Most exotic animals seen on the pet trade

Speaking of leopoldi stingrays, my LFS (local fish store) regularly has them in store, and they have quite a few adults (they don't breed them) so it's always a nice treat to see them. I've seen the normal shark up for sale (Coral Cat Shark), and it's always nice when jellyfish turn up in their store.
 
ThylacineAlive said:
I don't have fish stores like that near me :(

~Thylo
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I was actually surprised when I went to the store and saw the diversity that they offered there! It's a little pricey, but that's what you can expect from the dubbed "leading fish store in Ohio".

I think there's this fish store I've heard of that was in Conneticut or Jersey, but I'll link it here if I can find it because there were some really nice rare (ish) fish in their store.
 
ZooBinh said:
I mean, it's a little common in the South here in America. Tiger King is some evidence of that.
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I'm not so surprised by the fact you can buy tigers than the way that it is so publicly flaunted... It is one thing if you one a zoo, however bad, and another if you can buy them on a site like this.
 
Junklekitteb said:
I'm not so surprised by the fact you can buy tigers than the way that it is so publicly flaunted... It is one thing if you one a zoo, however bad, and another if you can buy them on a site like this.
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They very rarely appear on sites like that; that one listing could even be fake. But they're regularly available on facebook and in the right groups.
 
ZooBinh said:
I was actually surprised when I went to the store and saw the diversity that they offered there! It's a little pricey, but that's what you can expect from the dubbed "leading fish store in Ohio".

I think there's this fish store I've heard of that was in Conneticut or Jersey, but I'll link it here if I can find it because there were some really nice rare (ish) fish in their store.
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You wouldn't happen to be talking about Gerber in Dayton, would you? I bought most of my fish there. I live a few hours away in Kentucky, but their selection is amazing, and they always have something new to check out. Their seahorses always draw my son's attention. I personally love the "testosterone fish" section where they have the arowanas, wolf fish, lungfish, and vampire tetras. I'd have a lungfish if I could provide the space.
 
Junklekitteb said:
I'm not so surprised by the fact you can buy tigers than the way that it is so publicly flaunted... It is one thing if you one a zoo, however bad, and another if you can buy them on a site like this.
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When I was a kid, and I'm talking like 30 plus years ago, I'd always go through the classifieds in the Cincinnati Enquirer after my parents finished reading it. I'd go straight to the pets/livestock section. It was very common to find lions, tigers, monkeys, leopards, etc. It was probably harder to find an edition that didn't advertise big cats than one that did.
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Out of curiosity, what reptile sites/businesses are safe to buy from? It seems all the ones I've heard of are looked down upon.

~Thylo
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Honestly, breeder-direct is the only way to go IMO. You will generally get more assistance and care instruction from someone that's kept the animals and had that kind of success. The best place to find people that breed reptiles is large social media platforms and closed groups. You cannot sell animals overtly on FB, but you will still see posts with people that will "suggest" and show clutches of hatchlings. At that point you can DM and inquire. Fauna and Kingsnake are hit and miss. Fauna is the Wild West and can be scammy if you don't know who you're dealing with. Being present in reptile groups on social media and seeing who's who and what's what will give you a good handle on who you can trust relatively fast. Word travels fast and scammers/sellers of sick/poor quality animals don't last long out in the open. it can get ruthless even for known sub-standard keepers.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
You wouldn't happen to be talking about Gerber in Dayton, would you? I bought most of my fish there. I live a few hours away in Kentucky, but their selection is amazing, and they always have something new to check out. Their seahorses always draw my son's attention. I personally love the "testosterone fish" section where they have the arowanas, wolf fish, lungfish, and vampire tetras. I'd have a lungfish if I could provide the space.
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That's exactly where I'm talking about! I live around 20 minutes away, and I did buy most of my fish there as well (though I only have one living fish from there currently).

Yes, their selection is amazing and as a Daytonian (well, I don't live IN Dayton but in the Dayton area) it shocks me that we would have such a special store for what I consider to be a bland city/area.
 
