reptile & vivarium keepers

boroughmal

It seems to me that in ireland there are many reptile & amphibian keepers but not many people that specialise in it.
I have been gathering imformation on them & on breeders etc
If you know of any shops or dealers in reptiles that are in this country could you post them here.
Your thoughts on who is the snake in the grass that exploits them too will be appreciated.
If there is enough response I would like to start a dedicated reptile site for discussion & care files.

Nala

Boardwalk Pet Store on Wellington Quay, they seem pretty good.
Wacker's Pet Store on Parnell St, though the owner/manager (middle aged crank with the glasses) is a complete wanker and would sell his granny if he thought you'd buy one of his vivariums to put her in. Complete cúnt.

Our man in Havana

Reptile Haven in Fishamble Street is FAB Ben is brilliant he only sells reptiles etc is full of info & has FAB stock.

tallus

Yeah Ben is top man, so is thomas McElerhon in boardwalk pets.

boroughmal

could you give a better location of this shop. Is it in dublin?
Are there any shops elsewhere in ireland ?
Regards

Rancid

I saw baby Hermanns tortoises being kept in a vivarium in Reptile Haven a couple years ago. Totally unsuitable. I wasn't impressed.

Fishamble Street is between the Christ Church end of Dame Street and the Quays in Dublin.

tallus

Rancid wrote:

I saw baby Hermanns tortoises being kept in a vivarium in Reptile Haven a couple years ago. Totally unsuitable. I wasn't impressed.

Fishamble Street is between the Christ Church end of Dame Street and the Quays in Dublin.

did you bring it to the attention of the owner? and if so what kind of reply did you get?
I bought a pair of baby hermans from Ben about 18 months back and they were kept in similar setup, but not for long, they sold like hot cakes.

Sigma Force

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there are actual reptile rescues in Ireland?

tallus

Not that I know of

Hellrazer

Claws and Paws in Dunshaughlin Village are ok although they are expensive with their stock.

On another note: The only things Ive found the shops over here expensive for are Tarantulas.€70.00 for a tarantula is ridiculous.I buy mine online from the UK and including shipping most are between £10-20 and they always arrive in perfect condition.Sometimes you get an offer of £5.00 each if you buy 3.

Rancid

tallus wrote:

did you bring it to the attention of the owner? and if so what kind of reply did you get?
I bought a pair of baby hermans from Ben about 18 months back and they were kept in similar setup, but not for long, they sold like hot cakes.

Yep, and he said they were only housed like that until he sold them.
Seemed more interested in talking to other customers about their snakes.

So how are your little Hermanns doing and what kinda set up have you for them?

tallus

I have them in a table top type setup ... didn't hibernate them last year tho, looking in to doing it this year just not too sure about it. Been on the Tortoise trust site reading up. Any help would be appreciated .

tallus

On the subject of suitable conditions for tortoises in pet shops, I have yet to see anyone properly house them, I have even seen different species mixed in one shop in particular, and was frowned at when I brought it to the attention of the owner, she doesn't like me heh. Fed them unsuitable food too bloody iceberg lettuce. I also heard her recommend feeding scrambled eggs to another customer, naturally I said it to her and she went on as if I had said nothing... totally ignored me. At least Ben fed his the correct diet and he doesn't mix species.

Rancid

tallus wrote:

I have them in a table top type setup ... didn't hibernate them last year tho, looking in to doing it this year just not too sure about it. Been on the Tortoise trust site reading up. Any help would be appreciated .

Lovely babies!
The TT site has good reliable info. Have a look at these pages, the weather being so unpredictable this year, we're all having trouble winding them down.
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/toowarm.htm
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/induction.htm

My tort is in hibernation now, after 3 weeks of wind-down during which she was way too active. I just could not get the temps down low enough to stop her staying awake all day and using up energy.
She's settled now though.

Where were you thinking of hibernating yours?

