Many care sheets for various species, and information on selecting herp pets in general, are available for prospective reptile and amphibian owners. However, the number of resources available for pet stores is far more limited, and general sentiment against pet stores is negative, due to the fact that many of them do not care for reptiles and amphibians in their stores properly.
This is a "care sheet" to explain how a store can do this without breaking their bank. It's recognized that stores obviously cannot afford to have a veterinarian see every animal that passes through their hands. Few stores can stay in business when they engage in that practice, and those which do generally sell extremely expensive and rare species to offset the costs, or are a large chain that keeps a veterinarian on staff. However, there are other inexpensive ways to maintain the health of the animals that pass through a store.
Why bother? It's simple. If you sell reptile and amphibian care products and feeder insects and animals, you want your customers to buy healthy animals that will live out their full lifespans. Animals which die in the first month after they are purchased discourage people from buying those animals again, and certainly discourage them from buying them from your store. Doing your best to make sure that they take home a healthy animal with correct information on its care is in everyone's best interests. By stocking the proper care equipment for the animals you carry, your customers will keep coming back, for food, supplements, and other supplies. If their experience is great, they may even come back for a second herp pet.
In this sheet, we will explain how to go about ensuring that animals which arrive in your store healthy remain that way, how to buy healthy animals, which species make the best choices for pet store sales, and some husbandry equipment that will always be in demand by knowledgeable customers--or customers who will become knowledgeable. We'll also include tips on offering complete herp setups that really are complete, support for customers who call in with questions about the animals they've purchased, and placement of displays.
The first crucial key to creating successful reptile displays with healthy animals will be your suppliers. The cheapest wholesaler is not necessarily (in fact, is seldom) the best. Losses of animals that you are expected to absorb, or which are unreasonably high, are a good reason to switch to a different wholesaler. A key word to look for when buying reptiles for sale is captive bred (cb, or cbb). This means that rather than being captured in the wild and subjected to the stresses of importation and disease and parasites, the animal was born in a captive environment, and is most likely free of parasites or disease, and in good health. This makes a tremendous difference in how much stress an animal can tolerate--how well it holds up under shipping and display, and thus how well it will do for a customer when they bring it home. Whenever possible, buy animals from local breeders--these animals will not have undergone the stress of shipping, and should arrive in your store in pristine condition and health. It's not unreasonable to expect 0 losses from locally captive bred animals of hardy species. With that in mind, take your opportunity to ask questions--when was the animal born (never accept an animal that is less than 3 weeks old), when did it last eat, and what has it been eating? Ask if it is eating on its own, or if it needed to be assisted.
A few warning signs:
The breeder does not know when the animal was born/hatched.
The breeder does not know when the animal last ate (particularly suspicious with snakes).
The breeder tells you that the animal is eating a food item your store does not stock. With the exception of feeder roaches or superworms (aka zophobas or kingworms) (which can easily be replaced by crickets and mealworms), you want to avoid taking in an animal which may refuse to eat the foods you can offer it. In particular, avoid king or milk snake hatchlings which have been feeding only on lizards. It's the breeder's responsibility to see to it that hatchling snakes of these varieties are feeding unassisted on mice before selling them.
The breeder tells you that the animal is eating, but when questioned deeper, admits that it required assistance to feed. This means it is not eating on its own, and you should avoid purchasing that animal for sale.
A GOOD wholesaler should also be able to tell you when an animal last ate unassisted, and what it ate. Any wholesaler or breeder who sends you an animal which is clearly emaciated and not feeding should be avoided forever after. An animal in this condition is close to death from parasites or disease, or failure to adapt to captive conditions, and most likely even immediate veterinary care cannot save it. They've sent you a "living dead" animal, and they do not deserve your further business. It takes a fairly long time for a herp to reach this stage of deterioration, so it did not simply happen in transit--the animal was already in ill health when it was shipped to you. You would not accept a rabbit, cat, or dog that arrived in this condition--do not accept a reptile or amphibian in this condition, either.
The next thing to address is what species of animals your store should carry. Many stores experiment with various types of herps, appealing to the public's desire for the unusual, and trying to see which of the vast array of species available will sell best. But some species are too delicate to hold up under store display, and require extremely specialized care to survive in captivity at all. Wholesalers often do not admit to, and will even downplay, the difficulty of the care for many species. So how do you pick out what to stock from those huge lists? Here are some mainstays which SHOULD do well in your store, and for your customers:
Lizards:
Leopard geckos
Fat-tail geckos
Bearded Dragons
Blue-tongued skinks
Tokay geckos
House geckos
Green anoles
Brown or Bark anoles
Grandis (giant) Day Geckos, or the smaller gold dust day geckos.
