tary. Some of the advances in husbandry equipment
are amazing, and have definitely helped reptiles to
become more ‘mainstream’. It’s not difficult now to
put together an awesome-looking display cabinet
with all the accessories that caters beautifully to
your animal’s needs and would look great in the
lounge room!
Plus when we opened, every animal was a ‘wild
type’. Now there is a huge range of morphs and
mutations available. We have developed relation-
ships with some of the best breeders around the
country, and some of the beardies and pythons we
are seeing, in particular, are incredible.
iHerp: Have you ever thought of broadening your
market to sell other types of pets?
Paul: We’re a specialty store – we don’t sell rabbits
and guinea pigs, and I think people appreciate that!
You can’t be an expert on
everything. Often we have
people come in who have
received conflicting advice
from general pet stores and
online, etc. – turtles are a
good example. To some
extent we are uncompro-
mising, in that we won’t
leave out important
elements of a set up in
order to make a sale,
because long term the
outcome is not going to be
good for the animal or the
keeper. We’re not going to
tell people they can keep a
Murray River Turtle in a
30cm aquarium without
UVB, and we may lose
some business because of
it, but overall I think that has
overwhelmingly worked in
our favour, and has kept
people coming back.
iHerp: Where do you see
the hobby going, and what
changes would you like to
make?
Paul: I think there is still
potential for a lot of growth.
Native reptiles make unique
Australian pets, and their
popularity is still growing. If
I could make one change I
guess it would be to remove
some of the most common
species from licensing
requirements. I mean, the
bearded dragon is the most
popular reptile pet in the US and if you could
purchase one without having to obtain a licence in
Victoria, that would improve accessibility, especially
for first-time keepers. It wouldn’t have an impact on
poaching - it’s not like anyone can pick up a red
phase Leatherback beardie in the wild!
In order for the hobby to continue to prosper, we
need responsible breeders, retailers and reliable
sources of information. That’s also why we need a
platform like iHerp Australia – keep it up guys!
1. Amazing Amazon is one of the best-known reptile
retailers in Melbourne.
2. Part of the reptile section.
3. The staff all have a solid background in keeping
reptiles. Images by Andy Round.
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