I will be starting a pet store in northern california....

Oh yes i plan on checking... i want to get a list of things id like to sell then ill check the list against the illegal in cali list and if anything is illegal ill find something to replace it...i plan on offering at least ten reptiles when i first open my store... i wouldnt feel right selling a venomous anything to anyone just because of the fact i know alot of the pets i sell will come in contact with children.... and frankly ferrets in my opinion stink... so i wouldnt sell em anyhow... i heard somewhere it was illegal to buy or sell a hedgehod in california but there were no laws saying you couldnt own one.... but i dont believe everything i hear so yeah anyways... i find it sad how long the list of no-nos is.. for cali....

 

I would suggest water dragons, bearded dragons, uromastyx, land hermit crabs and blue-tongue skinks.
Things I am not sure on but would suggest are iguanas if you take the time to tame them. I have heard frilled dragons too but i am not sure if they are docile or not.
DO NOT! Carry any chameleons. Most of them do not even reach their first birth day before they die. Due to improper care.
If you carry baby bearded dragons sell them at 6 months or older! Don’t house too many baby beardies in the same tank. They will nibble on each other. Don’t mix species! You should carry ceramic tile for your tanks and give a basic care guide for the pets you carry when you sell them.
You probably already know this but I thought I tell you!
The best of luck to ya !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I can suggest 10 reptiles that are easy to care for that you can start out with. Corn snakes (various colors), Eastern-Florida-Black-Speckled King snakes, Ball Pythons, Rat snakes (white sided rats are cool, and yellow everglades black and grey are all easy to keep(AND CHEAP), Pac Man Frogs, Leopard-Tokay-Fat Tail-Stub Tail-House Geckos. That's six. If you have the time needed to dedicate to Bearded Dragons then I suggest you get a few different colored adults to keep (to show people what you can order them) or breed your own. I don't know if red ear sliders are legal in Cali. But I sell ALOT of them. They are pretty easy to keep, but hard to keep in perfect health. That's 7. You should offer monitors also. I suggest savannahs because they are the hardiest and easiest to keep. They are pretty cheap (I pay $5 a piece for babies) but I would recommend you be sure the customers who buy them know that these are big lizards. Acanthurus Monitors are a little more pricey but only get around 2-3ft. They are also extremely hardy animals. Possibly you could get some nice baby redtails (I actually suggest breeding your own as it's very easy.) Check out http://www.boamaster.com for some nice breeders, babies, and professional looking cages. The last but not least reptile you should have in your store is the much overlooked cuban treefrogs. I see more White's tree frogs than anything in petstores(yes they are tame and fairly easy to take care of, but also more expensive). Experiment with different tree frogs like green, gray, squirrel, barkers, and maybe some pacifics!!!!

Sorry for the run on sentences and paragraphs, but I tried to get what I started off with in there. I now have the largest collection of reptiles for sale in my city, and I still make **** for money. Remember, If you keep your displays sparkling clean, and your animals perfectly healthy, people will remember you and your store. Best of luck!

-Richard

 

Those all sound like excellent options but how big do the ball pythons get... assuming they are well cared for and all, cause i dont want to sell anything that could get over 5 ft... because ive heard to many stories of them getting out and eating the neighbors dog so i dont want to sell someone a 12 ft snake specially if i dont really know if they can care for it when its older...

 

Ball pythons have a max length of just about five feet, and generally females are longer and bigger than males.

 

I frequent the main store here quite often, and they always have a hard time selling degus. Chins are great. Sugar gliders are the most demanding pet ever, short of a having your own monkey. There is a huge reptile store/zoo here in Ontario, that actually breeds probably 70 percent of their reptiles that are for sale.

 

I would have gotten a sugar glider,but they are illegal in georgia.So,I got an iguana and Im glad I did!Oh,and if you sell iguanas make sure they have a big enough cage plz,cause I have seen a lot of pet stores that dont cage them properly and its sad.

 

I agree, Degus are not very good selling animals. If you're going to sell them then don't sell hamsters or gerbils. I actually sell twice as many hedghogs as sugar gliders, and half as many chinchillas as hedghogs. I sell more fish than anything, so be sure to get a good healthy selection of fresh and saltwater. Maybe have a macaw or or amazon for a store mascot, and tell people you can order anything they want. REMEBER THIS! IF I DON'T HAVE WHAT YOU WANT, TELL ME AND I'LL GET IT FOR YOU!