Green water dragons
A few notes about the above animals: Tokay geckos can and will deliver a painful bite. Grandis day geckos have fragile skin, and should be handled carefully. Green water dragons are prone to rubbing their faces on the glass, so a band of paper should be placed around the lower part of the tank to make the glass visible for them--placing the tank lower will allow customers to see the animals. Tokay geckos, house geckos, and anoles will most likely be difficult to find captive bred. House geckos and anoles have very similar requirements and may be housed together, but with that exception, none of these species should ever be housed with any others, to prevent transmission of parasites or disease from wild caught animals to captive bred ones. Iguanas are a common mainstay in many pet stores, but in truth these are not easy to care for animals. If you must stock them, stock only a few at a time, and provide complete information on their adult size and care--your customers will thank you for it. The ones who already know the facts on this animal will still buy an iguana, while those who simply wanted a pet lizard will make a different choice (and likely choose a more expensive, but smaller, animal).
Chameleons are fascinating and charismatic lizards...but they are also VERY delicate animals. If you must have chameleons in your store, stick to Veiled chameleons of no less than 3 inches snout to vent length (well established youngsters, not newborn hatchlings), or Jackson's chameleons of similar size. Never purchase wild-caught chameleons. House your chameleons in a mesh cage and keep temperatures and humidity levels appropriate for that species diligently. Jackson's chameleons require surprisingly LOW temperatures. Keep their cage well out of the way of store traffic, in a back corner or other area where they will be more secure and less exposed and disturbed. It cannot be stressed enough how delicate these animals are. They do not appreciate handling, noise, commotion, or environmental changes, and can very quickly decline and die in high stress situations. Being housed with others of their kind is a major source of stress for these extremely territorial, aggressive, and solitary animals. I do not recommend chameleons for the majority of pet stores, as these are simply not animals that do well in display situations. If customers wish to individually order them, house them properly in the back of the store away from public traffic until they are picked up.
Snakes:
Corn snakes
King snakes
Milk snakes
Ball pythons
Sand boas
If you desire to stock larger species, boa constrictors are popular, and also consider the pricey but truly beautiful rainbow boas. Avoid burmese or reticulated pythons unless requested, these animals become awesomely gigantic as adults, which is a similar problem to that of the iguanas. An adult retic or burm should not be handled by any person alone for safety reasons, so this is truly a potentially dangerous animal which is capable of killing an adult human accidently. Ball pythons should be captive bred, not captive farmed (cf). It is extremely important to be sure they are feeding well, as this species, while making a hardy and docile pet, has individuals prone to feeding problems. Listen to feedback from your customers to ensure that your supplier is being honest with you about the animals you purchase for sale.
Turtles:
Red-Eared sliders
Painted Turtles
Box turtles
Be certain that box turtles are captive bred. Wild caught animals can be difficult to acclimate in the long term. While they appear to be hardy, and can live for a long time under adverse conditions, in reality many turtles are difficult to keep in a captive environment, and will eventually decline. Many also become much larger than people realize. Smaller tortoises tend to have more exacting captive requirements, while larger tortoises are unsuitable due to their size and weight as adults. Snapping turtles are an example of an aquatic species which becomes unreasonably large. Several of the smaller turtle species, such as map turtles, are difficult to care for as they have exacting environmental requirements.
Frogs and Toads:
White's Tree Frogs
Fire-Bellied toads
Green or gray tree frogs
Pac-Man frogs
Dwarf or African clawed frogs (strictly aquatic)
A few of the above species are difficult to find captive bred, and as with the lizards, these species should always be housed seperately. Be sure that customers are aware of the adult size of pac-man or African clawed frogs, both of which become much larger than most people realize. Be certain customers are aware that some species of frogs and toads secrete a toxin through their skin, and all amphibians should only be handled with wet hands, after very thoroughly rinsing the hands with hot water to remove any soap residue. Hands should be washed with soap and water afterward.
Salamanders and newts:
Red-bellied newts (primarily aquatic)
Tiger salamanders
Axolotls or mudpuppies (strictly aquatic)
As with frogs, newts and salamanders may secrete toxins through their skins, and should be protected from chemicals or skin damage by thoroughly rinsing the hands before handling, and handling with wet hands. Wash hands with soap and water after handling these animals.