Rancid

tallus wrote:

On the subject of suitable conditions for tortoises in pet shops, I have yet to see anyone properly house them, I have even seen different species mixed in one shop in particular, and was frowned at when I brought it to the attention of the owner, she doesn't like me heh. Fed them unsuitable food too bloody iceberg lettuce. I also heard her recommend feeding scrambled eggs to another customer, naturally I said it to her and she went on as if I had said nothing... totally ignored me. At least Ben fed his the correct diet and he doesn't mix species.

Pet shop people don't like to be challenged on their housing or feeding habits, I know. But it's just unforgiveable to sell tortoises or any animal and not give good care and feeding information to the new owners.
Can it be that difficult to say "Feed weeds and don't use a viv."?

tallus

Rancid wrote:

Pet shop people don't like to be challenged on their housing or feeding habits, I know. But it's just unforgiveable to sell tortoises or any animal and not give good care and feeding information to the new owners.
Can it be that difficult to say "Feed weeds and don't use a viv."?

my sentiments exactly :-) I did Print out the weeds from the T-Lady's site and bring it to the shop,.. doesn't seem to have been taken on board but I felt like I did my bit for the poor critters, she has a hermans tortoise at home and the poor thing has pyramiding on teh shell, saw it myself about 5 months back, and she also keeps the poor animal in a small viv which is unforgivable. I advised her on the correct type of housing,that was also ignored. I troed but what can you do heh they are *only* appendix a on the cities list:/

I have never hibernated mine I have them 18 months .. so a bit unsure visited the TT site a few times and found it to be excellent. They have grown a bit since the pic thereone in particular has grown much faster,he seems to be a lot tougher and caught him trying to hump the smaller tortoise, it was funny I have to sayI could hear him squeaking every time he pushed lol.
Was thinking of using the refrigerator to hibernate them .... any thoughts ?
Any help whatsoever would be greatly appreciated... there's nothing like talking to someone with practical experience.
Thanks for the links :-)

Rancid

tallus wrote:

my sentiments exactly :-) I did Print out the weeds from the T-Lady's site and bring it to the shop,.. doesn't seem to have been taken on board but I felt like I did my bit for the poor critters, she has a hermans tortoise at home and the poor thing has pyramiding on teh shell, saw it myself about 5 months back, and she also keeps the poor animal in a small viv which is unforgivable. I advised her on the correct type of housing,that was also ignored. I troed but what can you do heh they are *only* appendix a on the cities list:/

No doubt she'll tell you that her tort has always been ok, never shown any sign of ill-health, point being that it takes YEARS for diseases to develop in tortoises and the signs are slow to appear. But by the time they do, irreparable damage has been done.

tallus

yeah she remarked on how she *liked* the shape of the scutes
Just crazy

Rancid

tallus wrote:

I have never hibernated mine I have them 18 months .. so a bit unsure visited the TT site a few times and found it to be excellent. They have grown a bit since the pic thereone in particular has grown much faster,he seems to be a lot tougher and caught him trying to hump the smaller tortoise, it was funny I have to sayI could hear him squeaking every time he pushed lol.
Was thinking of using the refrigerator to hibernate them .... any thoughts ?
Any help whatsoever would be greatly appreciated... there's nothing like talking to someone with practical experience.
Thanks for the links :-)

Heh... don't assume it's a male just because it's humping the other one! Both sexes do that!
If you're growing them slowly enough you won't really be sure of the sexes until they're around 5, anyway.

About fridge hibernation... it's highly recommended so that you can get a stable temperature and if you have a digital thermometer with a probe you can test your fridge and get the temp as close to 5°C as you can.
3 weeks wind-down without food and gradually lowering the temp and light and baths every second day to ensure an empty tort is essential.

How active are your 2 now? And are they eating much or have they started to slow down at all?

tallus

Still eating... the bigger one eats like a horse, I'll cut down the amount of light and heat so. Still feeding them twice a day.
The bigger one is way more active comes over to me when ever he sees me, last year the smaller one slowed down from the end of december to the end of March, but still ate every day. The biger one was pretty active most of the time.