 

Why is that though? I hear so many great things about Degus. They're very frienly, loving, talkative, easy to care for pets. Heck, I'd get one now if I could. Hedgehogs are very popular here though. I almost got a free one last week. I missed it by a few hours.

 

wow cool, yeah im not sure exactly what im going to sell but definately the basics as far as fish goes... maybe not salt at first cause those are expensive to keep up... however my plans seem to have changed and my long time bf might be relocated so im not even sure anymore what state ill be in lol... but ill still take this info and use it.. no matter where my store is it all sounds like good sound advice

 

No, no, no. That is a terrible home for a bird. Our macaw was a petstore mascot for almost 2 years. She hates her tail being touched, and hates kids.

 

I would never have a bird as a mascot because it would be rather stressful on them, the whole stranger thing and all, theres a petstore around here that has a bird... dont remember what it is but its big and white but it kept pulling its feathers out and now has to wear a collar thing... that would suck.... i would have a more social animal like a cat or a dog... a small dog.... but never a bird.. i was thinking at one point getting an iguana but i dont know if that would be a good idea or not... because i dont know much about iguana's... of course if i did that he would come home with me everyday and probably wouldnt be free range in the store...

 

Which, IMO is a good thing!
Was the big white bird a cockatoo?

The local pet store here, had a cockatoo there. I don't think it was a store mascot though. It didn't stay there for very long. Some old man bought her.

 

Sounds like a plan. And Ash, if you want degus, I'll ship you as many as you want for $15 a piece in lots of 5.

 

Definatley sell beardies, leos, maybe ackies, and water dragons for sure. I don't know much about snakes so i dont know. An iguanna as a store mascot would be pretty cool. Iguannas are pretty freindly if u tame them from the beggining. Or a dog would be better. Could be entertainment mascot dog/guard dog lol. Probaly advertise this site on the care sheets lol which wouldn't be so bad. Definatly go with the bundle idea like all the basic things you need for the herp kit. Don't forget feeders. Probaly crickets, discoids if u can, meal worms, super worms, phoneix worms if you know how to breed the, and silk worms.

 

I don't know how it is in California, but around here alot of the pets are too large, and are malnourished. So, unless you are willing, perhaps you shuld try to sell smaller, more easily cared for animals, like leos, which i hear you already have. Good choice!!! Just some advice, though, thanx!

 

Also you could sell fruit flies or springtails for smaller herps.

 

yes that all sounds interesting, i was thinking id like to own the animals im going to sell before i sell them that way i know exactly what my customers are getting into... plus id like to breed them, i was wondering if you guys could give me some prices on easy bred animals, like a range of how much i should pay for a pair of leos or any easily bred animals, i dont want chameleons though cause those things stress easy at least thats what my friend who owns a few said... anyways that would be great... and yeah that bird was a cockatoo... but the poor thing looked way less healthy than that beauty in the picture.... i was thinking that instead of going into a full out petstore id try and do the online thing for a while... maybe save some money up or something... plus it would be easier for me to start out as a breeder... which would give me something to do until i could afford the petstore thats along the lines of what i want to do... im trying to figure out exactly how much id need to save to purchase 6 different species (probably not all at the same time) im gonna start out with one pair of each... i will definately be doing leos.... but i dont know how much it would run me to purchase the animals and like how much a good setup would cost....

 

Well....1.2 normal leopard geckoes (breeder size) shouldn't be more than $150 at the most. The caging and lighting would probably run about $120 for everything. You can buy a beautiful breeding trio (1.2) of oketee corns for $150 on Kingsnake. Just figure out what exactly you want to start with. Let me know, and I'll find you the best prices anywhere. Just be sure to have the cages all set up before ordering animals.

 

Yeah, i will definately do that, im going to have to think about it for a while, i definately want to do leopard geckos, and im thinking maybe bearded dragons if they are decently easy to breed.... I was wondering though, i have a male leopard gecko, he is almost three, would it be a big deal if i used him as my stud? I mean like instead of buying a new male, from what i understand it wouldnt be as long as he gets along with the females.... i currently have him in a 50 gallon tank and hes been alone since i bought him from the pet store about three years ago.. so im not sure....