Amazon Reptile Center News

$1 BEARDED DRAGON SPECIAL!

POSTED BY SCOTT:

We are running a $1 special on normal baby bearded dragons. This special is in store ONLY.

All normal colored baby Bearded Dragons are $1 with the purchase of a complete setup. Come in and check it out! Mention you saw this ad and get the super deal!

With annual sales of well over 2000 dragons we can guarantee you the finest possible quality in bearded dragons.

We are sorry, we cannot ship our glass setups.

HR 669 ON HOLD

POSTED BY SCOTT:

The best I can figure is HR 669 is on 'hold'. Perhaps on hold forever. It is also possibly being re-worked, as there are rumours the anti-pet fascists are meeting with the author to re-word the bill for future sub-committee approval. No matter what, we have to all be alert to the prospects of having to fight this or another similar bill.

On another note, we have launched shipreptiles.com. We are now (have been for over three years) exporting animals for small scale breeders who previously had ignored the overseas market. The reptile market worldwide is hot and we have the goods here in the USA! shipreptiles.com is the bridge between the overseas buyer and the smaller scale USA breeder. The fees are reasonable. Proof of this is the serious of 2-6 animal exports we have done recently! If it were too expensive, nobody would buy only six specimens.

On 30 May, 2009 in Germany is the infamous "Hamm Show". This is Europe's largest reptile show. shipreptiles.com will be represented by me (Scott Solar) at this show. We will be both taking animals to the show and also bringing them home. The fee is $50 per specimen up to six specimens. Animals imported into Germany also have a 19% VAT. The maximum fee is $300 per BUYER. If your customer wants to have your animals delivered at the Hamm show Click here for more details. If you Americans have a breeder in Europe you wish to buy from the same fee applies (no VAT). The only additional fee is domestic shipping from Montclair, CA to your destination. That can be done on your account or will be quoted custom based upon the animal(s) in question.

PLEASE HELP STOP HR669

There Are Only Before The Hearing!
Act NOW - Click Here To Find Out How

HR669 is a terrible piece of knee-jerk legislation that will outlaw all species of animals non-native to the USA. The portrayed concept is to stop "invasive species". This sounds charismatic. It is not. The REAL result of this bill is to end the WAR ON PETS. HSUS, PETA, apparently Nature Conservancy and others have long fought a war on pets, the people who keep them and the companies that derive their livelihood from them. They have fought for more restrictive laws, making pet ownership harder (even impossible) and more expensive. They have introduced legislation at every level in every state, no matter the cost, only to put an end to the practice of keeping pets.

From the little guppy, to your favorite guinea pig, to your neighbors beautiful Macaws, to every other animal not found naturally in the USA all species may be banned. That means banned from importation, selling, bartering, trading, gifting and BREEDING! Rare species such as Macaws owe their futures to captive breeding. This will all end if this bill passes. If this terrible legislation passes and you own an exotic pet (if you are reading this it is likely you do, 98 million Americans do) and you want to move to another state, you cannot take your pet with you. In fact you must kill it. It cannot be given away, traded, barted, sold... etc. It must be destroyed. Euthanized. And the animals' only crime was living in the USA. The future of many of the world's most endangered species rely upon the captive breeding efforts of the United States' most intelligent animal lovers. There efforts will become a crime and the species left to it's potential demise. The specimens in their care must not ever be bred again, and they must either be killed or allowed to die of old age. Imagine that for a moment. This is new legislation that requires the death or killing of endangered species without allowing them to reproduce! This has simply got to be stopped.

The only pet animals currently allowed by this bill are dogs, cats, goldfish and rabbits (but not koi, ferrets, hamsters or gerbils). Talk about INVASIVE SPECIES, feral house-cats kill more native US wildlife than all other species combined. Nonetheless, fluffy gets a pass. This bill does not do what it claims to do. Allowing a known invasive species, but outlawing countless non-invasive species DOES NOT STOP INVASIVE SPECIES. Please help us stop this bad legislation. Click on the links provided and make your input known.

NEW THINGS ARE COMING!

