Ideally, a reptile shop would have natural enclosures that provide the reptile with what the lizard or snake etc. would experience in its natural habitat. Like trees, grass or sand, ponds or running water, but this is not always possible for a reptile pet shop.
While natural environments greatly increase the overall health of a reptilian animal, most shops for reptiles have to consider economics more than natural quality of life. But there are some things you must insure before buying a reptile from a pet store, and they might be as follows…
For their housing:
* Look for clean housing and cages
* make sure there is water that is clean
* check the cleanliness of the decorations and ask how they are cleaned and or disinfected
* if more than one animal is together, do they have enough room to move around and are they getting along with each other
For health and injury:
* do any reptiles have raw rubbed spots
* are there sunken eyes, hip bones that jut out, legs with saggy skin, dullness to the skin
* do the critters seem to have mites, ticks, bugs
* do they seem to have a cold with open mouth when breathing or fluids in weird places
* does the back or tail look crooked
* are there any cuts or bumps
* do all the various creatures appear to be in the proper kind of environment wet, dry, trees, logs, rocks etc…
* Is the staff capable of answering your questions about a particular animal? Are there reference materials in the store and books to buy on reptiles?
If an animal is in poor or questionable condition, keep in mind that some store might want to say the reptile just arrived, and therefore they have not had a chance to make the reptile comfortable or better; but if you constantly see problems with the animals, then you might want to shop elsewhere. Often the wrong environment maintained in order to save space and therefore make maximum profits by a shop can be the leading cause of poor herp health.
You will find good shops, old and new. Some will have growing pains, while others have learned a lot already. You will even find good reptile stores that have a rotten day now and then, but they will quickly recover from the experience and make things right again. Just by doing some research at various locations, you will surely find a reptile shop that has quality reptiles for you to purchase.
A Peak at Reptile Shows
Get an inside peak of a huge reptile show in this video.
There are a lot of cool things to discover at a reptile show. There is even a reptile show I bet you have not thought of, and we will take a sneak peek at just those two topics right here.
First, a reptile show can be a place that a person who owns reptiles can show off his or her pets. Maybe they like to raise them to sell to good homes and want to educate the buyer and then sell versus just listing in the paper. But what else is there?
Some attractions at critter expos can be as fun and educational as a fair. Mainly, there are reptiles and amphibians displayed for sale that are usually captive bred. But that is not all because you will be able to look at or buy:
* Artwork
* supplies
* Equipment
* Books
* food
There might be raffles and drawings for prizes. There are often social gatherings before the main event with food and drinks. The Reptile shows are frequently full of educational booths and exhibits, with a big area focused on entertaining and educating kids. Even craft areas and possibly a theme around the habitat of the native reptiles. Like a Rainforest exhibition, and no doubt there are seminars ongoing the whole day.
Some of the best shows provide a hands-on experience for kids and potential buyers of these exotic reptile pets. People get to experience contact with live reptiles and amphibians, often while hearing wonderful and fascinating stories about lizards or snakes etc. while they are in their natural habitats. It can be so much fun and so very educational. This is important as buying an exotic pet has huge responsibility attached to it.
There are shows in many if not all states, and a few states that I know have many shows are located in:
* California
* Maryland
* Florida
But there is another kind of reptile show you might not even have thought of and it is:
A show for birthday parties and other special events that include live snakes, turtles, lizards, and other critters in the reptilian category.
The party is brought to your doorstep and the critters are presented in a fun way but also educational. It’s a great way to learn about animals that people frequently don’t like. You would learn things like what the reptile eats, how they like to live where they are located in the wild and more. It is a great way to learn and have fun for adults and children.
You even will get to handle some reptiles under the control of some well-trained expert. Take a look, do some research if you are interested in a party where the lifestyle of an animal is presented with fun interesting facts frequently told in stories. And what a way to homeschool or teach a kid about the rainforest, for example. Do keep in mind that all creatures are likely to be in their own cage or container and handled by a professional, so no worries.
If you’re interested in reptiles as pets, go to a reptile exhibition to learn more about a reptilian friend and even buy one, or you can have a reptile show brought right to your own living room.
Wholesale Reptile Pets
The reptile industry can be very lucrative. A wholesale reptiles business can become a way to start making money to recover expenses if you just love keeping reptiles, or a way to earn extra play money. You also need to be on the lookout for people that exploit animals just to make a buck.
Since so many people in America spend money on reptiles every year, to the tune of over 5 billion, you can figure on having a market that you can grow with.
Your reptile business can be as big or small as you choose, but you should always plan to keep the critters as your first priority, or success will be much harder. Some initial advice on how to invest in your reptile business follows.
First, whatever you want to breed for wholesale profits in the reptile industry you should focus on say, two pairs of the same breed or species versus getting spread out into 1 pair of flying lizards and one pair of geckos or one pair of boas and one pair of corn snakes.
You will have much better breeding success to grow your wholesale reptiles with a larger group of same species every year than one pair scattered in several types of critters.
Second, make sure you grow your business slowly, so you can care for your wholesale pets properly. In order for you to breed reptiles regularly, you will have to keep them in optimal condition. If you have too many animals and not enough space or food, then the obvious is that the animals will suffer, and your success will too.
Third, buy the best quality reptiles wholesale for breeding that you can. If you don’t the quality of your stocks babies will be low. For example, if you buy a very common and poor quality bearded lizard or python, you will get the lowest price for your effort. But if you invest in a high quality reptile in a sought after variety, you will likely get a much higher return on your reptile investment.
Do something you love can be fun, but isn’t it great if you can actually buy a car or stereo or big screen high definition TV too?
Fourth, If you can find someone with quality stock you trust in the business, buy from them. It might cost you more money to purchase your snake or lizard from somebody that has been in a wholesale snake business for a long time, but that is a good sign of stability, and it will be better to spend more money with them than someone never heard of before.
Spend money on good-looking reptile babies, as it is easier to sell the offspring. Just like a good-looking pup is easier to sell.
Finally, start off with babies instead of adults for your business. Be patient and this will be your most important lesson and friend. You might think if you buy adults you can save time, but why are the adults being sold?
You have to ask that… Likewise, you will be much better off knowing what you have from the beginning by raising your own babies. This will increase your success with your reptile business.
You can do very well with your reptiles for business or pleasure with good quality stock kept in a healthy environment. By purchasing quality wholesale reptiles from the beginning, you will have healthier pet reptiles and a more successful wholesale reptile business.