Local Herp Shop Pros & Cons

[EverEvolvingExotics]

In your opinion what are the best and worst things herp shops have going for them? I love the physical aspect of being able to go into a store and to look at reptiles. I love being able to actually talk to someone face to face, but a lot of employees lack information. The majority of products sold are either much too expensive or just not what I need. Many stores don’t give me a clean feeling, they are dirty, smelly, feces filled places. Don’t get me wrong there have been herp shops that have wildly exceeded my expectations but the majority has left me disappointed. I rarely see things like racks, thermostats, diverse feeders, temp guns, care sheets, the list goes on and on.

What would you guys and gals provide to make a pet store all around appreciated by a local herp community? I’m not just talking about products but resources and services as well.

[Tfpets]

Cleanliness and knowledge are the most important things to me! It seems that if you have that, everything else would fall into place. I think that having a high standard for your employees is necessary, but that also goes back to the cleanliness and knowledge. I have noticed with some of the shops I have seen, the minimum wage employees are left to every aspect of the shop and the owner is no where to be found. If you are going to do anything like this and have it be successful and reputable, you must make it your life! Not just your job, but your entire existence and at times a sacrifice. Rare vacations or even days off. If you are closed on Sundays, that's the day you catch up on everything.

[BleedingOrange36]

They are many ideas that come to mind. I could go on for days about what I would attempt to offer if I had my own shop.
I think one of the coolest things would be a reptile boarding service. Your going away on vacation? Drop your animal off and we will take care of it. You could have individual bins just for the animals ( kind of like a QT area)
You could also offer an incubation service. High quality incubator and very precise control over it. You could charge a fee per egg or barter for choice of the litter.
I would also do probing and popping at a very reasonable rate or free with a 10$ purchase or something along those lines.
I would make sure I stocked the necessities of course. And would also offer educational classes and how to's on stuff like flexwatt and husbandry.
I could go on and on but I have to get back into work... Lunches are never long enough.
I will probably chime back in with more suggestions lol

[chet1028]

I absolutely love our local Reptile store (Markheim). They give my kids and I a chance to see a ton of different reptiles, amphibians, spiders and other animals. We've had a chance to hold and interact with so many different snakes as we research our next purchase. Their workers are generally great. Some more knowledgeable than others, but you figure that put as you talk to them. My favorite thing about the workers is that most of them are passionate about reptiles and have snakes of their own. It's fun hearing about their experiences. The prices are definitely high but it seems to me that part of what is included in the price is the many hours we've spent there researching without buying anything. I did get our first leopard gecko from them and I buy all my feeders from them just to support them.

[el8ch]

Speaking to price and inventory selection:

When you have a storefron you need to have enough inventory to meet everyone's needs. If a first time customer comes into your store and you do not have what they are looking for there is a good chance they will not come back, this is why it is a general practice to have a little bit of everything in stock regardless of popularity. This being said there is no sense stocking items that are subpar or below industry standards.

Pricing is typically higher than private breeders or online shops as their is a much larger overhead to account for,building costs, staffing etc. I have fouhd that most if not all Reptile or specialty per stores will offer discounts on animals and even products if you approach the situation correctly. Big chains have set pricing and typically could care less if you buy or don't buy from them.

IMO quality of staffing is directly reflected on wages. As a customer I expect staff to be friendly, knowledgable and respectful. This "is" hard to come by.

The Reptile store that I frequent and help out at is probably one of the best I have been to, that's why I keep going back. They have a very large and diverse collection of reptiles with staff that have the knowledge to accurately answer 9 out of 10 questions. Educational classes such as "popping and probing" are offered and they are never to busy to spend the time with you to address what animal would suit your needs or what you would need to do to achieve your breeding goals.

[.G&S Royal pythons.]

One of the biggest to me is presentation of the store, its employees and repties. The one localy owned pet store around here that sells a wide variety of reptiles is disgusting and the employees seem like they dont care, the ceiling is half missing, parts of the floor look like only dirt, and they will keep about 15the juvenile bp in one 1 15 gallon tank. Its just disgusting

[M&H]

There are two reptile shops here. House of Reptiles and Blazin' Reptiles. I visit both probably once a month or so. There are pros and cons about both and a billion things I would do differently.

House of Reptiles is the most disgusting store I have walked into and seems to have gone down hill since. I was actually quite surprised to see them at the Daytona expo and how the quality of animal at the show was an extreme improvement over the ones actually kept in the store. I went there last week and think it's the worst it's ever been. Every animal cage had feces inside and not just a bit, a lot of it. They had meal worm beetles in the cages, a good 20-30 beetles in every cage. There was a bearded dragon with his nose all busted up from rubbing or something. There was a sailfin dragon with it's bottom lip rubbed raw. Tokay geckos without any substrate or water, nothing in the tank but three geckos. Where they keep there snakes are dark and unmarked, you can't tell what is inside or what price they are asking. A few months ago I went and the Savannah monitors looked like they were dying. Skin and bones, they looked dreadful. The smell is over powering, it's just awful. I have never purchased anything from there before except a feeder rat once when there is no one else with them.

Myself I would keep everything super neat and clean. I think it's a huge issue with most reptile stores is the smell and how the animals are kept. There should be space in the back where QT animals are kept so anything going in and out of my store is 100% exactly what I would representing me. Keeping up to date products and things people should actually use. I hate seeing heat rocks being sold in reptile shops. Heat tape would be awesome to have as well as hides etc... for those who do keep their snakes in racks. I feel a ton of the market is kept to those who have one or two in tanks. Having everything CLEARLY marked with a price and animal description is highly important to me. As well as having some sort of "qualifications" in order to purchase the reptile. I belong to a reptile club where this one kid keeps asking if he can house reptiles together. I keep wondering where he is getting all these damn reptiles from! I think having a kid interactive area would be awesome. Having a spot where animals that are most appropriate for kids to have in one area so that new herpers can pick a reptile that will give them the most positive experience possible. (Obviously I know you can't guarantee that an animal won't bite or be feisty.) Having a verity of animals, ones that are harder to come by more than your ball python pastel or pinstripe, red tail boa, and savannah monitor. (no offence) I would also think having a positive approach about everyone who visits is important. The two shops here act like you are a bother and wasting their time. Like you are coming in to look at the "free zoo" when most people are curious and that is how they overcome the sterotypes that are out there.

[EverEvolvingExotics]

Thank you everyone for all of your input! I cannot agree more with all of your opinions on this subject and it's great to see that the reptile community as a whole has similar expectations.

[Daybreaker]

Thank you everyone for all of your input! I cannot agree more with all of your opinions on this subject and it's great to see that the reptile community as a whole has similar expectations.

X2! I'm definitely keeping this all saved since I hope to have my own exotic pet store one day. Very good information to have in your pocket.