The next logical step is to be sure that your store stocks the proper food for the animals you've decided to carry. If you have green anoles or house geckos, or baby herps of any type, you will need appropriately small food items for them. Insectivorous lizards and amphibians which are below a certain size will need 1/4 inch crickets. Do not assume that they'll be able to handle the typical medium-sized crickets most stores stock. In general, food insects should be easily eaten, not require a struggle for the animal to swallow them. If you are unwilling to stock 1/4 inch crickets, then avoid selling hatchling insectivorous lizards, fire-bellied toads, or adult green or brown anoles or house geckos.
Small snakes require small mice. Some wholesalers will try to sell more animals by providing improper care instructions for them, and among the worst are the instructions on feeding insects to hatchling snakes. It sounds convenient that you may be able to feed crickets to hatchling snakes if you don't have mice, but it is not true. The vast, vast majority of snakes will never touch the insects, which may then turn tables and nibble on them at night. The few that do will still not be receiving proper nutrition. The only snakes known to consume insects that appear regularly in the pet market are green grass snakes--and these are difficult to keep healthy in captivity. Hatchling corn, king, and milk snakes require pink (newborn or day-old) mice to eat. These can be fed live, pre-killed, or frozen/thawed. If you don't care to stock live baby mice, set up a small freezer, and stock a variety of frozen mice for sale. This way your patrons will be able to continue feeding their snakes properly after they purchase them. Make sure that frozen mice are warmed completely through before feeding them--thawing by placing them in a plastic bag in a cup of hot water works well. Never microwave them. As with the lizards, if you are unable or unwilling to stock baby mice, either live or frozen, do not sell hatchling snakes--sell only adults or larger snakes that can eat adult mice.
Green iguanas, blue-tongued skinks, and older bearded dragons all require fresh veggie salads. Many recipes for these can be found online. Feed primarily dark green leafy vegetables (with the exception of spinich and cabbage), such as dandelion greens, turnip tops, collard greens, beet tops, chicory, mustard greens, arugula, or escarole. Mix at least 3 or 4 of the above greens. Chop these all up into pieces no bigger than the animals' heads. You can also add a bit of grated sweet potato or yam, or winter squash, or a bit of carrot. Do not feed any sort of lettuce or broccoli, and offer fruit sparingly if you choose. Be sure to wash everything carefully to eliminate pesticide residues. The above mix should sustain your herbivores and ominivores well while they are in your store, and can last in the fridge for several days. Throw it out and replace it when it begins to wilt. Baby green iguanas should be fed this mix 2 or 3 times per day--practice will tell you how much to offer them at a time to prevent excessive leftovers. You can sprinkle lightly with a calcium supplement, but otherwise they will require nothing else, and should not be given insects. Blue tongued skinks and bearded dragons should be offered this an hour or so before they are fed insects, every day. This is a good diet for any herbivore or omnivore you may stock, it's not terribly expensive, and will prevent potential health problems. It should be well accepted by the animals. Commercial herbivore or omnivore diets for reptiles could be used IF all of the animals are observed eating the formula, and if the reptiles won't be in the store for longer than a week or two. These commercial diets have led to health problems if given as a sole food source over a long period of time.
The next thing you'll need to address is caging. The primary rule to this, is never house different species together. They almost always have different care requirements, and can transmit diseases to one another even if they don't show symptoms. If you are lacking in space, stock fewer species. Be sure you know the basic environmental requirements of the species you choose to stock--for example, are they from the desert, or from a humid tropical region? Improper humidity levels can cause respiratory infections and other problems in herps--easily avoided by spraying a humid tank with water a few times a day, and ensuring that desert tanks stay dry save for a small dish of water. Snakes should be provided with a bowl of water deep enough to soak in, and many lizards benefit from a humid hiding area, even if they are desert animals. This allows them to properly shed their skin without retaining bits of it on toes and tail tips, which can cause loss of digits and disfiguration. Placing a hygrometer in each cage will allow you to keep track of the humidity for whichever species you choose to put in it.
