What would you want?

First let me say I am not even sure this is even the right place to post this but if that is the case please move it.

I have a friend who is opening a pet shop locally and he asked what I would like to see in there as far as BP morphs go. So I figured I would throw the question up here and see what everyone had to say. So what would you like to see in a pet shop?

From a new hobbyist/bp owner point of view I would go with basic morphs that are eye catching that aren't seen in most other chain pet stores (ie hypos, spiders, albinos, lessers/butters, mojos, etc)

From a breeding/already established hobbyist point of view I would personally like to see combos and morphs that aren't seen all over the place (spotnoses, axanthics, calico/sugars, champagnes, etc)

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Originally Posted by T&C Exotics

First let me say I am not even sure this is even the right place to post this but if that is the case please move it.

I have a friend who is opening a pet shop locally and he asked what I would like to see in there as far as BP morphs go. So I figured I would throw the question up here and see what everyone had to say. So what would you like to see in a pet shop?

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Good answer

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I wouldn't throw crazy expensive morphs out there. People would want to hold them and play with them. There is also a risk for them being stolen.

Just eye popping stuff for the ones new to BP ownership. Good genes and strong colors, so he can make a good name for himself right from the spot.

In a pet store? Normal BP's. Why? Because people who frequent pet stores generally want $40 snakes. Normals are $40 snakes. Morphs are not.

If this is a specialty reptile store, then that's different. But if we're talking puppies/kittens/fish/birds/mice/few reptiles/run of the mill kind of pet store, then frankly I wouldn't stock morphs at all. I would, however, make contacts with reputable breeders to special order morphs for customers if they come in and ask.

I think a pet shop would do well offering two-gene morphs that are interesting but not outrageously expensive, such as pewters, spinners, and bees. For supplies, I'd like to be able to find cypress locally at less than big box store prices, as well as decent quality thermostats.

The real money maker for the shop would be having reasonably priced supplies regardless of the morph, especially feeders and bedding. A fancy snakes eats and poops just the same as a normal. ;)

He is going to be doing a large reptile room, a large fish room, and a small bird area. He is going to produce his own feeders so extremely low prices there, lowest in the area, and his supplies will be pretty well low prices and high quality as well. I am pretty sure I have most of what I was looking for here and any further comments will be greatly appreciated still.

I would stick with basic morph bps simply because a lot of people don't know what the heck a spinner, or a bumblebee is, because they only want it as a pet. I've worked in a pet store for a year now and most people who are looking in a PET STORE for a snake, aren't looking for breeders, simply a pet, and probably won't appreciate the morph for what it is, they're just looking at a price tag. Some of my snake friends ( who only have them as pets ) can't tell the difference between my butter, my normal, and my pastel, they think they all look the same. We do sell pastel males though that my friend sells to us for a low price, and we sell pastels like crazy. Cause they're not much more expensive, but are a bright yellow that attract people.

I second low cost supplies. I'd love to not have to order from my online place and wait a week just to save money (20-40% lower than Petco, even with shipping).

A local place to buy frozen feeder rodents in bulk would also be great.

Also, something I've noticed in lots of pet stores is crappy lighting. I want to be able see in there. I don't want most of the ambient lighting to come from the fish tank's bulbs because the overhead lighting sucks.

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I agree with eye-catching single-gene morphs, with the ability to "special order" or refer reputable breeders for higher-level combos. Pet stores have a lot of overhead, so he would lose money trying to sell at the same prices we see online and at expos, which means the combos we see for "only" a few hundred dollars would quickly get inflated out of the price range of most first-time buyers looking for a unique pet.

I would tell him to offer good caging options. I don't know if this is an option, but it would be cool if he had some animal plastic type cages in there for sales, like a t8. That way the customer gets a cage that can meet humidity requirements easier than a fish tank. Petco has Exo-Terra stuff, but nothing BP specific. SO it would be cool to see more thought and care go into the actual caging sold.

I agree with both Daybreaker and mvptext1. I just hate pet stores that sell snakes but the only caging options they have available are aquariums. As far as morphs, I say stick to the basics like pastel, pinstripe, albino or lesser. Somthing low end yet obviously different from normals. (IE no yellowbellys or axanthics).

A successful (as in profitable) retail store in any industry has to focus on inventory with a high turnover, so it will primarily stock consumables and equipment where owners like to have extras on hand. For snakes that really means feeders, substrate, cleansers and disinfectants, mite treatments, decent quality IR thermometers and hygrometers, hides, spray bottles, heat tape/rope or UTH's, thermostats, etc.