Rancid

tallus wrote:

Still eating... the bigger one eats like a horse, I'll cut down the amount of light and heat so. Still feeding them twice a day.
The bigger one is way more active comes over to me when ever he sees me, last year the smaller one slowed down from the end of december to the end of March, but still ate every day. The biger one was pretty active most of the time.

Do they eat much at each feed? You don't want them to end up pyramided!
By rights, if you reduce the amount of heat and light they're getting, their appetites should lessen. *Should*!

Did you ever have them wormed?

tallus

never had them wormed... the heat has been reduced and light has been reduced by an hour in the morning and the evening
The bigger guys shell is not as smooth as the smaller guy now that you mention it. slightly lumpy looking ..

Rancid

They *need* those weeks of hibernation to slow the growth and prevent the lumpy shells.
Keep bathing them anyway. I rarely see mine drinking anything, but she definitely hydrates herself in the bath.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Nala wrote:

Boardwalk Pet Store on Wellington Quay, they seem pretty good.
Wacker's Pet Store on Parnell St, though the owner/manager (middle aged crank with the glasses) is a complete wanker and would sell his granny if he thought you'd buy one of his vivariums to put her in. Complete cúnt.

That the one opposite the ilac centre? A guy working the reptile basement, possibly running that section a bit of a tosser, had live adult black crickets in a viv with baby geckos, asked him why and he said it was because there was bigger geckos in there too. But still had a know it all attitude to every customer with a question.

Reptile haven's great, and Boardwalk seemed really good too.

Shelli

I refuse to even step into that shop anymore, I've always had problems with the way they kept their animals, reptiles and turtles especially, I've overheard them purposely give cutomers mis-information to make a sale, like telling people that YBS dont grow much bigger than 4 inches and you can keep 4 of them in a 20gallon tank! Bleugh!

Anyway, the final straw was two weeks ago. My boyfriend was buying me a beardie as a present and I had the whole set up ready, he went to Whackers (not knowing any better bless him) and asked for a bearded dragon, forked over his cash and happily trotted home with our new baby.

You can imagine how pissed I was when I took a Striped Water Dragon out of the bag! Not only had they been keeping him in a desert tank with no humidity, they had him in a tank with a Basilisk! The poor guy was so ill he only lasted 2 weeks with me. I had toyed with the idea of taking him back the first day, but he was so sweet and had such a great little peronality that I couldn't send him back to those conditions, they didn't even know what he was for Gods sake!

Ill stop ranting now, it just really makes my blood boil!:mad:

tallus

You have a right to rant, I.M.O. the pet trade needs to be regulated in this country. There aren't that many shops where the owners have practical knowledge or experience of the creatures they are selling. Also ... you can't tell them anything, most of them seem to know it all, apart from the aforementioned
Boardwalk pets and Reptile Haven, both of the owners have been maintaining and breeding reptiles for years.

boroughmal

Does anyone know any other reptile shops outside dublin?
I would have thought that specialist shops would not have to be in the capital as most keepers would travell anywhere.

boroughmal

reptile life in ireland is all centred in Dublin

tallus

I'm surprised we only have two *dedicated* reptile shops. Every pet shop seems to sell reptiles, but if you're asking about shops that deal exclusively with reptiles why does it surprise you that we only have 2? It's still a small country man.

Nimrod's Son

boroughmal wrote:

Does anyone know any other reptile shops outside dublin?
I would have thought that specialist shops would not have to be in the capital as most keepers would travell anywhere.

The Orchard in Celbridge, Co. Kildare do reptiles. They're not a specialist shop (they're a garden centre in fact) but they have a big pet-area in the store and a nice little selection of reptiles.

Hellrazer

Nimrod's Son wrote:

The Orchard in Celbridge, Co. Kildare do reptiles. They're not a specialist shop (they're a garden centre in fact) but they have a big pet-area in the store and a nice little selection of reptiles.