Temperatures are also extremely important to herptiles. They should never be left without a proper source of heat--it is essential to their health and resistance to infection and disease, and for their ability to digest food properly. Place a heat source over or under one side of each cage, and use a thermometer in the cage to determine if the basking area temperatures are correct for that species. Some species require lower temperatures, and some require very high temperatures--incorrect temperatures can cause illness if the animals are too cold, and death by heat prostration or even burns in reptiles that become too hot. Setting up intitially with heating equipment and rheostats for each cage is a small initial investment that will allow you to forevermore adjust the temps to whatever species you put into that enclosure. Some species require UVB light for proper vitamin D metabolism. Any animal that you tend to keep in your store for more than a couple of weeks which has this requirement should be provided with it. Others may be all right for the few weeks before they are sold, particularly if you occasionally dust their feeder insects with a calcium/D3 supplement. Your green iguanas WILL need a UVB flourescent or one of the new mercury vapor UVB producing basking lights, particularly hatchlings which grow quickly. Remember that lights further than 6 inches from the basking area provide no UVB benefits, and no glass or plastic may be between them and the animal. So long as your shop temperatures do not fall below about 75 degrees at night, you can place all of these lights and heaters on a timer to switch off overnight. If temperatures do drop lower than this, some species will require overnight heating. Note that Jackson's chameleons cannot long tolerate temperatures ABOVE 75 degrees Farenheit.
Cleanliness is the third part in maintaining good health in these animals. Do not just clean, but STERILIZE each cage after its occupants are sold, before you place any new animals in the cage. A bleach solution can be used to soak the tank and the cage furniture very inexpensively--rinse very thoroughly with hot water, and dry completely to get rid of bleach residue. Do not order a new batch of animals before all of the previous occupants are sold, and clean and sterilize when your last animal is sold, rather than waiting until your new animals arrive. This way you don't have to worry about having a tank ready for them. Replace any litter or bedding, or thoroughly wash cage carpets. Keep cages scrupulously clean while they are occupied--dishes should be scrubbed and refilled every day, or whenever they become contaminated with fecal matter or dead feeder insects. If you use cage carpets, plan to run a batch through the wash each evening. If you use litter, use a scoop to remove feces from cages, and change the litter at least once a week. How thoroughly you need to clean will also depend on how many animals are in the cage--of course, clean more often and diligently if the cage has a lot of animals in it. Not only will this keep your animals healthy, but the bit of extra elbow grease will really impress your customers, who pay closer attention to this than you might think.
To avoid stress and injury to the animals, do not excessively overcrowd them. It's better to have 3 or 4 animals available at a time, rather than 10 of them all crowded in one tank. Keep the temperments of the species in mind as well when you place your orders. Chameleons should not be housed together. Males of many species will fight if housed together. In short term situations some may tolerate this, but try to avoid it to prevent your animals from injuring one another. And of course, never house much larger animals with smaller ones. Provide hides for your animals...the downside is that your patrons will have more trouble viewing them, but the stress of not having one is not worth the extra visibility. Again, keep different species seperate at all times, and always keep captive bred animals seperate from wild caught animals--do not transfer any materials between enclosures, including cage furniture, or bedding scoops, without sterilizing them first. Don't offer food items rejected in one cage to another. At the end of the day, before you close up, ensure that all uneaten food has been removed from the cages. In particular, track down any live feeder insects that may have escaped in the cages of diurnal herps, as these crickets can chew on and injure herps while they are sleeping at night. Herps will not defend themselves from attacking insects. All of this requires nothing more than a bit of cheap bleach and small bit of time and effort on the part of your employees or yourself. The rewards will be apparent within months.
Now you have done the best you can to offer healthy animals for sale....people will need the proper equipment and information to keep them that way.
Some essentials to stock:
Care books for every species you carry.
Tanks in various sizes and shapes and/or reptile cages such as Vision or Neodesha. Be sure that you carry cages for adults of any species you stock--stock a large iguanarium or similar large reptile cage, for example, if you carry green iguanas--stock high aquariums if you have aboreal species, and long aquariums if you have terrestrial species.
UVB flourescent lights in a variety of sizes.
Overhead heat lamps, and bulbs for them. You may also offer ceramic heat emitters.
Undertank heaters
Rheostats and thermostats
Thermometers and hygrometers that stick inside the cages.
Calcium, D3, and vitamin supplements
Cricket and mealworm gutloading formulas, including moisture sources like "cricket water" gel cubes.
Bedding, and cage carpets in a variety of sizes
Screen tops for aquariums
If you carry chameleons, stock mesh cages.
Humidifiers or misters for tropical cages. Drip systems for water are also useful.
Feeding bowls, basking branches, and decorations which are easy to clean and sterilize.
Cricket keepers which make it easy to gut load and feed crickets to reptiles.
