light exposure. Petco could offer you better quality the Customer service was the worst I've ever experienced completely unable to assist me. I had to go through my bank as backwater Reptiles were not willing to work with me save your money. Do not buy from Backwater Reptiles, very unreputable supplier I would give them zero stars if I could look elsewhere if you want quality Reptiles read more

If I could give less stars I would. I had been looking to purchase whites tree frogs and found Backwater Reptiles, I proceeded to order 3 of them and paid for my frogs. I made the mistake of having them shipped to my school as I wouldn't be home. Apparently it flagged my card and the company said I can send my information or cancel my order. I sent them some information and they said it was the wrong info so they would cancel my order and I could just reorder. Well a week later my purchased went through in my bank account saying I had placed the order. Upon emailing backwater they told me it was not on their end, they cancelled the order and it's on my banks end, I needed to call them. we exchanged numerous emails which all stated it was on my end not theirs. I called my bank and had to file a claim in order to get my funds returned because the order had in fact gone through. Backwater would not send me the frogs I ordered and still insisted it was on me. When I finally stated I was going to write a review and that I had to dispute my charge they told me there was a miscommunication and I could send my info to get the correct billing address. They have the worst customer service and I feel like they are doing shady stuff, I could be wrong on that but they charged my card, said they cancelled my order, and yet I never received the frogs I ordered. I feel they thought I would let it go. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY AT ALL. It has been almost a month and I still have not received frogs or my money reimbursed. read more

Do not buy from this company!!! Not only do they not send you what you ordered. No one picks up the phone,mail box is full. So you can only email them and they are not helpful at all. They shipped me half my order, admitted that is was their fault and refused to send me the rest of my order unless I paid an additional $55 shipping. Zero customer service. Go to your local pet store, don't support this place. read more

Bought a panther chameleon for 450$ took him to the vet and he was full of parasites, Ones found in chameleons that are wild caught. That was another 250$. 1 week after having him he's barely hanging on and I doubt he will make it through the night. Do not ever get anything from these scammers. read more

I have seen both good and bad reviews, and I'm shocked at the bad ones. This business is spot on, they answered every single email I sent to them (and I sent a lot, with questions, etc., etc.) I over paid, they refunded my money immediately. They were very helpful with the shipping process, and I received 3 healthy CB juvenile turtles. It was actually easier than purchasing at a pet store (Backwater has a HUGE selection of species) and way better than a reptile show were the reptiles are handled and ogled at by everyone, but no-one buys. I will definitely be a returning customer, my first experience was fantastic. Maybe all the bad reviews are from beginner reptile owners, or they think buying a reptile or arachnid is like ordering take out pizza. Its NOT that simple and Backwater takes care of all the little details. Thank you Backwater, 3 different species, super healthy and bright eyed, from your tank to mine in less than 15 hours! Amazing!! read more

Backwater Reptiles - Red Eared Slider, Eastern Paint, & Southern Paint. Welcome home kids! - Reptile Shops Near Me - Rocklin, California

I bought a baby Indonesian Blue Tongued Skink from them a month ago, and she was severely underweight and wheezing when I got her. She had tiny black bugs crawling in her eyelids and her right nose hole had stuck shed or substrate in it??? I decided to keep her to try and rehabilitate her. We bonded really good over the month I had with her. I wish I had her for her whole life, but you people don't care about your animals health it's just another paycheck. I'm glad she got to die in the peace of knowing i loved her and she didn't die in a small plastic drawer with multiple other lizards on top of her. I emailed Backwater Reptiles about this, and they made me send a dead photo of her. I had to take her out of the box and touch her dead cold body again. I sent them the photo, and my dad buried her. Back water reptiles told me they needed her upside down. I know I sound dramatic but it was traumatizing for me to redig up the pet I once loved so dearly for the third time, just to prove she is dead. I wish you people would take better care of your reptiles and stop breeding sick animals ! read more

See all