Underground Reptiles is an animal mill company owned by Rian Gittman. They are a reptile breeding and importing facility in Deerfield Beach, Fl. On the UG Reptiles twitter page, they state themselves as the “#1 Reptile Retailer and Wholesaler in South Florida!” The company surprisingly has a 4.6 star review on google, somewhat due to the bribery for 5 stars. But, if you head over to The BBB, they have a mere 2.6 out of 5.

UG Reptiles is abusing and neglecting their animals. There are countless pictures of DOAs (Dead on Arrival) and recently surfacing photos from inside the facility itself showing the horrors these animals are going through. The company doesn’t only handle reptiles, there are multiple different mammals being held at the facility. Foxes, pigs, skunks, and even small monkeys all in waste infested enclosures made for reptiles. 

The DOAs and animals found dead in the facility are countless and horrifying. One person reports receiving their snake chopped in half, another, their tarantula missing legs and dead. If you were to walk through the facility you would find many animals dead in their enclosures. From Uromastyx lizards to green tree frogs no animal escapes their tourture. And if your animal does somehow make it alive, then you have to go through months of treatment and antibiotics only for your animal to have neurological issues because this company didn’t care for them during their critical stages. 

When you receive an animal from UG Reptiles and it is DOA or dying, your first thought is to call the company, but they are no help. They will ring you around and try to make sure you're the one to blame. UG Reptiles can do no wrong, they will refuse to admit any wrong doing on their part and try their best to convince you it was your fault. Eventually they will stop answering your phone calls and emails all together. A lucky few are bribed into giving them a 5 star rating anyways, so they can keep up appearances and keep selling dying animals. 

A few reviews copy and pasted off Google and BBB. 

“My little girl saved up her money to buy a frog from this company We had to pay. An insane amount for expedited shipping and the Frog was delivered to our house dead. When I contacted the company. They said they would sell us another one at whole cost plus shipping. I was appalled. Do not purchase anything from this company!”

“Ordered two baby Softshell Turtles totaled $68.98. Next day received empty box! Underground Reptiles tells me to file claim with UPS. UPS tells me their contracted to Underground Reptiles and this is who I need to contact regarding claim. Underground Reptiles has not offered refund, replacement, or responded to me, it's been over two weeks. They are living up to their name. Countless emails I've sent as well as phone calls, I've gotten nowhere with this! Buyer beware, unscrupulous business!”

“HORRIBLE:

First of all I didn’t mean to buy an animal from you. I could of been an irresponsible  or unprepared owner but you guys couldn’t care less. Why have I come to this conclusion you may ask? Because I requested and called literally five times to cancel the order two days before it was even shipped. A day before it was even shipped I received an email claiming “unfortunately your order has already been processed to be shipped”how is that fair to me the buyer?I’m now stuck with an unwanted animal not even the slightest clue on how to take care of the poor thing. The people who work here are irresponsible and need to update and fix several things. Surprise surprise one of those things would need to be the ability to cancel your order max 1 day ahead no questions asked. Another would be customer help. I was panicking the day before the package came not the slightest idea or factor of how the receiving process would work. I have several more suggestions but I think y’all get the idea. The one good thing I guess would be that it came alive though skinny but otherwise seems healthy. Sure it was foolish of me to get an animal I know nothing about but I would of been able to correct my actions if this store had allowed me too. You may as well not have a customer service at all because trust me it was no help. To viewers be prepared before getting an animal and don’t make the same mistake or be prepared on getting an u wanted animal because again, there is no going back.��” The Company responded with “Hi Kaya, we completely agree with you that anyone planning on purchasing an animal should be completely prepared to take care of it before making a purchase.”

“I WAS BRIBED WITH DISCOUNT TO WRITE A 5 STAR REVIEW! If I could give 0 I would. Absolutely terrible animal and customer service. Tarantula arrived dead with legs missing. That doesn’t happen during shipping. I suspect they sent me a dead one thinking I wouldn’t throw a fit. I bought within time frame of live arrival and emailed customer service who I fought with for 2 months. Rose told me I was issued a refund which I never got. After following up about not receiving refund they ignored me.

Extremely rude and unprofessional. Not to mention my dead animal. (:”