Backwater Reptiles Reviews 

I purchased two snowflake white’s tree frog and they sent me a free one! On top of that I’ve ordered crickets from them multiple times. Thank you so much!

Horrible customer service, very rude, condescending and very unhelpful! First and last time buyer.
Was trying to order a reptile, 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. Didn't have issues with buying from anyone else, not sure why this company made it so difficult.

We have not had one positive outcome after purchasing animals from this company. Most animals died within two weeks after receiving them, and all had mites... LESSON (SADLY) LEARNED! We purchased animals from vendors from Morph Market who sold ONLY captive breed animals and had stellar reviews to replace those who died from Backwater Reptiles. All the animals we purchased from vendors off Morph Market's website were healthy, active, fed well, and mite-free! I would recommend you heed the negative reviews about Backwater reptiles and look elsewhere!

Got what I ordered. However finding snakes in stock is crazy hard. There is no way to search in stock snakes.

I have ordered a ball python on Sunday and still have not received it and it’s Wednesday so I don’t know if it’s the weather, or it is a scam

Got my frogs in good shape ordered 2 and they gave me a free one and they are nice snow flakes and they ate wright out of the cup very happy

We placed an order on 8/15/23 for a soft shell turtle. The turtle was picked out by my 9yr old son who was spending his birthday money (to make matter worse).The funds were processed and cleared our account the following day for $75, to include overnight shipping. When we completed the order there was a popup screen stating our order was processed; however, we received no further information other than a shipping chart which stated we would receive the turtle the following Wednesday. The following Wednesday came and went with no turtle. We gave it until the end of the day Thursday in case there was a delay. Thursday came and went… no turtle… I called the company to check on the status of the order and the phone number went straight to voicemail, which was full… So I sent an email inquiring about the order. They did respond quickly and asked for our invoice number. The problem is, they never sent an invoice number, or a confirmation email. All we had was the pop up screen stating the order was complete. I informed them we never received any information following the order so we didn’t have an invoice number. They then stated the order must not have went through, so I sent them a screen shot of the funds clearing my account. They then asked for a transaction number, which I provided from the bank details. After receiving the transaction number they replied that I was “unable to provide them any solid information that the order did not fully process”. Mind you the whole time I am asking to speak to a human on the phone, which they refused to do. I reported the charge as fraudulent and filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau as they refused to provide any further assistance. The bottom line is… we placed an order, paid for the order, Backwater Reptiles accepted payment for the order, Backwater Reptiles failed to provide any additional information on our order, Backwater reptiles never fulfilled the order, Backwater reptiles refuses to speak to me or to help me figure this out. They basically told me too bad and sent me on my way without a refund or a turtle.

Horrible customer service. They look to be a wholesale broker - they don’t actually have the animals they advertise and sell. They farm out filling orders to third parties. Neither are caring or accountable. If I had to do it again, shop elsewhere.

I ordered 2 White's Tree Frogs from this company, due to MY mistake, I had ordered the wrong kind. I immediately sent an email and had to wait anxiously until they opened the next day. 1 pm for me, different times zones. I was nervous they would be sent out before the email had been checked, and I couldn't get anyone on the phone. By 1:13 (meaning they had been open 13 minutes) I had an email reply back and directions on exactly what to do to fix the issue as I needed them shipped the next day as they were a birthday gift to my older teenage daughter whom loves all animals, but has a sweet spot for amphibians and wants to work with them. Within minutes I had followed the directions and was told they would be shipped the next day as planned. But sure enough got the email that night with the tracking number and the next day they arrived. Due by 12, got them by 4. FEDEX issue. I had to sign for them, and they are just the cutest things ever! I ordered a male and a female, obviously being so young there's no guarantee on that. But as they grow if I need to order another of the different sex I will be going right back to them. (Not trying or even attempting to breed them, if I can keep the males from croaking all night we need a female lol ) Our hardest part is not over feeding them. Lol. Its only been a week and are already getting used to being fed with tongs and are losing all skittishness. We Absolutely love them, they are just perfect!