Posted By Phil; So how is the New Year treating everyone? We all do hope everyone is doing well thus far. We are still working out the new plans we have for both stores. Also, there are a couple of new additions to our site that we are currently working on. Check out our supplies section. We are increasing the number of products we have to offer in this section of our website. This way, all of you browsing our site can take a look at what we have. We have listed some beginner kits and will continue to post more as time goes on. This will help you to plan ahead and begin making space for your new reptile companion or companions. Also remember that we're always here to answer any questions you may have about getting together a proper set up and helping you out as best as we can. By the way, while we can mail order the products, we are unable to ship glass reptile tanks. This means in store sales only.

I will be posting in our blog more frequently about any events that we will be having here at the store or that we will be supporting. Also about any news we feel you would like to know about. If there is something you'd like to hear, send us an email. We are also floating the idea of selling photo prints of reptiles that our staff has taken either here in the store or out in the fields during a herping trip. Also, included in this idea is the sales of original artwork done by some of our staff members. If any of you think that photo prints and artwork prints would be a good idea tell us your thoughts.

That is it for the time being. I myself (Phil) need to go talk with everyone and see when they will have some spare time to work with me and get started with the 'Meet Our Staff' column. Until next time�

2009 HERE WE COME!

POSTED BY PHIL Hello everyone. All of us here at ARC hope you all had a great New Year. Later this year we will celebrate our tenth anniversary of doing business. Even though 2008 was a bit rocky for all of us. We here have big plans for ARC. We all are thankful for our jobs. We will continue to give everyone the best quality animals and the outstanding service many of you have come to expect.

The state of California has enacted a new "pet store bill" that regulates the operations of pet stores in the state of California. Scott was involved in the composition of the bill. Most of it makes sense from an animal and a business standpoint. It essentially puts into code what we have have believed for our entire existence. The perspective we have lived by is one of "reverance for life". Take good care of the animals and the customers and all else will come into place. So far, this has been our plan. We have stuck to it and it still works, even in a worldwide recession.

This weekend past was Los Angeles County's first Reptile Supershow at the Pomona Fairgrounds. Many vendors attended the show both old and new to the reptile industry. Over 150 booths filled building seven at the fairgrounds. It was surprising to see a lot more people attending the Reptile Show than there was attending the Tattoo Expo in the building next door. This simply proves how many people out there have a strong passion for reptiles and the reptile community. We were happy to greet many of the show attendees into our stores. Many folks we haven't seen in a long time and many new faces. Thanks for stopping by.

During the second half of 2008 we (meaning me, Phil) worked hard keeping our site up to date with a good inventory of great quality animals. We will continue doing that and continue supplying all of you with a great selection of reptiles. As Scott promised in a previous post, early this year, we are going to put together the 'Meet Our Staff' portion of our site. Then you can all get a closer look at who we are here at Amazon Reptile Center. We're all going to tell you a bit about ourselves so that everyone can get to know our ARC family better so keep an eye open for that section of our site. It is coming very soon!

VISIT US AFTER THE REPTILE SUPER SHOW

Posted by Scott: Happy New year! We Amazonians all hope your holidays are and will be terrific. We are all looking for an awesome 2009! 2008 was a bit rocky for our country and specially for the reptile industry. While retail is a bit off, people are still buying. We have not had to lay-off anybody, nor have we had to contemplate closing one of our locations. We have a strong inventory of good animals in stock and are ready to supply you all with those choice specimens you so desire.

Come see us after the Reptile Super Show this weekend at the Pomona fairgrounds. Our Montclair store is just five miles east and Covina location is about 8 miles west of the fairgrounds.

CLICK HERE for a map and driving directions from the show to our Montclair store.

CLICK HERE for a map and driving directions from the show to our Covina location.

By the way. Dr. Tom Greek is going to be at the show. Make sure you go by and say hi. Please do us the favor of mentioning to him you saw this post.

His new practice is now up and running. This is an excellent opportunity to reconnect with an old friend. Tom is the best!

All of us here at ARC hope your holidays are and will be terrific. We recently had our fourth annual company dinner. All the staff brings a loved one and we have dinner at a nice local restaurant. This year we ate at The Sycamore Inn. Prime steaks, plus fine fish and poultry. Food was incredible, staff agrees! Beers and other beverages made for a truly outstanding time. The place has fables about the early history of the building. I'll let you ask their crew about the building's potentially sordid past! 2008 brought many new faces to our team. We had a lot of turnover in 2008. The familiar (and not so familiar) faces moving on for various reasons, so the large group of newbies made for a night of story telling. Most had not heard many of Mike's and Scott's stories of ARC's 'early years'. The staff got to hear of our blood (literally) sweat and tears that went into opening the business. Of course, this brings many questions with lots of fun and laughter. Always nice to share like this. We are so proud of our staff and how hard they work for the animals and our customers.