The Orchard havent a clue how to keep reptiles.They were keeping Chinese Water Dragons in totally wrong conditions and as a result 2 of them had severe nose rubbing problems.One of them died as a direct result of miskeeping.

They also have some reptile cages with 3 or more different species in the one cage which is a big no-no unless you have done your research.

Before they extended the petshop they put a bit more time into the reptiles but now they seem more concerned with the tropical fish sales.

Ramon

Rancid wrote:

Can it be that difficult to say "Feed weeds and don't use a viv."?

That's a bit of a generalisation don't you think???

Feeding baby red foots on "weeds" and keeping them in anything other than a viv would be disasterous - being omnivorous and tropical, thus requiring high humidity.

There are so many chelonia species available, and given that Hermanns (and gracea) are CITES 1, while red foots and the majority of other tropical species are appendix 2 and therefore easier to import, would-be owners should inform themselves on species specific requirements.

An another note, there is also a genetic predisposition to raised scales...even in the best conditions and on a perfect diet of low protein and correct calcium phosphorus ratio some Hermans will develop a bumpy appearance to the plastron.

tallus

Ramon wrote:

That's a bit of a generalisation don't you think???

Feeding baby red foots on "weeds" and keeping them in anything other than a viv would be disasterous - being omnivorous and tropical, thus requiring high humidity.

There are so many chelonia species available, and given that Hermanns (and gracea) are CITES 1, while red foots and the majority of other tropical species are appendix 2 and therefore easier to import, would-be owners should inform themselves on species specific requirements.

An another note, there is also a genetic predisposition to raised scales...even in the best conditions and on a perfect diet of low protein and correct calcium phosphorus ratio some Hermans will develop a bumpy appearance to the plastron.

Ramon: that comment was in concern with mediterranean tortoises, and therefore was NOT a generalisation. Glass Vivarums are totally unsuitable, and so is the diet they are being fed by the majority of pet shop owners. I only know of two shops who feed them the correct diet. It's the shell and not the plastron that gets bumpy btw.

Ramon

tallus wrote:

Ramon: that comment was in concern with mediterranean tortoises, and therefore was NOT a generalisation. Glass Vivarums are totally unsuitable, and so is the diet they are being fed by the majority of pet shop owners. I only know of two shops who feed them the correct diet. It's the shell and not the plastron that gets bumpy btw.

Please excuse my misuse of terms i.e. plastron...thinking of two seperate posts (i.e. also the one referring to sexing) and only writting with reference to one. Saying that, calcium deposits and abnormalities (as you refer to as being "Bumpy") are also encountered on the plastron, partiucularly in the form of an excresence at the scutes.

However I don't remember any comment specifying mediterranean tortoises, or for that matter "glass" vivaria...another generalisation methinks. Besides even with the Med species humidity must be regulated, particularly as we live in a more temperate zone that has too high humidity relative to temp for many European species (not only mediterannean but also Russians). That's one problem I've alway had with the table enclosures, having kept and bred chelonia for over a decade, although for breeding purposes with small species their design facilitates a laying chamber quite well.

Oh, Just to add...Feeding Weeds is a dangerous Generalisation regardless of how you explain it

Rancid

Ramon wrote:

Please excuse my misuse of terms i.e. plastron...thinking of two seperate posts (i.e. also the one referring to sexing) and only writting with reference to one. Saying that, calcium deposits and abnormalities (as you refer to as being "Bumpy") are also encountered on the plastron, partiucularly in the form of an excresence at the scutes.

However I don't remember any comment specifying mediterranean tortoises, or for that matter "glass" vivaria...another generalisation methinks. Besides even with the Med species humidity must be regulated, particularly as we live in a more temperate zone that has too high humidity relative to temp for many European species (not only mediterannean but also Russians). That's one problem I've alway had with the table enclosures, having kept and bred chelonia for over a decade, although for breeding purposes with small species their design facilitates a laying chamber quite well.