Feeder insects in appropriate sizes. 1/4 inch crickets if you carry small herps, and larger ones for the adult insectivores.
Mealworms. People would rather spend slightly more for healthy and vigorous worms than less for half-dead ones, so keep that in mind when you do your ordering.
Feeder mice. If you carry hatchling snakes, or stock a lot of snakes, a small freezer in your shop to keep frozen rodents is a great idea. You will be amazed at how many of these you sell, in all sizes. Many people will use frozen mice to supplement everything from leopard geckos and bearded dragons up to large monitor lizards, as well as feeding them to their snakes. Your live feeder mice and rats will probably still sell just as well. If you buy frozen rodents individually vaccuum packed, your customers can purchase the exact quantities they need, and they'll appreciate this. If you get enough requests, you may even wish to stock frozen rats.
Some items not to bother with:
Hot rocks. Cheaper than an undertank heater, and just plain bad for the animal, reptile groups have been attempting to get stores and manufacturers to stop selling these things for years. Simply don't offer them, and explain to customers why, if they ask. Risks for burning the animals are extremely high, and many have been injured or killed by them. They have even started fires and burnt down houses. They do not heat the air in the enclosure, forcing the animal to sit ON the rock to receive heat. Encourage use of overhead or undertank heaters instead--you will make more money on them, anyhow.
Sprays or creams that claim to help animals shed or provide vitamins when you spray them or spread them ON the animal. These are smelly, messy, and not particularly good for the animals.
Complete diets for insectivorous animals. For example, there is a type of "leopard gecko food" which is nothing more than dried flies impregnanted with some vitamins. The vast, vast majority of geckos will not touch this with a 10 foot pole, and you'll make more money selling live crickets anyhow. Whole freeze dried crickets occasionally will be accepted, perhaps with that new vibrating food dish to make them look alive. If you're in doubt, offer it to your own animals in the store. If they turn up their nose, don't bother to stock it. The same thing will happen to people at home--they may buy it once, but they won't buy it again, and it will sit on your shelves taking up space. Omnivores and herbivores are a bit more tolerant of unusual non-moving foods, so a few bearded dragon, iguana, or monitor/tegu foods will most likely do all right.
Some suggestions for setups and displays:
Place delicate or shy animals higher, and in more out of the way places in your store to help avoid stressing them from the continual commotion and attentions of children. Place smaller animals at eye level in preference to larger ones--people can look up or down and see a larger animal easily, but smaller animals will be more likely to catch their attention at eye level. Group enclosures that have animals with similar requirements--all the desert animals in one area, tropical next to that, and so on. Post the basic care requirements and adult sizes of animals on or by the cages, as well as the prices. Good basic information would be temperature range and basking spot temp, humidity level, and snout to vent or total length of the animal when it is a fully grown adult. A small note on what it eats would also be helpful (ie, insects, vegetables, mice, etc). Be sure to inform customers that wild caught animals will require a vet trip and deparasitization right away, and that most herps should be given a checkup at a vet once a year, like any other pet. It's better to discourage a person from buying an animal they aren't financially prepared for than to allow them to purchase it and have it die in their home of neglect. A person who truly wants a good reptile pet can often be directed to a species more appropriate to their level of experience and pocketbook. They may be paying you a bit more in order to pay a vet a lot less.
Complete cage setups:
Some stores choose to offer complete reptile setups for new pet owners, to make it easier for them to see what a total purchase will cost them, and ensure they have all of their equipment. However, many of these stores sell setups that aren't REALLY complete. Here are a couple of designs for TRULY complete setups:
Leopard Gecko:
20 gallon long aquarium with screen top.
Overhead heat lamp with day and nocturnal heat bulbs.
Rheostat
Cage carpet for 20 gallon long.
2 Hiding caves.
2 shallow dishes, one for food, one for water.
Powdered calcium/D3 supplement
Powdered multi-vitamin supplement
Long, low branch for climbing.
Plastic desert type plant.
Stick on thermometer and hygrometer set.
Book on leopard gecko care.
Green or brown anole, or house gecko, green or gray treefrog:
10 gallon aquarium with screen top.
Undertank heater
If you stock it, a base for the aquarium designed to provide air space and a cord exit for undertank heaters.
Rheostat
Flourescent light fixture with UVB reptile bulb.
Humidifying reptile bedding, shredded bark, etc.
2 shallow dishes.
Climbing branches with smaller thinner branchlets (must reach up near flourescent light, preferably within 3 to 4 inches of it).
