i can say with good certainty that your sexes were mixed up in your original post. from the visual ive gotten of each animal, the yellow is female, red is male.
as for the seller, yes, that can be a difficulty. i would not discount every one out there. i used to gripe about not being able to get satanics for $50/each anymore. later, i took things into perspective. prices have gone up for a reason. sure, sometimes individuals will sell "cherry picked" animals that deserve a higher price for what they believe qualifies as exceptional animals, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. the vast majority of the time, as far as the life/health guarantee goes, it will not reach past 24 hours. i dont think ive ever seen an offer of more than a day, except in one case with an animal i bought, because of shipper's error, i got a one month extended guarantee.
gary, as far as the issue you stated....we can all agree that pretty much all uroplatus are sensitive animals. the vast majority for sale are recent imports. if someone were to really import any significant numbers in anticipation of housing them, acclimating them, and getting them into primo condition before they're sold and shipped off again, you're looking at paying a higher cost than what is seen out there as it is now. so, you'll have those who import then get those animals right back out the door, selling for $100-150 on average to make a bit of profit, then you'll have the "dedicated" importer trying to sell animals at $300+ to make the same profit margin as the in-and-out sellers. people will moan and groan about the prices, and go with the cheaper animals. just like the hobbyist, the importer loses animals and cant get money back for them either.
i know of importers that are very conscious of their animals' state of health, those that wont ship out questionable animals. i also have seen importers at reptile shows that have dead animals in deli cups on their tables.
i could go on and on.
lesson being, as the usual lecture goes, talk to the person selling you your animals. if you find someone who actually knows a thing or two about the animals you're buying, chances are you've got a good seller. if you've got someone that cant give you any details and cant properly give you correspondence, you've got the wrong person.
the vast majority of my purchases were at reptile shows from a specific vendor, and i always hand-picked the animals. priority was not the color, rather it was the state of health. i have also had vendors lie to me straight to my face. but i never bought from them.
point being, i never had a bad deal when i bought the animals in person. the animals were always bought in good shape and they stayed that way. all of the questionable dealers ended up with bad experiences.
so i learned my lesson.
patience is key.
