Best Products to Put on a Shelf.

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maxcow

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 30, 2011
65
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traverse city
Well I have not been on the forum in well over a year but I am in need of some help. I recently got a job at a Pet Supplies Plus that is dropping the franchise and becoming just another local pet store. The main reason I was hired is because I know a thing or two about keeping fish and reptiles, which none of the other employees do, and the store owner is trying to make a sort of pet "Dream Team" so to speak. Well first day on the job, the manager asked me to look over reptile/fish isle and tell her the state of the matter. The products that were there for the fish (excluding the food) was moderately nice, but the reptile section was lacking anything quality.
(TLDR: All the products in the pet store I work at, which is not a lot, suck.)
So what I am trying to get at is can you give me a list of products for reptiles or fish that you do/would purchase from a pet store.
 
Fish:
Dechlorinator
Meds (basic stuff and things like clout, metronidazole)
Replacement Parts
Air pumps, filters, heaters, etc.
Battery operated air pumps
 
Reptiles:
Halogen flood bulbs, 40-75 watts.
Cork Bark
Logs/branches
Organic topsoil
Children's washed playsand
Cypress mulch
Foggers
Plants
Cages (Not glass ones, the high quality stuff actually good for keeping reptiles in)
Mix and match those items, and you can keep any reptile healthy and happy.

Overall, stay away from all the junk pushed by stores like Petco or Petsmart. Most of it is garbage. Their bulbs don't heat well, the substrates are ineffective, and even dangerous, glass tanks don't hold heat or humidity, etc. Not to mention, every bit of it is horribly overpriced.
 
For substrate, see about pitching this idea to your boss: A mix your own substrate area. Have at least sand, topsoil, peat moss, & vermiculite available, and post the correct ratios for the various reptiles, e.g. 50/50 sand/topsoil mix for monitors. The individual components could be ordered in bulk then the customer could choose how to blend it based on their pet's needs.

For lighting & heating, I second Sean's point about having halogen spot bulbs available; those are superior to the basking bulbs that are on the market. I would also have UV fluorescent lights and maybe some LED lighting as well. High quality heat mats/pads, heat tape, & rope are all good items to have, too; thermostats should be placed next to these items as some of them need to be connected to a thermostat for safety reasons (can get too hot for some species).

For caging, stick to Exo Terras for the most part with Zilla sliding top cages & Kritter Keepers supplementing for smaller reptiles. Ideally, the front-opening ABS plastic caging that's often available at reptile shows would be best, but you might be hard-pressed to sell them if the markup is too much; try to push those, though, as they're superior to the others in every way.

Do you have any say as to what reptiles that are made available to customers?
 
Wiggles92 said:
For substrate, see about pitching this idea to your boss: A mix your own substrate area. Have at least sand, topsoil, peat moss, & vermiculite available, and post the correct ratios for the various reptiles, e.g. 50/50 sand/topsoil mix for monitors. The individual components could be ordered in bulk then the customer could choose how to blend it based on their pet's needs.

For lighting & heating, I second Sean's point about having halogen spot bulbs available; those are superior to the basking bulbs that are on the market. I would also have UV fluorescent lights and maybe some LED lighting as well. High quality heat mats/pads, heat tape, & rope are all good items to have, too; thermostats should be placed next to these items as some of them need to be connected to a thermostat for safety reasons (can get too hot for some species).

For caging, stick to Exo Terras for the most part with Zilla sliding top cages & Kritter Keepers supplementing for smaller reptiles. Ideally, the front-opening ABS plastic caging that's often available at reptile shows would be best, but you might be hard-pressed to sell them if the markup is too much; try to push those, though, as they're superior to the others in every way.

Do you have any say as to what reptiles that are made available to customers?
Click to expand...
^This, though I would advise flood bulbs, not spots. Flood bulbs create a larger basking area which provides a better thermal gradient.
 
Make sure not to sell repticarpet. Sell large cages and have reasons why they should be used instead of aquariums.


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Screen lids for glass cages and the locking clips are a must have that is often over looked (heprs can't stay in an enclosure with a glass or plastic lid). You could also stock Critter Cages that have a nice sliding/locking lid built right into them. Heat pads from zoo med, compact florescent UV bulbs and various heat lamps, "Forest Floor" and "Eco Earth" substrates, driftwood and slate, "total bites" cricket food for gut-loading crix (and maybe some cricket keepers), turtle docks, and a good calcium and vitamin powder are the other essentials. I work in a reptile-exclusive shop and the items that I mentioned fly off the shelves and are good products that will cover a wide range of animals.

By the way- I have family near Traverse City (in Yspi) and visit there frequently. What is the name of the shop I will be sure to stop by and check it out next time I am there.
 
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