Plastic plants for decoration and cover.
Powdered calcium supplement.
Powdered vitamin supplement.
Stick on thermometer/hygrometer set.
Automatic drip system or mister.
Book on green anole care (or house gecko, or green tree frog care).
The above setup is also appropriate for tiger salamanders or fire-bellied toads (remove climbing branches, and add a hiding cave of appropriate size). Switch to a 20 gallon high aquarium for a setup for multiple anoles, tree frogs, or house geckos, or gold dust day geckos. Switch to a 30 gallon high, and slightly thicker climbing branches, for a grandis day gecko.
Bearded Dragon:
30 gallon regular or tall aquarium with screen top (yes, even for a hatchling--they grow very fast).
Flourescent fixture with UVB reptile bulb.
Overhead heat lamp with daylight bulb.
Rheostat
Sturdy, thick climbing branch that goes up near the top of the cage (large enough to support an adult bearded dragon).
Cage carpet for 30 gallon tall.
Hide cave large enough for an adult bearded dragon.
1 shallow dish for food.
1 larger, slightly deeper dish for water (large enough for an adult to soak in).
Plastic plants for decoration.
Powdered calcium/D3 supplement
Powdered vitamin supplement
Stick on hygrometer, and 2 stick on thermometers.
Book on bearded dragon care.
Caution customers who buy hatchling bearded dragons with this setup that the water dish should not be completely filled, to prevent the hatchling from possibly drowning. He will grow into his dish within months.
Basic Snake:
(good for corn snakes, king snakes, and milk snakes).
20 gallon long with a locking screen top.
20 gallon long cage carpet OR reptile bedding which can retain moisture.
Large hiding cave (big enough for an adult to coil up in).
Large deep water dish (big enough for an adult to soak in).
Overhead heat lamp with daylight bulb OR undertank heater
Rheostat.
Humidity and temperature guages.
Book on corn/king/milk snake care.
If you include an overhead heat lamp, a low, sturdy climbing branch may also be added.
The above setup can also be sold for ball pythons by switching the 20 gallon long for a 30 gallon long tank. If this is sold with a hatchling snake, be sure to caution customers not to fill the water dish completely, to prevent the young snake from possibly drowning--or provide a second, smaller dish. You might also wish to provide a small hiding cave, as well as the large one.
The only animals which will TRULY require the customer to buy more than one setup are green iguanas and green water dragons, and boa constrictors. The boas can be sold with a 30 gallon long setup as above. The other two animals start out as small hatchlings which can be housed in a 50 gallon aquarium until they reach a larger size. At this point, they must be moved to a very large sturdy reptile cage, such as a large iguanarium. A setup like that used for the bearded dragon will work, but the tank size should be increased to 50 gallons, a damp reptile bedding should be provided rather than a cage carpet, and the water dish can actually be replaced with a small cat litter pan. The large reptile enclosures seldom are designed to contain small hatchlings, unfortunately, making this transitional cage necessary. Let customers know that the setup IS transitional, and that a larger cage will be required. The 50 gallon setup should last about 1 or 2 years for these species, but no longer than that.
Boa constrictors will require either a custom built cage, or a very large commercial cage (such as Neodesha or Vision) of a good 4 feet in length. These snakes can reach 7 to 12 feet long. If you choose to stock these very large reptile cages, be sure they are locking, and offer them to people who come in to buy juvenile boas. These types of cages will contain small boas as well as adults, so if the customer chooses to purchase a setup like this, they will not need a transitional cage. Furnishings for the cage should be just as with the basic snake setup, but scaled up in terms of heating fixtures and bedding quantities. These cages will also work well for rainbow boas.
Selling complete setups ensures that customers have everything they need for their new pet, and it's CONVENIENT. The price need not be anything lower than the combined retail value of all the components--the convenience alone will sell the setups. Knowledgeable buyers will appreciate that the setups are truly complete, and beginners will appreciate what you've done even more as they learn more down the road. Obviously stocking all of these setups would be space prohibitive, but you can offer one or two of the ones which go with the animals you tend to sell the most of, or you can offer the setups and assemble them at the customer's request. As well, you will also be selling more items with a complete setup than you would with a partial one...some customers may be reluctant to purchase additional items that would be needed to round out a partial setup, but offered in one package, they'll be buying everything they need.
© Eclipse Exotics, 2003. Distribute, copy, print, and pass on as you wish. :)