Everyone wins when you transition herp customers from basic enclosures to bioactive. The animals benefit physically and behaviorally in the more natural environment, and pet owners appreciate the lower maintenance and greater satisfaction.
Jaymie Winstead, reptiles manager for Claremont Pet & Aquarium Center in Claremont, NH, says, “People who go from bare-bones tanks with fake plants to naturalistic, bioactive displays have a much higher appreciation for herp keeping, and it can very quickly lead to an obsession.”
So retailers win, as well, with such dedicated hobbyists helping to bring in recurring and higher revenue in this product category.
“These customers are more likely to house their reptiles in larger enclosures, offer much more significant and abundant sources of enrichment, have healthier and happier pets, and also spend more to keep them happy and healthy,” Winstead says.
She and other retailers who know how to guide their customers on this journey share best practices for growing your bioactive business.
A display at Claremont Pet & Aquarium Center illustrates the many layers that make up a bioactive enclosure.
Lead By Example
“All of our display tanks in the store are bioactive. It’s hard to tell somebody how important it is to give an animal a bioactive, natural setup if you’re using plastic plants and fake carpet terrarium liners,” explains Tara Nagelhout, co-owner of Hometown Pets stores, in Oregon.
Winstead agrees. “Having established planted, bioactive terrariums in the store has been the best and easiest promotion. Most of our reptile displays are at least partially bioactive, with proper substrate, leaf litter, and isopods and springtails. It makes customers interested, and they ask questions.”
Nagelhout and her team also bring bioactive enclosure supplies to the large reptile shows they exhibit at four times a year. This inclusion helps the store generate $40,000 to $60,000 in sales at each of the four shows while also creating new bioactive customers for its two store locations.
Isopods clean up a bioactive enclosure at Claremont Pet & Aquarium Center.
Be Their Teacher
Few beginning or even intermediate herp customers can put together and/or sustain bioactive displays on their own. Offering necessary instruction and educational resources makes your store an indispensable part of their progression in the hobby.
“There is a learning curve to naturalistic, and it is a jump to move away from the ‘safety’ of bare-bone setups,” Winstead says. “We have handouts for various things, including starting a bioactive enclosure and care of isopods and springtails, including a more in-depth write-up on each species of isopod we keep and sell in store, regarding special care requirements, humidity, ventilation and more. Ideally, we prefer to talk and show customers the ins and outs, but sometimes a handout can help customers retain information and give them a starting point. We also have signs in our reptile department that point out the bugs in the reptile enclosures, with a short little writeup about the benefits of bioactive.”
Nagelhout includes education from brands in the resources she shares with customers. She also recommends Joshua Halter, aka The Bio Dude. “We frequently direct people to Bio Dude because his videos are great and he’s fun to watch.”
Madagascar Hissing Roaches enjoy a “Roach Hotel” enclosure at Hometown Pets.
Having sales associates who build and maintain the bioactive displays in your store also will inspire confidence in customers and help them to learn and grow in the hobby. Their support will encourage them to stick with it long-term.
“We always put ourselves out there, be it in person or over the phone, to help customers problem-solve or identify issues in their enclosures,” Winstead says. “If customers fail because they lack support, then they are less likely to try again and will revert back to the ‘ease’ of bare-bone setups.”
That means lost revenue from the pricier bioactive products.
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Do It For Them
S&S Exotic Animals Inc. in Houston, TX, offers both DIY materials and fully built bioactive enclosures. Owner Suzette Stidom says most customers leave setup to her team.
The three stores featured here also mix their own substrate.
“All of our bedding, we make here,” Stidom says. “So everything’s pre-mixed and comes with everything they need, like inoculate that you put inside the bedding so that your bedding is never going to die on you. We work with a scientist and a chemist, and our mixes are all completely formulated.”
Claremont Pet & Aquarium Center sells its own arid substrate mix, isopod food and isopod decomp starter pack.
Empower Staff to Say ‘No’
While a customer new to herp keeping and eager to take the naturalistic approach may seem like the perfect sale, Nagelhout stresses that the animal’s health and welfare must always come first.
“We frequently have customers come into the store who are just beginning their adventure,” she says. “We strongly encourage them to go home and really research. All of my staff have the right to refuse a sale to anybody if they don’t like their attitude, or if the customer is not listening to us.”
The right customers will appreciate having a retail partner in caring for their pet, which builds loyalty and recurring sales, grows your revenue, and builds the reputation of your store as the go-to place for all things bioactive.
Handouts covering bioactive inclosures, isopod care and other topics help customers at Claremont Pet & Aquarium Center learn about creating and maintaining a bioactive enclosure for their pets.