Oh, Just to add...Feeding Weeds is a dangerous Generalisation regardless of how you explain it

*I* mentioned the weeds-and-no-vivs in relation to Hermanns. I have a 50year old female Hermanns and tallus has 2 babies and we were talking about them.
We also both have experience of pet shops giving misleading or just plain incorrect care and diet info.
Weeds... will hardly ever do as much harm as bananas and cat food, methinks!

Of course as you say, would-be owners should inform themselves on the specific species requirement and wouldn't this be made so much easier if pet shops had some good *reliable* care sheets?

Ramon

Rancid wrote:

*I* mentioned the weeds-and-no-vivs in relation to Hermanns. I have a 50year old female Hermanns and tallus has 2 babies and we were talking about them.
We also both have experience of pet shops giving misleading or just plain incorrect care and diet info.
Weeds... will hardly ever do as much harm as bananas and cat food, methinks!

Of course as you say, would-be owners should inform themselves on the specific species requirement and wouldn't this be made so much easier if pet shops had some good *reliable* care sheets?

That's fair enough, my only concern is that alot of people go for a soundbite and will jump on to a generalisation thinking that it's a one rule fits all situation. While experienced herpers may drop in words here and there knowing that they can assume others with the same knowledge understand what they're on about it's easy to forget other folks have a narrower frame of referrence...My questioning wasn't to have a dig, rather to outline the bigger picture. And I agree with you, most petshops are ****e (edited - just realised that words are censored here - whats with that?). Let alone the advice, if I were stuck where a petshop was my only way to source any herp I'd make darn sure I knew who was their supplier and if that was okay I'd be collecting the animal on the day it was flown over.

Back in my day...god I sound old...if you wanted CB you had no choice but to import directly from a breeder overseas. I personally won't breed reptiles anymore though, as they've become such a fad and the majority of their owners just seem to have no clue

Rancid

Ramon wrote:

That's fair enough, my only concern is that alot of people go for a soundbite and will jump on to a generalisation thinking that it's a one rule fits all situation. While experienced herpers may drop in words here and there knowing that they can assume others with the same knowledge understand what they're on about it's easy to forget other folks have a narrower frame of referrence...My questioning wasn't to have a dig, rather to outline the bigger picture. And I agree with you, most petshops are ****e (edited - just realised that words are censored here - whats with that?). Let alone the advice, if I were stuck where a petshop was my only way to source any herp I'd make darn sure I knew who was their supplier and if that was okay I'd be collecting the animal on the day it was flown over.

Back in my day...god I sound old...if you wanted CB you had no choice but to import directly from a breeder overseas. I personally won't breed reptiles anymore though, as they've become such a fad and the majority of their owners just seem to have no clue

Can't argue with you there... people *do* have a short attention span, and *do* hit on one bit of info, take it out of context and never ever follow it up to find out more.

When I took on my tort 11 years ago, I tried the pet shops for advice to supplement the info the previous owners gave me, it was so contradictory that I doubted everything they said.
I finally found my way to the Tortoise Trust site.
I just hate to think of the outcome if people believe everything the pet-shop people tell them.

tallus

I'd agree with that Rancid, I did my research too as I had been considering obtaining tortoises for years, and collected mine from the shop the day after they arrived. It was never a fad or whim thing. They deserve better than that.

tortoise17

Ramon wrote:

That's a bit of a generalisation don't you think???

Feeding baby red foots on "weeds" and keeping them in anything other than a viv would be disasterous - being omnivorous and tropical, thus requiring high humidity.

.

glass vivs are disasterous for tortoises, full stop... :cool:

redfoots, and yellow foots are from tropical rainforests in s. america
they still need a well ventalated tortoises table, there is
a substrate you can get, which will keep the humidity high.
also redfoots need weeds, along with fruits, and some fungus.

check out dublin zoo, they breed redfoots, and house them in torotise tables,
they have perfect shells

tallus

Tortoise17 Yer back !!