ZooBinh said:
That's exactly where I'm talking about! I live around 20 minutes away, and I did buy most of my fish there as well (though I only have one living fish from there currently).

Yes, their selection is amazing and as a Daytonian (well, I don't live IN Dayton but in the Dayton area) it shocks me that we would have such a special store for what I consider to be a bland city/area.
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It's crazy. I took my wife there last year for the first time. We pulled into the lot and it looked like an abandoned building, lol. I would have never in a million years guessed what was inside that run-down strip mall. I've been three times, and never once left without them separating me from a significant amount of money.

If other fish stores are tee ball, that place is the major leagues. The staff all seem pretty into what they do, too unlike your average shop.

Their ram cichlids are the best I've ever seen. We've never been able to keep them alive for very long, but the two we got from there have been going strong for over a year.
 
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groundskeeper24 said:
It's crazy. I took my wife there last summer for the first time. We pulled into the lot and it looked like an abandoned building, lol. I would have never in a million years guessed what was inside that run-down strip mall. I've been three times, and never once left without them separating me from a significant amount of money.

If other fish stores are tee ball, that place is the major leagues. The staff all seem pretty into what they do, too unlike your average shop.

Their ram cichlids are the best I've ever seen. We've never been able to keep them alive for very long, but the two we got from there have been going strong for over a year.
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And I personally thought that they didn't make much money, but in the past year (first went March 2018, and have never left without spending at least 200) alone, their business has been booming and they have expanded and renovated quite a few times. Went there late March, and their selections have grown a bit bigger I would say!
 
ZooBinh said:
And I personally thought that they didn't make much money, but in the past year (first went March 2018, and have never left without spending at least 200) alone, their business has been booming and they have expanded and renovated quite a few times. Went there late March, and their selections have grown a bit bigger I would say!
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I think they have a wide reach. As I understood it, they've been in business for a long time. You have to be making good money to keep that massive of an inventory. I'm sure they make a decent amount maintaining tanks for residential and businesses, too. It's certainly a place worth driving to if you're within a few hours. I've been to shops in Miami and Southern California that blew my mind and Gerber is on par with any of them.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
I think they have a wide reach. As I understood it, they've been in business for a long time. You have to be making good money to keep that massive of an inventory. I'm sure they make a decent amount maintaining tanks for residential and businesses, too. It's certainly a place worth driving to if you're within a few hours. I've been to shops in Miami and Southern California that blew my mind and Gerber is on par with any of them.
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Definitely on par with many stores in more populous cities in the country, though personally I feel they could expand into smaller fish (nano) and aquascaping, which would be really interesting for me since I have small tanks and they are also fun to maintain.
 
ZooBinh said:
Definitely on par with many stores in more populous cities in the country, though personally I feel they could expand into smaller fish (nano) and aquascaping, which would be really interesting for me since I have small tanks and they are also fun to maintain.
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If you are interested in aquascaping, look into a place called Dustin's Fishtanks. They are in Nicholasville, Kentucky and specialize in aquarium plants. He doesn't have a brick and mortar store, but runs a pretty active FB account. He has a warehouse/greenhouse about 10 min from Lexington. He's got some really great stuff.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
If you are interested in aquascaping, look into a place called Dustin's Fishtanks. They are in Nicholasville, Kentucky and specialize in aquarium plants. He doesn't have a brick and mortar store, but runs a pretty active FB account. He has a warehouse/greenhouse about 10 min from Lexington. He's got some really great stuff.
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Dustin is located in KY?! I would've never guessed! I do know about Dustin, in fact I actually met him at AquaShella back in 2018 and took part in his kid's aquascaping contest! I do intend to invest more in aquascaping, but I'll need some more cashflow.
 
EsserWarrior said:
According to that website, there's a tiger, liger, and bear breeding here in Wisconsin.

On the other hand, I saw an Asian leopard cat. Some Palawan and Javan porcupines are available as well. I also saw an American Badger.
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American Badger would be illegal to own without special permit I think.
 
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