Scott's Goal for 2009 - MAKE A NEW 'OUR STAFF' PAGE FOR OUR WEBSITE. There it is. I said it. Now it has to happen! Phil and I will collaborate on it. Once again, Happy New Year! We hope for a healthy and prosperous year for one and for all.

LOCKS OF LOVE

Our staff member Jose Palafox is going to shave his head and donate the hair to Locks of Love. We are making an eveny out of it. June 16th, 2008 starting at 12 Noon. The idea is to raise awareness for the charity and get other people involved. Everybody with long hair, male/female, blonde/red/black, curly/straight, children/teens/grownups... all are welcome. Hair Donations guidelines found here. The donation form is found here.

Jose has not cut his hair since we've known him. This is a long time. He is graduating high school soon and we've known him since junior high! He is ready for a new look and the fact he can help other folks in need is icing on the cake. This kid has been an important part of our team for a long time now. Almost four years! How many high school kids keep the same job for four years? Come out and support him in his effort.

We invite any and all of you with hair long enough to join us and donate your hair.

Calling all hairstylists! We need your services. If you would like to donate your skills for this worthy event, we can provide in store and internet cross promotion in exchange. Besides... Jose wants it done right! Otherwise I have to do it!

Amazon will have a discount for all in attendance and special discounts for participants. If you would like to participate in any capacity contact Scott at 909.447.5103.

OK folks, now is the time. Let's have some fun and support this worthy cause.

IT'S OUR SNAKE!

We made the SUPER BOWL. That is our snake. Scott and Mike are standing 30 feet off of camera right. What an amazing experience.

FIRST POST IN MONTHS

Wow how does time get away so fast? I keep chasing it but the faster I go the behinder I get. Please accept my apologies for taking so long to make this post.

We recently received shipment of some very nice animals from the middle east. The first ever Uromastyx philbyi or "The Arabian Blue" Dabb Lizard came in. We are the only importers ever to have these! Not even any in museum pickeld collecitons. Always cool to be the first.

Also in the shipment is some Arabian Sand Boas (Eryx jayakari). These are some outstanding specimens. Well hydrated, feeding well. No ectoparasites. No problems. Just beautiful egg laying boas! Orange eyes on top of the head make these some very interesting animals. The orange eyes seem to make them a different locality than other jayakari in the USA. Get yours now. Clean, beautiful, feeding specimens available. When they shed the tie themselves in an overhand knot to help push the skin down the body! WOW!

Also, there have been some staff changes since my lost post. Tim has moved on to apparently greener pastures. Thus, Crystal Laner has stepped up to manager of our Montclair location. Matthew McDole has been promoted to Manager of the Covina location and Kyle Frost is "vice managing" both stores during Crystal and Matt's days off.

To balance it out we have Jose Palafox (Montclair), Daniel O'Hara (Montclair), Trevor Yehle (Covina), Brad Duarte (Covina), Rory Gresco (Montclair), and Jocelyn McAdams (Both stores)

SPRING IS HERE!!!

Everybody is finally out of hibernation mode and ready to go! Our customers are already bringing us loads of eggs! Our incubators are quickly filling up with Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos (Check out Kyle's Albinos!), and Corn Snakes! It's going to be a productive year for a lot of folks, and we're in the pleasant position of seeing the smiles on our customers' faces when they meet their new babies!

We have quite a few exciting breeding projects going on here at Amazon as well! The staff in our Montclair store is diligently working on possibly proving out a new genetic mutation in corn snakes.

We may also be some of the first to produce captive bred Mexican Lined Pine Snakes, and the idea of these babies has some of our employees giddy with excitement.

Along with our customers bringing us THEIR babies, we get to introduce them to OUR babies. Here is a pic of a long-time customer, Hailee and her new Fantasy Frog! Aren't they adorable? Fantasy Frogs are a new animal we've only carried for the first time this year. They've been a big hit! We've had a hard time keeping them in the store already.

In other news: We have a couple of new faces to add to the list! Daniel has been volunteering with us for the better part of a year and we finally had an opening for him! Now you'll get to see him in our Montclair store on the weekends. Terry is a new addition in general and you can meet him on the weekends in our Covina store.