Lizard Queen

i work in whackers pet shop and most us are knowledgeable in repitiles. im doing vet nursing in college and im going to a brillent reptile clinic in new york for work placement. Reptiles are only really a new ting in ireland and there are not any good vets for reptiles.

Shelli

I do admit, Whackers seems to have improved a bit recently. A new guy took over the reptile section a while ago from what I could see, and he definately knew more than the previous guy.

There are very few vets in Ireland who will see reptiles and even fewer that specialise. My vet in cabra will see my reps if needs be, but they have told me in advance that if they are unsure of anything that they can refer me to a vet that works with the reps in Dublin zoo.

Shelli

Lizard Queen wrote:

i work in whackers pet shop and most us are knowledgeable in repitiles. im doing vet nursing in college and im going to a brillent reptile clinic in new york for work placement. Reptiles are only really a new ting in ireland and there are not any good vets for reptiles.

Hope your college examiner is not strict on spelling :rolleyes:

tortoise17

tallus wrote:

Tortoise17 Yer back !!

kinda ,
i dont have broad band so im on when i can ,

ya, i agree there are very few reptile vets in ireland,
i went to one before, the told me they had a tortoise vet but when i went in,
he had never seen a tortoise, :eek:

flynnc

ring boardwalk pets on 6779060 they have list of vet that deal with reptiles in ireland

tallus

@Lizard Queen:
Argyle and Bainbridge in Dundrum, Barbaire O'Malley in Bray, and Manus Canon in Clondalkin are all specialists in exotics. Reptiles aren't new so much as becoming more popular in Ireland. I know people who have been keeping and breeding them for years.

Our man in Havana

Lizard Queen hun keeping reps is not a new thing! it may be more popular now but is deffo not new!

Jimkel

Dont forget Kinsealy Pet Shop, just off the malahide road. besides reptile Havan they are my fav pet store, Their not perfect but they have just hired in some new staff and the reptile expert there is very knowledgable. I have recieved poor advice from Whackers, completely contradicting the books ive read on certain reptiles. So far kinsealy pet shop has been very helpful, willing to go to great lenght to ensure the customers satisfied and well informed. They sell a wide variety of reptiles too and also have a reptile boarding home. Well worth a look if only to see the large bearded dragons they have in stock.

dbrock

Lizard Queen wrote:

Reptiles are only really a new ting in ireland and there are not any good vets for reptiles.

have to say john bainbridge is an amzing reptile vet highly recomend him to any one,,
also there is a shop in dunlaoighre called fintastc aquatics in patricks street ,, they specialise in fish but have a few reptiles all of which they can give the proper advice on and dont get into stuff they cant give advice on
well worth a trip, if your after your bread and butter stuff ie corn snakes,,geckos,,water dragons,,beardies,,

the best shop in dub or to be honest the best shop ive been to has o be reptile haven ,, bens advice and experience is second to none

SCI

I keep and breed cornsnakes and hopefully sonoran dwarf boas,there's
more info on my site and I'm based in Belfast.

http://www.freewebs.com/scissnakes/
There are several shops up here city reptiles in Belfast
and family pets in larne co. Antrim.

PiperT

Hi Folks

Just looking for some advice for my young daughter who has taken to snakes in recent months. She first had a trinket snake (bought in wackers) which died after 2 weeks, it just stopped feeding. We're not sure if it was sick when we got it or if we did something wrong. Anyway, second time around we decided to go with a rat snake which feeds less often and is probably slightly easier to look after for a beginner. It has been feeding OK for about five weeks, taking a small pinky every week. This week its refusing to eat and we're a little worried. Its shedding at the moment and we're hoping its something to do with this. Temperature is fine in its environment. Is this something we should be concerned about or should we give it a few more days ?

Any advice/comments would be much appreciated.

TIA