A BRAND new exotic pets shop has opened in York – selling everything from snakes and lizards to tree frogs to customers.
Reptile enthusiast, Scott Bone, has opened the new store called Fully Scaled in the Rawcliffe area of the city.
The store has a range of exotic pets on offer, including snakes, lizards, geckos, tortoises, turtles or terrapins and chameleons, all housed in custom-made wood and glass enclosures. As well as this, alongside the reptiles there are also tree frogs, Axolotls, micro squirrels, jumping spiders, mantises and an African pygmy hedgehog on display.
Scott said: “I’m passionate about getting everything right. I’ve created an open space that’s more homely. I didn’t want it to have an industrial, commercial feel. It’s not a massive shop but it’s just right.
“I’d like to think that part of the attraction is that I’m not money driven. Ultimately, I’ve got to make the business work, but I’d rather customers got everything right in terms of set up.
“I don’t want to stock every possible type of animal, but keep things fresh and varied by getting in different creatures when some are sold.
“I think people will benefit from my experience with reptiles. If I can find the best way of doing something then that’s going to better for the animal and customer.”
Scott became interested in reptiles after purchasing a leopard gecko years ago – and said that the interest in the animals can range from teenagers to elderly people.
He added: “I had an elderly couple in here having a good look around and they were in awe. They were at that age where they didn’t feel they could buy a pet, but the gentleman said to me – ‘If I was a bit younger, I’d love something like this’.”
Customers can also purchase everything they need to keep their new reptile or exotic pet happy, well fed and warm. There are custom-made enclosures of different sizes, built by Scott and his father, as well as vivarium accessories and art decor, lights, different types of heat sources and – possibly the most important part of setting up – thermostats.
Scott said: “A thermostat controls an enclosure’s heat source with a pulse of electricity. It doesn’t use the full wattage of the bulb. Most of the vivarium is made of wood, which heats up quickly, so the right temperature is easily maintained. Some reptiles have tanks with dimming thermostats that switch off when the optimum temperature has been reached.”
You can find the new reptile store next door to AJ’s Kitchen at 212 Shipton Road in Rawcliffe. You can also check out the animals on display on its Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube pages.