“I bought my little green iguana and received it on time. Everything seemed fine but after nine days of arriving, she got sick. After five months, my little one is still fighting for her life, has had more than forty antibiotic injections, X-rays, cultures and blood tests and still no diagnosis. Not to mention the amount of money I have spent. These people did not address the problem, so please think very carefully before buying an animal there. I personally do not recommend it.”

told its a problem to ship because my payment and shipping address are different. Tried calling and emailing to discuss a solution but phone goes straight to voice-mail and no response via email. Poor customer service

Ordered two baby Budgett's frogs. UPS delayed the delivery due to an unexpected weather issue at their Louisville HUB. I immediately contacted them to make them aware of the issue, but they sort of brushed my concern aside assuring me they would be okay. If an issue was present after arrival they would work with me to fix it since it was an extraordinary case, and wasn't their normal routine. I videoed the entire thing on arrival, showing the package, the label, opening it, seeing upside down barely moving frogs. One was incredibly bloated with what appears to be a broken, or malformed jaw that sagged in the middle. Was having trouble swimming, was leaned off to the side, and had very labored breathing. The other was completely malnourished with a hard dark bump on her left side back near her hips. Not sure if she had a broken leg, or had an impaction from something.

It seemed like they did not even read my messages, because I had to point out the video again in my next response. They told me they are hearty frogs and feel they would be fine. I woke up the next day to them both floating dead in their tank. I immediately emailed them with pictures of the frogs, and you can see their shipping box in the background… I tried to give them time to respond, but as it neared close time for the weekend I reached out again, and got both in response…

After a week of being jerked around, I called the BBB, and reported my experience with all of my supporting evidence and what happens that evening? They email me a response trying to stipulate that I'm being unreasonable, and none of my evidence, pictures or video is good enough for them. They want new ones… after two days… I did not retain their decomposing bodies for two extra days…

At this point they refuse to do anything to make it right. I've already been in contact with my bank and will still be sorting this out for the foreseeable future. Save yourself the headache, do a bit more research, and spend a bit more money to deal with an actually reputable breeder that cares about your experience, and the animals well being.

Avoid them like the plague.

My son ordered a lizard from Backwater, it was shipped quickly overnight shipping. Unfortunately, he passed away a week and an half after we received him. Even though it was a few days past the guarantee period, Backwater worked with us and gave him a full refund. They were quick to respond to my emails and super helpful.

Do not buy from them! We bought a monitor lizard. It came dehydrated, skinny, underweight, lethargic. Did not eat. Vomited. It has a likely kidney infection (from blood test results). Needs medical attention, vet assistance multiple times a week and intensive long treatment. Expectations are uncertain. They sell sick animals for hundreds of dollars and don’t care at all.

I purchased $500 worth of animals no tracking number was sent after a week no animals arrived but the company received my money. Attempted to call and email no response after doing research I see they are also running underground reptiles.hub please be careful this company will scam you out of your money

I ordered a CB female Spiny Softshell turtle hatchling 2 days ago and she just arrived today. She was alive and healthy when I opened up the box. I would definitely order from here agian!

Received our tortoise in perfect condition even during the middle of the cold snap in montana with negative temperatures. So happy with him and great communication with the company!

I had a small issue and they were quick to conduct a thorough investigation and were able to help get it all sorted out. Not to mention how friendly yet professional they were. I will definitely be ordering future Reptiles and amphibians from them.

Poor communications when they communicate at all. Their contact form is broken. If something goes wrong, good luck, they will just throw company "terms" at you. They're not going to try to help you. Buyer beware. Spend your money somewhere else.

I paid over 300 dollars for my snakes and shipping (common brown snake). I was told they would arrive in 24 hours, and when they didn't come, I was given a tracking number to locate them. The next day I received a message from the shipping company saying they wouldn't ship them unless I paid more than five hundred dollars! I have contacted the shipping company and Backwater Reptiles, and no one will help me or cancel my order! Total SCAM